Towards a Post‑growth Food System: How Can We Address the Concentration of Economic Power Upstream of Agricultural Production?
(2026) Law and Political Economy in Europe — Location: University of Glasgow (15.June.2026)
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- Abstract
- The ecological transition of the food system requires an in‑depth examination of the structures governing the production, processing, distribution, marketing and consumption of foodstuffs. This encompasses the technical, economic, social and environmental dimensions of food, from the cultivation or harvesting of products to their availability to citizens. Political economy, an analytical approach centred on action, power relations and institutional structures, makes it possible to examine the interactions between the political and economic spheres of the food system, with a focus on the interests of the actors involved, the power dynamics that connect them, and the institutions that shape these relationships. To a large extent, this approach proves useful in revealing the barriers that hinder the transition of the food system and in explaining how it becomes locked‑in. Several scholars have highlighted the crucial issue of the concentration of economic power upstream of agricultural production. Indeed, a small number of multinational corporations dominate the technologies required for agricultural production, particularly those relating to seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and agricultural machinery. The purpose of this proposal is twofold. On the one hand, it aims to analyse the policy recommendations and legal instruments put forward by researchers, particularly those working in the field of the political economy of the food system, to address the problem of the concentration of economic power upstream of agricultural production. The objective is to assess the relevance and effectiveness of these policy goals and legal means in light of the ecological emergency. On the other hand, the proposal seeks to recommend alternative objectives and instruments to counteract the concentration of economic power and to envisage an ecological transition of the food system situated midway between symbiotic and ruptural transformations.
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Dussauge, O. (2026, June 15). Towards a Post‑growth Food System: How Can We Address the Concentration of Economic Power Upstream of Agricultural Production? Law and Political Economy in Europe, University of Glasgow. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/278605