ABSTRACT
The impact of globalization on agri-food industries has received significant attention from scholars in the social sciences over the past fifteen years. Drawing upon what has been termed ‘agri-food globalization theory’ (Buttel 2001), there is a broad recognition that the regulatory dynamics underpinning agriculture in Western nations have shifted dramatically. Where, previously, the nation-state exercised considerable control over the regulation of agriculture, the rise of transnational corporations (TNCs) in the agribusiness industries, and global governance agencies – such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank – has resulted in a reconfiguration of political power in which the state is no longer the predominant actor. Much excellent work has been conducted in the fields of agricultural sociology, geography and anthropology attempting to identify the key actors and processes behind this shift (see e.g. Bonanno et al. 1994; Burch et al. 1996; Goodman and Watts 1997; Le Heron 1993; McMichael 1994, 2004; Marsden et al. 1990). However, surprisingly little is known about how these actors and processes exercise an influence over production and consumption.
