Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
and Massachusetts and let go almost nine hundred workers. 15 On the chessboard of the glob-
al food system, factories are pieces that are sacrificed or moved in the quest for profits. The
fate of the workers and communities left behind is seldom a topic of concern in the corporate
boardroom. 16
In the food and beverage sector, the boards of directors play a major role in shaping the
food choices of American consumers. The proliferation of fatty snack foods, sugared cereals,
highly processed “convenience foods” (e.g., frozen, canned, or packaged dinners), caffein-
ated beverages, and the like have been directly linked to nutrition-related health problems
such as obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes. 17 These types of
foods are sources of tremendous profits for the large multinational food giants.
A representative excerpt from the 2003 Annual Report of the Pepsico Corporation gives a
good indication of what consumers, both here and abroad, are likely to find on their super-
market shelves. Under the heading of “Brands and Goodwill” we read:
We sell products under a number of brand names around the world, many of which were developed
by us… . We also purchase brands and goodwill in acquisitions… . We believe that a brand has
an indefinite life if it has significant market share in a stable macroeconomic environment, and a
history of strong revenue and cash flow performance that we expect to continue for the foreseeable
future. If these perpetual brand criteria are not met, brands are amortized over their expected useful
lives, which generally range from five to twenty years. Determining the expected life of a brand
requires considerable management judgment and is based on an evaluation of a number of factors,
including the competitive environment, market share, brand history and the macroeconomic envir-
onment of the country in which the brand is sold. 18
As with most oligopolistic industries, the food and beverage industry generally speaks
with one voice when it comes to labor, trade, environmental, and food safety issues. 19 Of
course, there is remarkable overlap in the nature and range of products produced and distrib-
uted by the global food and beverage corporations (e.g., Coke vs. Pepsi, Lays Potato Chips
vs. Pringles, Lean Cuisine vs. Healthy Choice). This is not surprising, since the large mul-
tinational corporations can be viewed as a confederation of firms that share similar product
lines and marketing strategies. Because the men and women who sit on the boards of direct-
ors come from a similar background and share similar work histories, they are likely to share
a common worldview when it comes to managing these globally oriented food firms. The ul-
timate result is that these few individuals decide food choices for most American consumers.
A food system dominated by a handful of large corporations and governed by a small set
of like-minded individuals offers consumers little real “choice.” Innovation in these firms is
linked to devising better marketing strategies for a narrow range of “basic” products (i.e.,
soft drinks, breakfast cereals, snack and convenience foods, and the like). The fact that over
twelve thousand new products are introduced each year (most of which fail) suggests that the
food industry is not responding to consumer demand but is rather blindly offering consumers
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