Agribusiness
Agribusiness, a term first introduced in 1955, refers to the consolidation and commercialization of agricultural production that emerged alongside advancements in technology and industrialization. This sector has evolved significantly, particularly following the Industrial Revolution, which favored larger farms that could leverage machinery to enhance efficiency and productivity. As a result, many smaller farms struggled to compete and were often forced out of business. The Green Revolution of the late 1960s further transformed agribusiness by introducing genetically modified seeds and requiring costly inputs like irrigation and pesticides, which again favored wealthier producers.
The agribusiness model has sparked debate, with critics highlighting concerns over reduced competition, potential food price increases, and environmental impacts, including the carbon footprint of transporting centrally produced food. Additionally, there are fears regarding the long-term effects of agricultural technologies, such as GMOs, on health and ecosystems. In developing nations, the shift away from farming has led to inadequate urban job opportunities and low wages for factory workers, raising questions about poverty and hunger.
Conversely, advocates argue that agribusiness is essential for increasing global food production and efficiency, suggesting that corporate farming can help alleviate hunger by lowering food costs. Major corporations in the sector, like Cargill and Monsanto, utilize advanced technologies to enhance agricultural output. Scientific studies have generally found GMOs to be safe, according to organizations like the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association, reinforcing the argument for the role of agribusiness in modern food systems.
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Subject Terms
Agribusiness
Definition Mass commercial production and distribution of agricultural commodities
The growth of U.S. agribusiness has corresponded with a decrease in the number of small, family farms in the country. Moreover, American multinational corporations have helped drive an international trend toward the replacement of subsistence farming with commercial farming.
First coined in 1955, the term “agribusiness” denoted an increasing consolidation of American agricultural resources that was driven by considerations of efficiency. This process began during the Industrial Revolution, when large farms with access to technological resources developed a competitive advantage over smaller, poorer farms. Wealthy farmers could purchase tractors and other machinery that made agriculture more efficient. They could cultivate more land and harvest crops more easily, benefiting from economies of scale unavailable to those working on smaller farms. Also as a result of the Industrial Revolution, people no longer had to produce their own food to survive. Instead, they could work in factories and earn enough money to purchase food. These factories provided poor farmers with a strong incentive to leave the land.
During the late 1960s, the third agricultural revolution, also known as the Green Revolution, made farming an even more expensive activity. Scientists succeeded in altering the genetics of seeds so they could produce more food. To maximize the benefits of these genetically altered seeds, however, one needed to use irrigation and pesticides, increasing the cost of the capital outlay needed for competitive agricultural production. As had been the case during the Industrial Revolution, those most likely to benefit from these new techniques were the wealthier producers. Smaller, poorer producers were often forced out of business. Thus, advances in agricultural technology inadvertently contributed to reducing the number of producers in this sector of the economy.
Agribusiness has been controversial in a variety of contexts. Opponents of agribusiness point to the sharp reduction in the number of producers of agricultural products. They fear that this situation could lead to an increase in the price of food as competition dwindles. Moreover, some environmentally conscious consumers have become concerned over the large carbon footprint of national and international agribusiness. They advocate eating food produced locally, rather than centrally produced food that is shipped long distances. Some also question whether the use of agricultural technologies such as pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) do more harm to the environment and human health than good.
Furthermore, in developing nations, there are not enough urban jobs to accommodate all of the people leaving farms and moving to cities. In addition, the wages earned by industrial workers in developing nations are relatively low. Thus, opponents of agribusiness argue that the concentration of food production in the hands of a small number of large, multinational corporations exacerbates poverty and world hunger.
Advocates of agribusiness argue that global food production has increased as corporate farming has become more common, reducing rather than increasing world hunger. Corporations such as Cargill and Monsanto are able to use the most advanced agricultural technology, such as GMOs, as well as management and organizational techniques, to produce food as efficiently as possible, thus bringing down the cost of food over time. According to the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, National Academy of Sciences and other scientific organizations, studies of GMOs have not shown that they are unsafe.
Bibliography
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Elliot, Jack. Agribusiness: Decisions and Dollars. Clifton Park: Delmar, 1999. Print.
Jansen, Kees, and Sietze Vellema. Agribusiness and Society: Corporate Responses to Environmentalism, Market Opportunities, and Public Regulation. London: Zed, 2004. Print.
Herring, Ronald J. The Oxford Handbook of Food, Politics, and Society. New York: Oxford UP, 2015. Digital file.
Ricketts, Cliff. Introduction to Agribusiness. Clifton Park: Delmar, 1999. Print.
Saletan, William. "Unhealthy Fixation." Slate, 15 July 2015, www.slate.com/articles/health‗and‗science/science/2015/07/are‗gmos‗safe‗yes‗the‗case‗against‗them‗is‗full‗of‗fraud‗lies‗and‗errors.html. Accessed 17 Aug. 2017.
Shiva, Vandana. The Violence of the Green Revolution: Third World Agriculture, Ecology, and Politics. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 2016. Digital file.