Just 20 years ago, about 600 companies were manufacturing seeds, fertilizer and pesticides, according to the watchdog ETC Group.
Now, the majority of those products are made by just six major companies. That number could fall to three or four, depending on whether the Bayer-Monsanto deal and another proposed merger, between Dow Chemical Co. and E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., are approved.
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For farmers… [one] concern is that fewer competitors could mean higher prices.
He also worries about the consequences of limiting product options further.
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And though Monsanto and other manufacturers have touted genetic modification as a potential solution for global food insecurity, some say industry consolidation could have the opposite effect.
ETC Group executive director Pat Mooney says the bulk of research… conducted by these large agriculture companies has been centred around just one crop: Corn. “That doesn’t give you much diversity to work with when it comes to climate change and other factors,” he said…
But University of Guelph agribusiness professor Ken McEwan said it’s too early to fret… In fact, he said… Increased profits for these newly formed companies could lead to better agricultural research.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: What happens when a few big companies control the world’s food production?
