Retail supermarkets today offer alternative brands of many fresh and processed foods that claim to have been organically produced. These products satisfy a growing niche market among consumers who are willing to pay premium prices for their perceived additional value.
Despite these initiatives, the reality is that food production has become a major industry controlled by a diminishing number of powerful multinational organisations. Traditional local fresh produce markets are largely redundant, with crops being produced increasingly under contract.
Conventional agriculture, now often referred to as agribusiness, is becoming more intensified worldwide.
There is greater use of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and technical devices and the average farm size is growing.
... to continue reading you must be subscribed
