Hungry Corporations
Transnational Biotech Companies
Colonise the Food Chain
by Helena Paul and Ricarda Steinbrecher
with Devlin
Kuyek & Lucy Michaels
'Using keen historical analysis, gripping facts and solid documentation, Hungry Corporations reveals how a handful of transnational enterprises are using genetic engineering as tools for ownership and control of the global food system. Hungry Corporations [will remain] a classic for years to come.'
Hope Shand, author,
Human Nature: Agricultural Biodiversity and Farm-Based Food Security
ZED BOOKS, London, October 2003, 242 pages
Hardback ISBN 1-84277-300-3
Paperback ISBN 1-84277-301-1
>>> Flyer with list of contents and order form 127 KB pdf file
>>> Table of contents & list of chapters available as PDF files
>>> The Foreword: About this Book
Table of Contents: Hungry Corporations
Chapter 1
In The Name Of Hunger - Paving the Road To Biotech Agriculture
The green revolution — From green to gene revolution — Economic globalisation and debt creation — Free trade and its inconsistencies. – 11 pages
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355 kb)
Chapter 2
Corporations: From Royal Charters To Biotech Gold Rush
A brief history of the corporation — Factor in the growth of the biotechnology industry — 'Independent' research companies — A new gold rush: the run on genes and genomes – 13 pages
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391 kb)
Chapter 3
Image Control: Manipulation and Public Relations
Growth and consolidation of the public relations industry — Cleaning the corporate image — Corporate mind control — Helping hands – 18 pages
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523 kb)
Chapter 4
Consolidation, Contamination and Loss Of Diversity: The Biotech Dream Takes Hold
The life science concept — Consolidation in the agrochemical industries — Consolidation in the seed industry — Loss of agricultural diversity: Seminis and Savia — GM contamination: plot or blunder? – 13 pages
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413 kb)
Chapter 5
The Main International Players and Corporate Influence
The World Bank — The Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) — International foundations — International organisations promoting biotechnology — Universities and research institutes – 26 pages
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686 kb)
Chapter 6
Corporate Influence on International Regulatory Bodies
Corporate influence at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) — Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) — The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) — Codex Alimentarius: UN body for food standards — The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – 8 pages
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Chapter 7
Government Legislation and Corporate Influence
Exerting influence worldwide — US legislation — European Union legislation — Central and Eastern Europe - a corporate paradise – 12 pages
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381 kb)
Chapter 8
Opening Up The South
GM crops worldwide — Agricultural research and development — Promoting technology to farmers — Micro-credit agencies — Binding the farmer to the corporation — Lack of choice for farmers — Argentina: the cost of complying with US pressure — Preparing the ground for GM — The struggle for Africa’s agriculture — Resistance in the South — ConTill: Monsanto's brand of sustainable development – 23 pages
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601 kb)
Chapter 9
Conclusion: Summing up, Moving on
– 4 pages
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170 kb)
About this Book (Foreword to Hungry Corporations)
This book demonstrates that a handful of companies have gained an alarming level of control over the food chain through the industrialisation of agriculture, the forces of globalisation, and the vertical and horizontal integration of business. These corporations are deeply involved in the current push for genetic engineering in agriculture. Industry argues that genetic engineering is the technology of the next industrial revolution and that it can help resolve the problem of hunger. This book shows that the way the technology is being applied is instead a continuation and intensification of an industrial agriculture model that has failed to live up to its expectations and promises. Rather than offer new solutions, genetic engineering will advance a stronger, already established trend towards the social, political and economic reorganisation of our communities according to the interests of the world’s largest corporations, with little regard for environmental and social impacts. In this context, genetic engineering is not merely a new technology, but a means to gain power over people and resources.
After looking at how biotechnology was introduced in the name of solving the hunger problem, the book surveys the green revolution and then explores the growth of the corporation, its acquisition of rights and its gradual shedding of liability for and limitations on its activities. We touch on the various elements that are key to the success of transnational corporations (TNCs): the liberalisation of financial markets, the extension of patents on living organisms and their parts, and the appropriation of research. We then focus on the institutions the TNCs create, shape, hire or manipulate for their purposes: public relations companies, biotech trade organisations, think tanks, the World Bank, UN institutions, universities and research bodies, governments, the World Trade Organisation. Finally, we look at how the activities of TNCs are now being directed at developing countries, and how the small farmers and regions that escaped the impacts of the green revolution, such as Africa, are a particular target.
The authors have selected examples to indicate patterns and trends. Detailed references are included to show where further information can be found. Change will continue to be rapid. The aim of this book is to show how the corporate promotion of GM crops has proceeded to date, in order to provide the basis for developing an accurate analysis of events as they unfold in the future. The book can be read straight through, dipped into or kept as a reference. The aim is to make the information in it as accessible as possible. The Econexus and PAN–AP websites offer further information.