Titans of Industrial Agriculture: How a Few Giant Corporations Came to Dominate the Farm Sector and Why It Matters

Everyone active in the agricultural sector knows names like John Deere, New Holland, Syngenta, Corteva, or Yara. Of the hundreds of billions of dollars spent annually by farmers on machinery, seeds, crop protection products, and fertilizers, the majority ends up with a handful of companies. But how did it come to be that such a vast market is controlled by a very limited number of companies?

Jennifer Clapp, a professor at the University of Waterloo (Canada), conducted an in-depth analysis of how a small number of giant transnational companies have come to dominate the agricultural sector. Clapp examines the historical, technological, and policy forces that have contributed to this extreme concentration of power in our sector.

The book describes how these companies, through mergers and acquisitions, have increased their influence and the consequences this has for our society, environment, and health. Clapp not only provides an analysis of the problems but also discusses recent attempts to address the power of these companies in the food chain and assesses the prospects for change.

Clapp is one of the first to delve into the deep roots of corporate power in the agricultural sector and shows how these actors have promoted the "lock-in" of industrial agriculture, despite the known social and ecological costs. The book "Titans of Industrial Agriculture" is no light reading, but it is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the future of food production and the impact of corporate dominance on our planet.

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