THE FOOD INDUSTRY  Fair food - the facts |
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 Food and beverage processing employs one eighth of the world’s industrial labour
force to produce seven hundred billion dollar’s worth of goods -
one fifth of the world’s entire manufacturing output. That’s a lot of
economic muscle, all competing for space inside those finite 1.1 kilogram containers we
call our stomachs. With markets literally reaching satiation point in the West, the
multinational food industry is under pressure to cut costs, increase profits and find new
consumers. The result is a plethora of ever-more processed products and a move towards
producing in and selling to the developing world.
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International taste!
Rich world consumers are still the main customers and employees of
the multinational food giants. But low salaries and a growing percentage of middle-class
consumers in developing countries means corporations are beginning to turn their attention
to the Third World.
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Added value!
The easiest way to make money from food is to take a cheap product, process it by
inexpensive means, then sell it - transformed - at a vast profit.
| product |
price per kg |
| fresh potatoes |
$0.63 |
| powdered potato (when reconstituted) |
$0.99 |
| oven-ready chips |
$1.08 |
| crisps |
$6.60 |
| potato swirls |
$7.20 |
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More for your money!
Since 1940 more and more of the food we eat is processed in some way. The average food
store offered just 1,500 items for sale in 1950. By 1980 that number had increased to over
15,000.
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New recipes!
With food processing concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, it becomes necessary to
preserve it while it is stored and transported to consumers around the world. And, with
one kg of synthetic tomato flavouring replacing, at much less cost, 400 kg of actual
tomatoes, additives have an important place in any processing recipe.
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Sugar delight!
Sugar is used as a ‘bulking agent’ in much processed food. It’s cheap,
it holds water (also cheap), it doesn’t fill you up so it leaves you hungry for more.
Tomato ketchup is 23% sugar; Frosties breakfast cereal is 44% sugar; icecream is 23%
sugar.
| Consumption of white sugar in 1980 |
| Country |
kg per
person |
Country |
kg per
person |
| CHINA |
1.01 |
USA |
37.72 |
| INDIA |
4.05 |
CANADA |
39.01 |
| NIGERIA |
6.90 |
UK |
40.10 |
| JAPAN |
23.46 |
NEW ZEALAND |
46.64 |
| ARGENTINA |
33.86 |
AUSTRALIA |
49.31 |
Source: British Sugar Bureau
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TOTAL
REVENUE 1976
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FOOD AND DRINK
MANUFACTURERS |
Food
Processing
Revenue
($US million)
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Amount
($US million)
|
Proportion
Foreign (%)
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| 1. |
Unilever Ltd (NLD/UK) |
7,900.0
|
14,800.0
|
71.0
|
| 2. |
Nestle Alimentana SA (CHE) |
6,247.8
|
7,247.8
|
95.0
|
| 3. |
Kraft Inc (USA) |
4,775.8
|
4,977.0
|
15.1
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| 4. |
General Foods Corp (USA) |
4,401.6
|
4,910.0
|
25.8
|
| 5. |
Esmark Inc (USA) |
3,955.2
|
5,300.6
|
16.0
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| 6. |
Beatrice Foods Co (USA) |
3,943.0
|
5,289.0
|
21.2
|
| 7. |
Coca-Cola Co Inc (USA) |
2,911.5
|
3,032.8
|
44.0
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| 8. |
Greyhound Corn (USA) |
2,384.9
|
3,738.1
|
n.a.
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| 9. |
Ralston Purina Co (USA) |
2,365.5
|
3,393.8
|
24.4
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| 10. |
Border Inc (USA) |
2,336.3
|
3,381.1
|
16.0
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| 11. |
United Brands Co (USA) |
2,130.4
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2,276.6
|
25.6
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| 12. |
Iowa Beef Processors Inc (USA) |
2,077.2
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2,077.2
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0.0
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| 13. |
Imperial Group Ltd (UK) |
2,070.5
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5,789.9
|
11.7
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| 14. |
Archer-Daniels-Mid.Co (USA) |
2,065.5
|
2,118.5
|
26.7
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| 15. |
Pepsico Inc (USA) |
2.051 .2
|
2,727.6
|
20.8
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| 16. |
Associated British Foods (UK) |
2,050.5
|
3,011 .9
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n.a.
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| 17. |
Carnation Co (USA) |
2,004.5
|
2,167.0
|
15.3
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| 18. |
CPC International Inc (USA) |
1,968.1
|
2,696.0
|
54.7
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| 19. |
LTV Corp (USA) |
1,919.4
|
4,496.9
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n.a.
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| 20. |
Heinz H J Co (USA) |
1,882.0
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1,882.0
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40.7
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| 21. |
Seagram Co Ltd The (CAN) |
1,873.7
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2,048.8
|
94.0
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| 22. |
Banks Hovis McDougall Ltd (UK) |
11,801.1
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1,860.6
|
13.0
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| 23. |
Proctor & Gamble Co (USA) |
1,800.5
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7,349.0
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25.0
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| 24. |
Nabisco Inc (USA) |
1,780.2
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2,027.3
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29.0
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| 25. |
General Mills (USA) |
1,734.7
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2,909.4
|
16.3
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| 26. |
Grand Metropolitan (UK) |
1,704.1
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2,974.0
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n.a.
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| 27. |
Unigate Ltd (UK) |
1,640.4
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1,743.4
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10.0
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| 28. |
Campbell Soup Co (USA) |
1,590.9
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1,635.0
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11.0
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| 29. |
Cadbury Schweppes Ltd (UK) |
1,522.6
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1,589.9
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40.0
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| 30. |
Associated Milk Producers (USA) |
1,500.0
|
1,623.0
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0.0
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| 31. |
Mars Inc (USA) |
1,500.0
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1,500.0
|
60.0
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| 32. |
BSN-Gervais Danone SA (FRA) |
1,444.8
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2,641.3
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41.0
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| 33. |
Allied Breweries Ltd (UK) |
1,430.3
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1,787.9
|
15.0
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| 34. |
Anderson Clayton (USA) |
1,425.0
|
1,557.0
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n.a.
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| 35. |
ITT (USA) |
1,422.0
|
11,764.0
|
49.0
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| 36. |
Standard Brands Inc (USA) |
1,411.8
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11,810.0
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33.0
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| 37. |
Cargill Inc (USA) |
1,400.0
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10,800.0
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n.a.
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| 38. |
Kellogg Co (USA) |
1,385.5
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1,385.5
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20.3
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| 39. |
Canada Packers Ltd (CAN) |
1,382.5
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1,634.9
|
14.6
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| 40. |
Anheuser-Busch Inc (USA) |
1,357.4
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1,441 .0
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0.0
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| 41. |
Central Soya Co Inc (USA) |
1,348.6
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1,839.9
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11.1
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| 42. |
Mitsui & Co Ltd (JPN) |
1,320.6
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1 2,993.3
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n.a.
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| 43. |
Heublein Inc (USA) |
1,291.2
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1,550.9
|
14.5
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| 44. |
Union International Co (UK) |
1,274.3
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1,592.9
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n.a.
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| 45. |
Del Monte Corp (USA) |
1,270.9
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1,483.8
|
27.4
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| 46. |
Suntory (JPN) |
1,200.0
|
1,376.5
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n.a.
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| 47. |
Spilters Ltd (UK) |
1,189.9
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1,254.5
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7.0
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| 48. |
Norton Simon Inc (USA) |
1,159.6
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1,807.7
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16.7
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| 49. |
Consolidated Foods Corp (USA) |
1,154.4
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2,754.9
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13.0
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| 50. |
Lyons J & Co Ltd (UK) |
1,147.5
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1,466.7
|
57.0
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| 51. |
Brooke Bond Liebig Ltd (UK) |
1,119.4
|
19193.9
|
61.0
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| 52. |
Snow Brand Milk Products (JPN) |
1,101 .6
|
1,324.7
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n.a.
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| 53. |
Hormel Geo A & Co (USA) |
1,094.8
|
1,094.8
|
2.1
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| 54. |
Oscar Mater & Co Inc (USA) |
1,087.8
|
1,133.1
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n.a.
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| 55. |
Quaker Oats Co (USA) |
1,070.2
|
1,551 .3
|
29.5
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| 56. |
Amstar Corp (USA) |
1,034.0
|
1,118.5
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n.a.
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| 57. |
Land OLakes (USA) |
1,022.2
|
1,241.6
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0.0
|
| 58. |
United Biscuits Holdings (UK) |
1,012.1
|
1,053.0
|
n.a.
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| 59. |
Bass Charrington (UK) |
1,010.1
|
1,619.6
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n.a.
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| 60. |
Tate & Lyle Ltd (UK) |
1,005.5
|
5,169.1
|
35.0
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Source: United Nations Centre for Transnational Corporations, 1981
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