Fuchs, Doris; Glaab, Katharina; Kalfagianni, Agni; Meyer-Eppler, Richard --- "Food security in the era of retail governance" [2012] ELECD 1061; in Rayfuse, Rosemary; Weisfelt, Nicole (eds), "The Challenge of Food Security" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012) 275

Book Title: The Challenge of Food Security

Editor(s): Rayfuse, Rosemary; Weisfelt, Nicole

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9780857939371

Section: Chapter 14

Section Title: Food security in the era of retail governance

Author(s): Fuchs, Doris; Glaab, Katharina; Kalfagianni, Agni; Meyer-Eppler, Richard

Number of pages: 18

Abstract/Description:

The last decades have witnessed a major structural transformation in the governance of the global agrifood system. Governance capacities and functions in global agrifood governance have shifted, with private actors, specifically retail food corporations, becoming key players in this field. Their new role has resulted from two developments, in particular. First, retail corporations have experienced tremendous growth in size and reach, a factor which has strengthened their strategic position in the market. Second, the role of government has shifted to one of oversight rather than control against a background of globalization and the popularity of neoliberal norms. As a consequence of these developments, retail food corporations are in a position to design and implement private governance institutions. They shape production and consumption practices through the development of de facto mandatory private standards, ‘own-brand’ products, and a substantial expansion in farm-to-shelfcontrol.