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Agribusiness and Society Corporate Responses to Environmentalism, Market Opportunities and Public Regulation Critical praise for this book This book fills a void, as it analyses, by means of original case studies, how the major agribusiness corporations respond to challenges posed by new regulation, environmental pressure, and market opportunities. Overall, it shows how corporate R&D and innovation is more driven by internal organiza- tional imperatives (in particular profits and efficiency gains) rather than by societal and environmental concerns, consumer preferences, or competitors. Innovation and learning clearly appear to be a bottom-up (farm-level, SMEs), and not a top- down (corporate strategy) process. This excellent book is thus of value both to managers and activists. A must for anyone concerned with the future of corporate agriculture. Matthias Finger, Professor and Dean, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology One of the most pressing debates today in world agricultural policy relates to how we should consider corporate engage- ment with the environment. This book is a milestone in the analysis of this critical issue. Society needs to confront and resolve the issues presented in this book, which should be read by anyone with an interest in the environmental implications of our food system. Dr Bill Pritchard, Senior Lecturer in Economic Geography, University of Sydney, Australia kees jansen & sietze vellema | editors Agribusiness and Society Corporate responses to environmentalism, market opportunities and public regulation Z Zed Books london · new york Agribusiness and Society: Corporate responses to environmentalism, market opportunities and public regulation was first published by Zed Books Ltd, 7 Cynthia Street, London n1 9jf, uk and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, ny 10010, usa in 2004. www.zedbooks.co.uk Editorial copyright © Kees Jansen and Sietze Vellema, 2004 Copyright © the individual contributors, 2004 The rights of the editors and contributors to be identified as the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. Cover designed by Andrew Corbett Set in Monotype Fournier by Ewan Smith, London Printed and bound in Malta by Gutenberg Ltd Distributed in the usa exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St Martin’s Press, llc, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, ny 10010 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress cataloging-in-publication data: available isbn 1 84277 412 3 cased isbn 1 84277 413 1 limp Contents Tables and figures |viii 1 Agribusiness and environmentalism: the politics of technology innovation and regulation 1 Kees Jansen and Sietze Vellema Agribusiness strategies and environmentalism |6 The politics of technology innovation |9 Regulation after the sustainability decade |12 part i | Agribusiness’s Responses to Environmentalism in the Market 23 2 Reconciling shareholders, stakeholders and managers: experiencing the Ciba-Geigy vision for sustainable develop- ment 25 William Vorley Ciba-Geigy |25 Vision 2000 – the triple bottom line |26 The Farmer Support Team |27 Sustaining the Farmer Support Team in a period of rapid change |31 Vision 2000 in the year 2002 |32 Vision 2000 in hindsight |33 Visions for sustainable development and the biotechnology experience |35 Vision 2000 and sustainable agriculture |37 The Farmer Support Team in context |38 3 Monsanto facing uncertain futures: immobile artefacts, financial constraints and public acceptance of technological change 42 Sietze Vellema Running into controversy: the problem of technological immobil- ity |45 The bottom line: investors’ appreciation of an indebted company |52 Confrontation with the public domain: technology in an ideological battle |55 Conclusions |61 4 The appearance and disappearance of the GM tomato: innovation strategy, market formation and the shaping of demand 68 Mark Harvey The splitting of the GM tomato |71 Flavr does not Savr Calgene from death or Monsanto |74 The Zeneca strategy |79 The clash of configurations and the de-institution of the UK market for GM foods |83 Conclusion |87 5 Contrasting paths of corporate greening in Antipodean agri- culture: organics and green production 91 Kristen Lyons, David Burch, Geoffrey Lawrence and Stewart Lockie Greening agriculture and food in Australia and New Zealand |92 Corporate capital and greening |95 The entry of corporate capital into organic agriculture |97 Constructing ‘organics’: food products and corporate identity |99 The retail sector and greening |103 First and second phase greening |106 Conclusion |109 6 Room for manoeuvre? (In)organic agribusiness in California 114 Julie Guthman Is agribusiness inorganic? |116 Defining agribusiness |121 Agribusiness takeover? |124 Agribusiness influence |130 The value of land in the land