On Wednesday, 30th April, Grassroots Action on Food and Farming (a daughter-project of Corporate Watch), in conjunction with the Small and Family Farmers Association, hosted a conference at the Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC).

The event was designed to bring together those organisations and individuals who have identified the concentration of market power held by multinational corporations and retailers as a major barrier to achieving a sustainable food and farming system.

Agribusiness and retailer concentration is having a profound effect on the global food system. This concentration and consolidation of power right through from farm to plate harms both consumers and producers alike. Corporate control of the food system also damages the environment; jeopardises food security and food sovereignty in developing countries; destroys the livelihoods of small producers in the UK and developing countries and exploits farm workers.