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Vertical Integration and Concentration in US Agriculture

Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics

Synonyms

Consolidation; Globalization; Industrialization

Introduction

Vertical integration is the process whereby one firm merges with another firm from which it buys inputs or to which it sells output. Concentration reflects the degree of horizontal integration and defines the extent to which a firm has competitors. The food system in the USA has become increasingly integrated and concentrated during the last 100 years. Economists have long argued that economic factors – most notably economic efficiency – largely explain the increase in vertical integration and concentration in the agrifood industry (MacDonald et al. 2004), but others implicate the exercise of market power and changes in antitrust policy enforcement as explanations (Carstensen 2008; Hendrickson and Heffernan 2002). Concentration and integration (hereafter simply “consolidation”) in the food system raises a number of important ethical issues for farmers, agribusiness firms, and consumers. These ethical issues are...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Applied Social Sciences, University of Missouri, 200 B Gentry Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Mary Hendrickson, Harvey James & William D. Heffernan (Professor Emeritus)

Authors
  1. Mary Hendrickson
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  2. Harvey James
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  3. William D. Heffernan
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Correspondence to Mary Hendrickson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Michigan State University Dept. Philosophy, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

    Paul B. Thompson

  2. University of North Texas Dept. Philosophy & Religion Studies, Denton, Texas, USA

    David M. Kaplan

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Hendrickson, M., James, H., Heffernan, W.D. (2013). Vertical Integration and Concentration in US Agriculture. In: Thompson, P., Kaplan, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_216-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_216-1

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Vertical Integration and Concentration in US Agriculture
    Published:
    19 February 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_216-2

  2. Original

    Vertical Integration and Concentration in US Agriculture
    Published:
    13 February 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_216-1

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