Dynamics of the Livestock Revolution: Marginalization and Resistance in Southern Brazil

Abstract

The increased meat consumption during the past 15 years has boosted a dramatic production increase called the Livestock Revolution. This case study from Rio Grande do Sul indicates that the Livestock Revolution causes prosperity for large-scale food processing companies, while small-scale farmers are being marginalized. Utilizing the food regime analysis, this polarizing pattern is interpreted as an expression of the ‘corporate food regime,’ which is challenged by an alternative agri-food paradigm. As farmer resistance constitutes alternatives that fuel the dynamics of the Livestock Revolution, it is argued that these tensions reflect an ongoing crisis of the contemporary food regime.