of value |134 Conclusion |137 part ii | Regulating Corporate Agribusiness: New Roles for the Public Sector 143 7 Greening bananas and institutionalizing environmentalism: self-regulation by fruit corporations 145 Kees Jansen Images and international markets |146 Honduran pressure to improve environmental performance |148 Two environmental certificates |150 The scope for changing pesticide use |153 Forms of self-regulation |159 Green bananas and the limitations of self- regulation |165 Conclusion |168 contents | vi 8 The DBCP pesticide cases: seeking access to justice to make agribusiness accountable in the global economy 176 Erika Rosenthal The rise and fall of DBCP |177 Banana workers from the developing South seek justice: DBCP litigation in the USA |180 Avoiding liability with a subverted forum non conveniens doctrine |184 Corporate defendants seek an FNC dismissal |187 Latin America takes a stand |188 A globalized economy requires globalized access to justice |192 9 Business and biotechnology: regulation of GM crops and the politics of influence 200 Dominic Glover and Peter Newell Regulation for business |201 NGOs and civil regulation |220 Conclusion |225 10 Social struggles and the regulation of transgenic crops in Brazil 232 Victor Pelaez and Wilson Schmidt Monsanto and the making of regulatory frameworks |233 Conditions for the introduction of transgenic crops in Brazil |236 Alternative perspectives on development and technology |239 The development of the controversies |244 Conclusion |252 11 Private versus public? Agenda-setting in international agro- technologies 261 Paul Richards Technology as will and idea |262 The Green Revolution: inter- national agro-technology and the Cold War |265 The gene revolution: international agro-technology and the market |270 Food as a right: international agro-technology in an era of ‘failed states’ |276 Conclusion: agro-technological multiculturalism |282 Notes on contributors 289 Index 293 vii | contents Tables and figures Tables 4.1 Two opposed configurations 86 6.1 Organic growers by sales class 1997–98 125 6.2 Ten largest growers with organic acreage 1997 126 6.3 Major organic farming operations based in California 1997 128 10.1 Mobility of scientists and executives between regulating bodies and biotechnology corporations in the USA 234 Figures 3.1 Monsanto: a linear model of innovation combined with a series of acquisitions 44 4.1 Two separate trajectories in the GM tomato 73 one | Agribusiness and environmentalism: the politics of technology innovation and regulation Kees Jansen and Sietze Vellema § By the start of the twenty-first century, agriculture had definitively lost its image as a natural and harmless activity. Consumer and environ- mentalist organizations in Europe, farmers’ organizations in India and political coalitions in Brazil, are taking action against the introduction of genetically modified crops, which they view as a corporate appro- priation of nature, an infringement of farmers’ choice in seed selection and as an attack on agro-biodiversity. Leading writers, cabaret performers and musicians in the Netherlands have launched cultural platforms against intensive pig-farming. Recent outbreaks of mad cow disease (BSE), foot and mouth disease, avian influenza, and other food scares, such as GMOs, pesticide residues and chemical food additives, have put organic agriculture definitively on the policy agenda, even though some prominent scientists fiercely condemn it as backward-looking. General discontent with the industrialization of agricultural production and food provision systems has put agribusiness and the food industry at the core of societal debates. Life sciences industries, Monsanto in particular, are fiercely criticized for their biotechnology programmes. Pesticide industries are being charged with systematically contaminating the environment, their workers, our drinking water and the products we eat. Food producers are being criticized for promoting monocultures that lead to a higher use of agro-chemicals, an increase in soil erosion, a loss of agro-biodiversity and high energy use. Growing discontent with conventional, industrialized agriculture is not only putting pressure on agribusiness but creating new op- portunities for sustainable business strategies and opening up market niches for environmentally-friendly products. Supermarket chains turn towards organic and other environmentally-friendly foodstuffs as high- value products. Banana producers procure environmental certification for their bananas to enlarge, or at least maintain, their market shares in European countries. Food processing industries take up organic brands to lure green consumers seeking healthy foods. Research and Development (R&D) departments of agribusiness firms develop new technological tools for creating healthy
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