Constructing China's National Food Security

Constructing China’s National Food Security: Power, Grain Seed Markets, and the Global Political Economy By Matthew Gaudreau A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Global Governance Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2019 © Matthew Gaudreau Examining Committee Membership The following served on the Examining Committee for this thesis. The decision of the Examining Committee is by majority vote. External Examiner Pascale Massot Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa Supervisor Jennifer Clapp Professor, University of Waterloo Internal Members Derek Hall Associate Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University Hongying Wang Associate Professor, University of Waterloo Internal-external Member Steffanie Scott Associate Professor, University of Waterloo ii Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii Abstract What is China’s place in the global food system? This thesis provides an analytical lens to explain the factors behind the structure of China’s national seed industry and recent global agribusiness expansion. Scholars of Global Political Economy and critical food studies have begun to assess the (re)emergence of actors from China in global markets replete with powerful agribusiness from the global North. However, these scholars have thus far paid less attention to the domestic, normative origins and dynamics that explain China’s place in the global food system. For example, though the global grain seed industry is highly concentrated, China’s domestic grain seed market does not share the same characteristics. To explain this discrepancy and shed light on the place of China in the global food system, I develop the concept of securitized foodways. Securitized foodways is built on a power framework that incorporates both positive and negative forms of power. Three dimensions of power (ideational, material, and autonomy) correspond to three factors that have shaped China’s grain seed industry, its place in the global food system, and its broader economy. The first factor is the Party-state’s ideational priority of self-reliance, particularly in the context of grain security. In contrast to other large Southern countries (e.g., India and the Philippines), the historical priority for China to be self-reliant has led to a distinct conception of national food security focused on national ownership over each segment of the grain supply chain and particularly seed resources. The second factor is the Party-state’s control over its domestic agrifood system through law and regulation limiting the participation of foreign seed companies. More recently, the Party-state’s power over its domestic grain seed markets has shifted into nascent material power in the global food system. This expansion of Chinese agribusiness in the name of national food security occurs through a combination of overseas seed extension projects as well as through the acquisition of foreign agribusinesses including Syngenta, Noble, and Nidera. The third factor is China’s historical autonomy from the U.S. food regime (1950s to 1970s). China remained independent of the agrifood networks developed under the U.S.-led green revolution and food aid architecture, instead establishing its own domestic research networks and extension system. This autonomy provided the Party-state with the power necessary to retain domestic policy space, develop a home-grown seed industry, and challenge the dominance of Northern agribusiness firms in the global food system. Combined, the three factors explain China’s domestic grain seed market structure (ideational priority of self-reliant national food security, material power over the domestic food system, and historical autonomy from the U.S. food regime). Further, these factors serve to explain and interpret the recently expanded presence of actors from the PRC in global grain and grain seed markets. Despite pressure from MNCs and other states, national agribusinesses continue to hold market share in China’s domestic grain seed market iv demonstrating both the continued normative commitment of Party-state actors to support national industry and the material power to maintain control over national markets in the context of economic globalization. These national Chinese agribusinesses (with the help of financial actors) have also rapidly increased their presence abroad to compete in both domestic and global markets. However, despite the exercise of material power in the global food system, actors from China have not yet displaced the incumbent agribusiness power of MNCs headquartered in the global North. Further, there are challenges and impacts related to the pursuit of national food security through domestically owned industrial agriculture. Given MNC ownership of patents, the potential introduction of genetically modified (GM) grain seeds to the domestic Chinese market presents a challenge to the Party-state’s continued control over the PRC’s seed industry. Further, the growing commercial seed system and discourse of national food security has placed pressure on, but also provided limited space for, alternative food movements within China. These food movements share similar ideational concerns to the Party-state vis-à-vis global agribusiness concentration, but promote a path to food security rooted in local food systems. As agribusinesses from China, with strong connections to the Party-state, expand their global grain and seed networks, both GM seeds and food alternatives are domestic sources of contention for the Party- state’s emerging agrifood power. v Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of many around me. I would first like to say a big thank you to my supervisor, Jennifer Clapp, who shared enthusiasm about my research from the beginning and offered valued guidance and support throughout the research process – thank you! Thanks also to my committee members Derek Hall and Steffanie Scott, who helped to shape the research design at an early stage (keeping my expansive interests in check) and shared considered insight on this work. Jennifer, Derek, and Steffanie also opened opportunities for me through research assistantships, introductions, and organizing special issues and panels, for which I am grateful. Further, this work would not have been possible without generous support from Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo, and SSHRC’s Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship and Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement. This project was made feasible due to research support in China. Professor Taiyang Zhong provided me office space and the opportunity to participate in student presentations. Professor Fachun Du at Yunnan Agricultural University welcomed me and invited me to present at the Institute of New Rural Development. Professor Ye Jingzhong also welcomed me to his research group at China Agricultural University. Thanks to each of you. Thanks are also due to Professor Huhua Cao, who introduced me to research in China during my MA at University of Ottawa. I would also like to thank those who spoke with me for formal interviews and informal conversations in Beijing, Hong Kong, Kunming, and Nanjing. Closer to home, thank you to fellow students (and recent graduates) in the Global Food Politics Group, Waterloo Food Issues Group, Waterloo Political Economy Group. Thank you to all who shared their work and couches, particularly Caitlin Scott, Isaac Lawther, Helena Shilomboleni, Beth Timmers, Sarah Martin, Zhenzhong Si, Jennifer Marshman, Danshu Qi, Ning Dai, and Wes Tourangeau. A special thanks to Andrés Garcia Trujillo, who provided frequent insight and motivation since our arrival in Kitchener-Waterloo. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends who listened to more about the seed industry and grain trade than they bargained for. My wife Caitie who always listened, helped to edit, and put up with long absences…immediately before and after our wedding! My brother Steve and sister-in-law Mel who offered food and shelter in Toronto. My parents, Ron and Joan, and parents-in-law, Doug and Carlie, who supported me and checked in on the project frequently throughout the years. A special thanks to my mom who copy- edited the entire document, as she’s done with most essays since elementary school. Thanks also to my brother-in-law Jonney and friends in Ottawa, Toronto, and elsewhere – you know who you are. Finally, thanks to my colleagues at the Canadian Dairy Commission, who took the time to listen to my tangents over the last years, and provided the support needed to complete my dissertation even during demanding moments. vi Table of Contents Examining Committee Membership................................................................................................. ii Author’s Declaration ........................................................................................................................... iii Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures .........................................................................................................................................

Load more