A Vertical Decline
After World War II, vertical integration emerged in response to the need to increase outputs, i.e. what the farmer produced, and the need to control natural inputs, e.g. weather, climate, soil, geology, latitude, land aspects, etc. Unfortunately, monopolization has occurred by large companies, in a systemic way, to control all aspects of food production and distribution. This process closes the loop of inputs and outputs, and links the farmer in a way that makes him the worker, bound by contractual measures, in a structure designed to protect the shareholder (Lewontin, 2000).
The legalities and government decisions made to shelter the proprietary nature of biotechnology inventions in the agriculture arena, places a suspicion on the intentions of the major industry players. When seeds have been genetically altered to produce no seedlings, or become resistant to an herbicide using genome control technology, the natural origin of our food’s existence is threatened. Lewontin compares the chicken industry, noting, “Detailed control of inputs and farming practices are entirely in the hands” (pg. 104) of conglomerate poultry companies and not with the farmer. As a benefit of these technologies, the farmer no longer has to rely on unpredictable natural inputs. This ensures a more stable income for themselves.
The rise of vertical integration in agriculture was and is a necessary means to no end. Given all its faults in the United States, Tansey and Worsley (2000) noted strikingly comparable vertical shifts in Europe as far back as the 6th century. New technologies in those times included machinery to assist the labor of a farmer, and help increase crop production and for the growing population (Magdoff, Foster, & Buttel, 2000). Thirteen centuries later, “scientific experiments began to focus on how plants and animals grew,” (Magdoff, Foster, & Buttel, 2000) setting the stage for what's to come.
Lewontin, Richard C. (2000) “The maturing of capitalist agriculture: farmer as proletarian,” pp. 93–106 in Fred Magdoff, John B. Foster, and Frederick H. Buttel (eds.), Hungry for Profit: The Agribusiness Threat to Farmers, Food, and the Environment. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Magdoff, F., Foster, J. B., & Buttel, F. H. (2000). Hungry for Profit: The Agribusiness Threat to Farmers, Food and the Environment. New York, NY: Monthly Review Press.
Tansey, G., & Worsley, T. (1995). The Food System: A Guide. London: Earthscan.