Abstract
Recent years have seen the convergence of industries that focus on higher protein foods, such as meat processing firms expanding into plant-based substitutes and/or cellular meat production, and fisheries firms expanding into aquaculture. A driving force behind these changes is dominant firms seeking to increase their power relative to close competitors, including by extending beyond boundaries that pose constraints to growth. The broad banner of “protein” offers a promising space to achieve this goal, despite its nutritionally reductionist focus on a single macronutrient. Protein firm strategies to increase their dominance are likely to further diminish equity in food systems by exacerbating power asymmetries. In addition, the resilience of food systems has the potential to be weakened as these strategies tend to reduce organizational diversity, as well as the genetic diversity of livestock and crops. To better understand these changes, we visually characterize firms that are most dominant in higher protein food industries globally and their recent strategic moves. We discuss the likelihood for these trends to further jeopardize food system resilience and equity, and we make recommendations for avoiding these impacts.
Highlights
IntroductionA significant restructuring has been underway across food systems
Over the past decade, a significant restructuring has been underway across food systems
After a spate of mega-mergers sparked unprecedented consolidation in the seed, agrichemical, fertilizer, animal genetics, and farm machinery industries (IPES-Food, 2017), a similar convergence toward monopoly is occurring under the umbrella of protein
Summary
A significant restructuring has been underway across food systems. The largest catch fisheries firms have expanded into aquaculture (Uzunca and Li, 2018), and dominant food processors are increasing their size and scope to offer numerous higher-protein foods—these include microbial proteins, insects and cellular (labgrown or cultured) meat and fish (Mouat et al, 2019). This broader emphasis is highlighted in the language of several leading meat processors—Cargill and Maple Leaf Foods describe themselves as “protein companies,” and Tyson Foods has gone so far as trademarking the phrase “The Protein Company.”. A growing body of research has analyzed the impacts of global livestock and fish production, in regards to animal-source foods’ effects on public health, the environment, and social and animal welfare (Pauly et al, 2002; Steinfeld et al, 2006; Worm et al, 2006; Rockström et al, 2009; HLPE, 2014; Bowles et al, 2019; Ryschawy et al, 2019; Willett et al, 2019; FAO, 2020b)
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