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rearing and pharmaceuticals accompanied cattle in the US and these were directly con-
structural and spatial changes in farming, nected to the top four companies processing
such as contract farming, increasing global- 81% of the beef (Hendrickson et al., 2001).
ization of supply and the disappearance of Similar trends were observed in Canada.
the notion of seasonality (Constance and The concentration ratio of the top four com-
Bonanno, 1999; Ervin et al., 2003). In pro- panies (CR4) reached in pork packing
cessing, marketing and distribution, changes 76.2%, beef packing 73.2%, grain handling
included just-in-time sourcing, extrusion 64%, wheat flour milling 78.76% in
technology, cosmetics and additives to dis- 2003/2004. In retailing CR4 for 2004–2005
guise products, development of niche prod- was 77.99%. In fertilizers CR4 varied from a
ucts, decentralized forms of labour process low of 81.3% in nitrogen to 100% in nitric
and work organization. The Fordist restructur- acid, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate
ing of the food system emphasized branding, and nitrogen solutions. From banking
product diversification, product placement (CR5 = 82.41) to transportation (CR2 in rail-
methods, advertisement, marketing for specific ways = 100) farmers faced oligopsonistic 3
consumer types, centralized ordering, the use of markets (Market Share Matrix Project, 2006).
information technology, flexible specialization These corporate concentration trends are
and reduction in stocks. It also led to the expan- not unique to North America. In agrochemi-
sion of food miles, by increasing the use of air cals, the top 10 global corporations control
freight, heavy lorry networks and satellite 84% of the $30 billion market. Thirty-two
tracking (Pritchard and Burch, 2003). grocery retailers account for 34% of the
global food retail market estimated at $2.8
trillion. In seeds, the world’s top 10 seed
companies have increased their control from
FROM COMPETITION TO CORPORATE one-third to one-half of the global seed trade
CONCENTRATION between 2003 and 2005 (ETC Group, 2005).
One company (Monsanto, owned by
The most significant characteristic of this era Pharmacia) accounted for 94% of the total
has been increasing corporate concentration area sown to genetically modified crops in
and control in this process, paralleled with 2000 (Ervin et al., 2003; Heffernan and
the declining role of nation-states. Supra- Hendrickson, 2005; Lang and Heasman,
national bodies and international treaties, 2004; RAFI, 2001).
such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and As Hendrickson (2003) and others have
Trade (GATT), the WTO, the International demonstrated, the ever-increasing levels
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank of horizontal integration through consolida-
play an increasingly significant role in shap- tion since the mid-1970s allowed some
ing freedom for financial, commercial and companies to control even wider sections of
productive capital, while nation-states define the food system. As Table 22.1 demonstrates
the boundaries of globally interlinked home three or four big corporations in the US
markets, and regulated/restricted movement food system control anywhere between
of labour. 63% and 83.5% of the market in some of the
Mostly through mergers and buy-outs, a
Table 22.1 Level of concentration in the US
few companies control the largest segment of
food processing sectors (2005 figures)
the agri-food business. To see the extent and
Sector Rate of concentration Companies
speed of corporate concentration, we can
Beef packers 83.5% 4
look at the US beef-packing industry. In the Soybean crushing 71% 3
mid-1970s, about 25% of the market was con- Pork packers 64% 4
trolled by four companies. By the mid-1990s Flour milling 63% 4
about 20 feedlots were handling half the Source: Heffernan and Hendrickson, 2005.