Feeding the Planet or Feeding Us a Line? Agribusiness, 'Grainwashing' and Hunger in the World Food System

Abstract

In this article I examine hunger in the world food system in light of agribusiness corporate environmental communications. Using data gleaned from advertisements and websites, I examine the messages of companies such as Arch- er Daniels Midland, Cargill, and Monsanto, among others, selling their contri- butions toward sustainability and alleviating hunger through biotechnology and globalization. In analysing these I contrast claims of corporate social responsibil- ity with what I call 'grainwashing', which misleads the public. This analysis is important to an ever-evolving sociology of agriculture and food in which struc- tural challenges, conflict, power, and inequality determine hunger in a system in which people lack food sovereignty or food justice. It connects the study of agri- business and hunger to environmental sociology and theoretical considerations such as treadmill of production and ecological modernization ideas explaining corporate environmental communication and practices.