Oxfam Ranks the Top Ten Food Companies
This morning I enjoyed a glass of Minute Maid orange juice. Thanks to
Oxfam’s Behind the Brands campaign, I’m aware not only that Minute Maid is a
Coca-Cola product, but also how the corporation compares as one of the top 10 food
companies in the world. Through the interactive “Behind the Brands” website, I
learned the company scores higher on policies related to climate change and treatment
of women, but needs to work on how it handles land rights and support for
farmers.
I care where my food comes from, and the values behind the brand, but it’s
not always easy to differentiate at the supermarket. A typical grocery store in
the U.S. has over 38,000 products. Though when you break it down, the amount of
choice is pretty deceptive. Most of these products are owned by only a few
companies. 
In a world with 7 billion food
consumers, only 500 companies control 70% of food choice. That Minute Maid orange juice I chose is
one of a thousand different juice products that Coca-Cola sells. Nestle, Mars,
and Mondelez control 40 percent of the cocoa market worldwide. These top ten companies report yearly revenues comparable
to the GDP of small countries and collectively make more than a
billion a day.
List of Companies
Company
|
Annual
total revenues
|
Forbes
2000 ranking (food and beverage
brands) (April 2012)
|
1. Nestle
|
90.3 billion USD
|
1
|
2. PepsiCo
|
66.5 billion USD
|
2
|
3. Unilever
|
60.2 billion USD
|
4
|
4. Kraft (Mondelez)
|
55.4 billion USD
|
5 (combined firm)
|
5. Coca-Cola
|
44.3 billion USD
|
3
|
6. Mars
|
30.0 billion USD
|
Not ranked
|
7. Danone
|
25.0 billion USD
|
6
|
8. Associated British Foods
|
17.2 billion USD
|
8
|
9. General Mills
|
15.0 billion USD
|
7
|
10. Kellogg’s
|
13.2 billion USD
|
9
|
These companies control a large share of the market and make
decisions that affect global supply chains. Unfortunately, the complexity we
see at the grocery store extends beyond the consumer. According to the Oxfam report, “The global
food system has become so complex, food and beverage companies themselves often
know little about their own supply chains. Where a particular product I grown
and processed, by whom, and in what conditions are questions few companies can
answer accurately and rarely share with consumers.”
After 18 months of
research, Oxfam has helped elucidate the "Big 10" companies’ social and environmental practices.
The scorecards for each company reveal how it ranks regarding transparency,
women, workers, small-scale farmers, climate, and rights to land and water. The Behind the Brands campaign explains, "We've looked at the biggest food companies' policies on issues from water to women, the way they expect their suppliers to behave on these issues, and what they do to measure and improve their impact on every worker and farmer who helps them put products in shops." The
scorecard will change as companies update their policies—encouraging corporations
to “race to the top” to improve their standings.
Though power is concentrated in the
hands of a few, we have enormous influence as consumers. I’m not saying you
have to stop eating Dannon yogurt due to Danone’s policies regarding farmers or
avoid Oreos because Mondelez lacks policies on women Instead, make your voice
heard. Go to Behind the Brands to sign the petition and let these companies
know exactly what needs to be changed.
