Concentración de poder en el sistema alimentario mundial Y LA AMENAZA DE LOS GRANDES DATOS

The document examines how mega-mergers and the 'financialization' of agriculture have concentrated control of the food chain in a few giant corporations. It highlights the emerging threat of 'big data' platforms, which allow tech and agribusiness giants to monopolize information, further marginalizing small farmers. The report details negative impacts including reduced farmer autonomy, environmental degradation, and labor exploitation, while advocating for agroecology and the protection of peasant rights as a sustainable alternative.

• Mega-mergers have led to extreme concentration in the seed and agrochemical sectors; four companies control two-thirds of global industrial seed sales and approximately 70% of global agrochemical sales. Three companies—Bayer (including Monsanto), Corteva Agriscience, and Syngenta—appear on both lists.
• Financial institutions have become primary drivers of consolidation in the food chain since the 2007-2008 financial crisis, treating land and agricultural commodities as tradable assets for speculation. By 2016, the six largest asset managers held between 15% and 33% of shares in the 'big six' agrochemical and seed companies.
• The emergence of 'big data' platforms is shifting the competitive advantage toward companies that can collect and manipulate the most data, enabling tech giants like Google, Alibaba, and Amazon to enter the food system and negotiate directly with farmers.
• Digitalization and big data tools, such as blockchain and 'dark pools', can reduce transaction costs by up to 40% for agribusiness and financial institutions, but they also hide market information from states, potentially risking food security for importing countries.
• The industrial food chain is a primary cause of climate change due to its greenhouse gas emissions, and further concentration exacerbates environmental risks, such as the erosion of genetic diversity and increased pest incidence through the use of GMOs and gene drives.
• Concentration of power negatively impacts small-scale producers—who still provide over 70% of global food production—by lowering their incomes, restricting their autonomy through unfavorable contract farming, and forcing them into precarious labor.

APA

Donicie, C. (2019). Concentración de poder en el sistema alimentario mundial Y LA AMENAZA DE LOS GRANDES DATOS. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2019-Concentración-de-poder-en-el-sistema-alimentario-mundial-y-la-amenaza-de-los-Grandes-Datos.pdf

Chicago

Donicie, Camiel. Concentración de poder en el sistema alimentario mundial Y LA AMENAZA DE LOS GRANDES DATOS. Friends of the Earth International, 2019. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2019-Concentración-de-poder-en-el-sistema-alimentario-mundial-y-la-amenaza-de-los-Grandes-Datos.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Donicie |first1=Camiel |title=Concentración de poder en el sistema alimentario mundial Y LA AMENAZA DE LOS GRANDES DATOS |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=April 2019 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2019-Concentración-de-poder-en-el-sistema-alimentario-mundial-y-la-amenaza-de-los-Grandes-Datos.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{donicie2019concentracin, author = {Donicie, Camiel}, title = {{Concentración de poder en el sistema alimentario mundial Y LA AMENAZA DE LOS GRANDES DATOS}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2019}, month = apr, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2019-Concentración-de-poder-en-el-sistema-alimentario-mundial-y-la-amenaza-de-los-Grandes-Datos.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }