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A recent report by Oxfam International has found that during the pandemic. The report, released ahead of this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, .

Food and agribusiness billionaires reportedly raised their collective wealth by 42 percent in the past two years, all while global food prices soared by 33.6 percent in 2021, and are expected to rise by another 23 percent in 2022.

Cargill, the food company giant, is , surpassing even last year's record-breaking US$5 billion. Indeed, three members of the Cargill family joined the in mid-April.

Canadian food corporations are also posting strong growth. Loblaws rose almost 40 percent compared to last year.

Sky-rocketing food inflation

While inflation is caused by several factors, one of the more pernicious can be traced back to the extreme levels of corporate concentration along the food supply chain.

The pandemic initially in our supposedly efficient industrialized food system through , and . Now, we can add high food prices and growing inequality to the list.

Food price inflation has grown much faster than general inflation for decades. Canada's , and the food inflation rate in the country has reached 7.4 percent.

According to this year's , the average grocery bill increased by a whopping 70 percent between 2000 and 2020, and median incomes have not kept pace.

In the midst of this, companies have experienced record profits. This indicates that they have the market power to insulate themselves from these shocks by .

Concentrated food supply

Canada is : Cargill and JBS Foods slaughter 95 percent of Canadian cattle, while Weston Bakeries and Canada Bread account for 80 percent of the bread market. Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart and Costco all hold roughly 80 percent of grocery market sales.

Consumers are not the only ones suffering the consequences. Retailers have continued to raise food prices, while for decades.

Corporate concentration is intimately linked to the industrialization of food systems. , both aimed at increasing efficiency.

Economies of scale—gains that are realized as a result of increased scale—and government policies aimed at increasing production have resulted in a in Canada and the U.S. between the mid-20th century and today.

This shift has led to a concentration in business competition and along supply chains, facilitated by lax government oversight. Companies were also motivated to merge with and acquire others as a strategy to deliver shareholder value.

'Greedflation'

While many recognize the negative results of our industrialized food systems—high greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss and the promotion of highly processed foods, to name a few—they are for growing populations.

However, the showing that might be contributing to food price hikes questions the validity of this claim.

A on "greedflation" explores the connection between corporate concentration more generally and higher prices. Greedflation occurs when large corporations jack up their prices during times of extreme strife—like during a worldwide pandemic.

The article notes that, although corporate concentration has existed for decades without corresponding inflation, the unique set of circumstances borne out of the pandemic has changed things.

Supply shortages, combined with increased worker bargaining power, have driven corporations to switch from squeezing suppliers to squeezing consumers. Both approaches demonstrate the perils of concentrated corporate power.

More diverse food production

Higher food prices, partly as a result of corporate concentration, have furthered the case for supporting more diverse, local food production, processing and markets. With any luck, this mounting evidence will translate to investments in alternative food systems.

During the pandemic, these to adapt to crisis in a way that the longer, more distant and concentrated supply chains of industrialized markets could not.

Community-supported agriculture programs, food hubs and online direct distribution platforms between farmers and consumers .

If market concentration facilitates the ability for companies to raise prices for their benefit, it logically follows that smaller-scale, decentralized markets are simply not structured to not enable such tactics. In other words, these smaller markets won't be able to profit off of crisis the way the industrialized markets have been.

To prevent large corporations from exploiting crises like the pandemic, Ukraine war and climate change for their own benefit, we need our governments to invest in smaller-scale alternatives.

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .