In Review: Food Incorporated

Corporate Power In Global Agrifood Governance, Jennifer Clapp and Doris Fuchs, eds, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2009, 308 pages.

Characterized by economic instability and flux, the globally integrated food system wreaks havoc on the incomes of farmers, businesses and various food system players around the world. With Corporate Power in Global Agrifood Governance, an in-depth collection of essays and case studies, editors Jennifer Clapp and Doris Fuchs show why there is every reason to expect these issues to continue indefinitely if the actions of transnational corporations are left unchecked.

Clapp is the chair of Global Environmental Governance and a professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. Fuchs is a professor of international relations and development at the University of Münster. Their book features extensive historical examples to illustrate how corporate powers make the global food system “transnational friendly.” The authors do not assume that market power is the same as political clout in managing international-food-system relationships. Instead, they focus on understanding the power wielded by transnational corporations (TNCs) in the form of direct political contributions, influence over standards and labels through self-government­, and a well-funded capacity to convey their corporate message and build political legitimacy. …