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

— —

Jennifer Clapp

Titans of Industrial Agriculture

How a Few Giant Corporations Came to Dominate the Farm Sector and Why It Matters

Jennifer Clapp

$79.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

MIT Press
18 March 2025

Society & culture: general

How a small handful of giant transnational corporations has come to dominate the farm inputs sector, why it matters, and what can be done about it.

How a small handful of giant transnational corporations has come to dominate the farm inputs sector, why it matters, and what can be done about it.

Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of farm machinery, fertilizer, seeds, and pesticides are sold to farmers around the world. Although agricultural inputs are a huge sector of the global economy, the lion's share of that market is controlled by a relatively small number of very large transnational corporations. The high degree of concentration among these agribusiness titans is striking, considering that just a few hundred years ago agricultural inputs were not even marketed goods. In Titans of Industrial Agriculture, Jennifer Clapp explains how we got from there to here, outlining the forces that enabled this extreme concentration of power and the entrenchment of industrial agriculture. Clapp reveals that the firms that rose to the top of these sectors benefited from distinct market, technology, and policy advantages dating back a century or more that enabled them to expand their businesses through mergers and acquisitions that made them even bigger and more powerful. These dynamics matter because the firms at the top have long shaped industrial farming practices that, in turn, have generated enormous social, ecological, and health impacts on the planet and the future of food systems. Beyond analyzing how these problems have arisen and manifested, the book examines recent efforts to address corporate power and dominance in food systems and assesses the prospects for change.

Among the first works to examine deep roots of corporate power in agriculture, Titans of Industrial Agriculture helps illuminate just how corporate actors have encouraged the ""lock-in"" of industrial agriculture, despite all its known social and ecological costs.

By: Jennifer Clapp
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780262551700
ISBN 10: 0262551705
Pages: 392
Publication Date: 18 March 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Series Foreword Preface List of Acronyms 1 Introduction Part I: The Rise to Corporate Bigness in the Agricultural Input Industry 1840s–1940s 2 Farm Machinery 3 Fertilizers 4 Seeds 5 Pesticides Part II: Consolidation and Expansion in the Mid-20th Century 6 Lock-In and Ship Out 7 Mergers of Distress in Farm Machinery and Fertilizers 8 Mergers of Opportunity in Seeds and Chemicals Part III: 21st Century Mergers and Their Consequences 9 Drivers of Recent Agribusiness Mega-Mergers 10 Power to Shape Markets 11 Power to Shape Technology 12 Power to Shape Policy and Governance Part IV: Conclusion 13 The Uncertain Path Ahead Notes References Index

Jennifer Clapp is Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability and Professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo. Her recent books include Food, 3rd edition, Speculative Harvests, and Hunger in the Balance. She is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems and previously served as Vice Chair of the Steering Committee of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

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

“A valuable resource for anyone interested in the future of food production and the impact of corporate dominance on our planet.” —Women in Ag Magazine “Titans of Industrial Agriculture will keep curious readers engaged until the cows come home.” —Literary Review of Canada