Despite these laws, corporate agribusiness’ monopolization of the agricultural market continues to persist at the expense of farmers in the United States. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 renders price-fixing, restraint of trade, and excessive market monopolization illegal, and the Clayton Antitrust Act asserts that it is unlawful for any business to merge with or acquire any part of its industry in a manner that significantly damages that industry. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice interpret and implement antitrust statutes. In 2017, after the Bayer–Monsanto and Dow–Dupont mergers, the four largest global herbicide and pesticide firms now own 84% of the market share. soybean seed firms controlled 76% of that market. corn seed firms controlled 85% of the corn seed market, and the four largest U.S. In 2015, the four largest beef firms controlled 85% of the beef market. The majority of the revenue is realized by corporate agribusiness executives and shareholders. At the end of the day, farmers only receive 14.8 cents per every dollar consumers spend on food-yet the costs of production amount to 80 cents per dollar. Often, the big food companies are vertically integrated-that is, the same companies operate at various levels of the supply chain. Many of these contracts contain conditions which force farmers to buy seeds and equipment from a small handful of input companies. Farmers, on the other hand, are under economic pressure to compete in a growing global market, and often must rely on contracting with just a few processing companies to sell their products. Currently, corporate agribusinesses hold a disproportionate amount of market power in the agri-food economy.
To ensure fair competition in the agri-food marketplace, it is imperative that the federal government provide the proper enforcement of antitrust regulations. Yet in the United States and elsewhere, the food system has a long way to go toward meeting the needs of both farmers and consumers.įarmers are increasingly driven out of agriculture by the unequal distribution of market power. The declaration aims to ensure that the food system protects those who produce and consume the world’s food supply: farmers and people, rather than corporate agribusinesses. That declaration asserts that activists should seek to democratize the flows of power, wealth, and resources that have moved predominantly toward the core industrialized countries and multinational corporate agribusinesses, and away from farmers all over the world. In 2007, food sovereignty activists from around the world convened in Sélingué, Mali to write the Declaration of Nyéléni.