Concentration and power in the food system : who controls what we eat? / Philip H. Howard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Howard, Philip H., 1971- author.

Series:

Contemporary food studies: economy, culture and politics ; 2058-1807 v. 3.

Contemporary Food Studies: Economy, Culture and Politics, 2058-1807 ; [volume 3]

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Food industry and trade--United States.

Food industry and trade.

Food supply--United States.

Food supply.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (191 pages).

Distribution:

London, England : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020

Place of Publication:

London, England : Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2020.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"Nearly every day brings news of another merger or acquisition involving the companies that control our food supply. Just how concentrated has this system become? At almost every key stage of the food system, four firms alone control 40% or more of the market, a level above which these companies have the power to drive up prices for consumers and reduce their rate of innovation. Researchers have identified additional problems resulting from these trends, including negative impacts on the environment, human health, and communities.This book reveals the dominant corporations, from the supermarket to the seed industry, and the extent of their control over markets. It also analyzes the strategies these firms are using to reshape society in order to further increase their power, particularly in terms of their bearing upon the more vulnerable sections of society, such as recent immigrants, ethnic minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status. Yet this study also shows that these trends are not inevitable. Opposed by numerous efforts, from microbreweries to seed saving networks, it explores how such opposition has encouraged the most powerful firms to make small but positive changes."--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Food system concentration : a political economy perspective

Reinterpreting antitrust : retailing

Structuring dependency : distribution

Engineering consumption : packaged foods and beverages

Manipulating prices : commodity processing

Subsidizing the treadmill : farming and ranching

Enforcing the new enclosures : agricultural inputs

Standardizing resistance : the organic food chain

Endgame?

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (pages 155-193) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781474264365

1474264360

9781472581143

1472581148

OCLC:

1201426972