The Ethics and Economics of Agrifood Competition

275 Pages·2013·2.43 MB·English

by  Harvey S. James Jr. Ph.D. (auth.)

The International Library of Environmental,
Agricultural and Food Ethics 20
Harvey S. James, Jr. Editor
The Ethics
and Economics
of Agrifood
Competition
The Ethics and Economics of Agrifood Competition
TheInternationalLibraryofEnvironmental,AgriculturalandFood
Ethics
VOLUME20
SeriesEditors
MichielKorthals,WageningenUniversity,DepartmentofAppliedPhilosophy,
TheNetherlands
PaulB.Thompson,MichiganStateUniversity,DepartmentofPhilosophy,USA
EditorialBoard
AndrewBrennan,LaTrobeUniversity,Melbourne,Australia
LawrenceBusch,Sociology,MichiganStateUniversity,USA
AndrewDobson,KeeleUniversity,UnitedKingdom
RichardHaybes,UniversityofFlorida,USA
DarrylMacer,UNESCOOfficeinBangkok,Thailand
ClarePalmer,TexasA&MUniversity,USA
DorisSchroeder,UniversityofCentralLancashire,UnitedKingdom
Avnerde-Shalit,HebrewUniversityofJerusalem,Israel
Forfurthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/6215
Harvey S. James, Jr.
Editor
The Ethics and Economics
of Agrifood Competition
123
Editor
HarveyS.James,Jr.
DepartmentofAgriculturalandAppliedEconomics
UniversityofMissouri
Columbia,MO,USA
ISSN1570-3010
ISBN978-94-007-6273-2 ISBN978-94-007-6274-9(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-94-007-6274-9
SpringerDordrechtHeidelbergNewYorkLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013934952
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Acknowledgements
This book would not have been possible without the support and cooperation
of a number of people. First, I express appreciation to the authors—a group
of outstanding scholars who greatly improved my understanding of the agrifood
industry.Theymademethinkaboutcompetitioninwaysthatwereinnovativeand
insightful. The authors were also helpful in expanding my network of colleagues
interestedinagrifoodcompetitionandderivativeissuesandproblems.
Second, I acknowledgethe cooperationof organizingcommittees for the 2011
annual meetings of the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society and the
AgriculturalandAppliedEconomicsAssociation.Specialsessionsineachmeeting
allowedmanyoftheauthorstopresentpreliminaryversionsoftheirchaptersandto
receivefeedbackfromareceptivegroupofcolleagues.
Third,becausethebookwaspeerreviewed,itbenefitedfromseveralanonymous
scholarswhoofferedcommentsforimprovingindividualchaptersandthebookas
awhole.Therewereseveralnecessary“coursecorrections”thattookplacebecause
of commentsfrom the reviewers. The book is better because of their constructive
feedback.
Fourth,Iappreciatethesupportofthepublisherandeditorialteam,withwhom
I have worked for a number of years because of my role as editor-in-chief of the
academicjournalAgricultureandHumanValues,alsopublishedbySpringer.
Finally, I am eternally grateful to my wife, Heather, and children, Isaac and
Hannah, who continually encourage me to explore, learn and grow, not only as
a scholar but also as a human being. This book is evidence of their loving and
unqualifiedsupport.
v

Contents
1 IntroductiontotheEthicsandEconomicsofAgrifood
Competition:Connotations,ComplicationsandCommentary........ 1
HarveyS.JamesJr.
PartI ConceptualizingAgrifoodCompetition
2 ConceptualizingFairnessintheContextofCompetition:
PhilosophicalSources ...................................................... 23
PaulB.Thompson
3 AreEthicsandEfficiencyLockedinAntithesis?........................ 37
YashaRohwerandRandallWestgren
4 TheFallacyof“Competition”inAgriculture ........................... 55
MichaelE.Sykuta
5 Efficiency,PowerandFreedom........................................... 75
C.RobertTaylor
6 Networks,PowerandDependencyintheAgrifoodIndustry.......... 99
HarveyS.JamesJr., MaryK.Hendrickson,
andPhilipH.Howard
7 ReapingandSowingforaSustainableFuture:TheImport
ofRomanCatholicSocialTeachingforAgrifoodCompetition........ 127
PatrickFlanagan
PartII AssessingAgrifoodCompetition
8 TheProblemswithPoultryProductionandProcessing................ 155
DouglasH.Constance, FranciscoMartinez-Gomez,
GilbertoAboites-Manrique,andAlessandroBonanno
vii
viii Contents
9 AgriculturalContractingandAgrifoodCompetition .................. 177
AniL.Katchova
10 Trading on Pork and Beans: Agribusiness and
the Construction of the Brazil-China-Soy-Pork
CommodityComplex....................................................... 193
EmelieK.Peine
11 Who’s Got the Power? An Evaluation
of Power Distribution in the German Agribusiness
Industry...................................................................... 211
JonH.Hanf,VeraBelaya,andErikSchweickert
12 LocalFoodsandFoodCooperatives:Ethics,Economics
andCompetitionIssues .................................................... 227
AniL.KatchovaandTimothyA.Woods
13 Price Transparency as a Prerequisite for Fair
Competition:The Case of the EuropeanFoodPrices
MonitoringTool............................................................. 243
AdriennMolna´r,KatrienVanLembergen,FedericoTarantini,
Aime´Heene,andXavierGellynck
Index............................................................................... 263
About the Authors
GilbertoAboites-Manrique,Ph.D.,isaresearcherattheCentrodeInvestigaciones
Socioeconomicas(CenterofSocioeconomicResearch),UniversidadAuto´nomade
Coahuila (Autonomus University of Coahuila) and a professor at Universidad
Auto´noma Agraria Antonio Narro (The Antonio Narro Agrarian Autonomus
University),Saltillo,Coahuila,Me´xico.Mostofhisresearchfocusesontheimpacts
of globalization on the State of Coahuila and Mexico regarding labor, the home,
andpatternsoffoodconsumption.
Vera Belaya, Ph.D., is a scientific researcher at Institute of Farm Economics
of Johann Heinrich von Thu¨nen-Institute (vTI). She completed her Ph.D. at the
Department of Agricultural Markets, Marketing and World Agricultural Trade of
the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe
(IAMO). Vera received her diploma in Accounting and Auditing from Economic
Faculty of Astana Agrarian University (Kazakhstan) and her master’s degree
in Business Administration in Agriculture from University of Applied Sciences
Weihenstephan (Germany). Vera has published in such journals as Journal of
Relationship Marketing, The Marketing Review, Post-Communist Economies and
Journal for East European Management Studies and presented several papers at
a number of international scientific conferences. Vera’s research areas include
business to business marketing, strategic management, and economic assessment
offoodsafety,amongothers.
Alessandro Bonanno, Ph.D., is TexasState UniversitySystem RegentsProfessor
ofSociologyandScholarinResidenceatSamHoustonStateUniversity.Inrecent
years,Dr.Bonannohasresearchedtheimplicationsthatglobalizationhasforsocial
relationsandinstitutions.Inparticularandemployingtheagro-foodsectorasanem-
piricalareaofconcentration,heinvestigatedtheimpactthatglobalizationhasonthe
state,democracyandtheemancipatoryoptionsofsubordinategroups.Dr.Bonanno
haswrittenand/oredited14booksandmorethan100referredpublicationswhich
appearedinEnglishandothermajorlanguages.Hisworkappearedinjournalssuch
asSociologicalQuarterly,RuralSociology,AmericanStudies,CurrentPerspectives
inSociologicalTheory,CriticalSociology,SociologicalSpectrum,JournalofRural
ix