The Ethics and Economics of Agrifood Competition

This edited volume presents ethical and economic analyses of agrifood competition. By systematically examining fairness and openness in agricultural markets, it seeks to answer the question of whether there is adequate competition in the agrifood industry and whether the system is fair to all participants. It outlines ethical and economic principles important for understanding agrifood competition, presents arguments for and against consolidation, globalization and the integration of agrifood industries, and looks at the implications of globalization on the nature of competition in specific agricultural contexts.

About the authors.- Acknowledgements.- 1. Introduction to the Ethics and Economics of Agrifood Competition: Connotations, Complications and Commentary; Harvey S. James, Jr..- Conceptualizing Agrifood Competition.- 2. Conceptualizing Fairness in the Context of Competition: Philosophical Sources; Paul B.  Thompson.- 3. Are Ethics and Efficiency Locked in Antithesis?; Yasha Rowher and  Randall Westgren.- 4. The Fallacy of “Competition” in Agriculture; Michael E. Sykuta.- 5. Efficiency, Power and Freedom; C. Robert Taylor.- 6. Networks, Power and Dependency in the Agrifood Industry; Harvey S. James, Jr., Mary K. Hendrickson and Philip H. Howard.- 7. Reaping and Sowing for a Sustainable Future: The Import of Roman Catholic Social Teaching for Agrifood Competition; Patrick Flanagan.- Assessing Agrifood Competition.- 8. The Problems with Poultry Production and Processing.- Douglas H. Constance, Francisco Martinez, Gilberto Aboites, and Alessandro Bonanno.- 9. Agricultural Contracting and Agrifood Competition; Ani L. Katchova.- 10.Trading on Pork and Beans: Agribusiness and the Construction of the Brazil-China-Soy-Pork Commodity Complex; Emelie K. Peine.- 11. Who’s got the Power? An Evaluation of Power Distribution in the German Agribusiness Industry; Jon H. Hanf, Vera Belaya and Erik Schweickert.- 12. Local Foods and Food Cooperatives: Ethics, Economics and Competition Issues; Ani L. Katchova, Timothy A. Woods.- 13. Price Transparency as a Prerequisite for Fair Competition: The Case of the European Food Prices Monitoring Tool; Adrienn Molnár, Katrien Van Lembergen, Federico Tarantini, Aimé Heene and Xavier Gellynck.- Index.