Behind every bite that reaches our plate lies a complex network of activities, institutions, and financial flows that shape what food is available to us. This network is what we call a food economy
At its simplest, a food economy is the economic side of the food system. While a food system includes everything that brings your food to your table – along with the ecological, social and health impacts of each step – a food economy focuses specifically on how food is produced, traded, sold and valued.
A food economy encompasses every stage of the food journey: from production, processing, and distribution to retail, consumption and even waste management. It includes the people and businesses who grow crops, raise livestock, process and package food, transport it, sell it, and ultimately the shoppers who buy and eat it. Understanding this network is essential because the shape and structure of the food economy determine who has power, who benefits and who gets left behind.
The Current State of Canada’s Food Economy
Canada’s food economy is highly concentrated, meaning a small number of firms control large portions of the market. For instance, five major retailers control 76% of the country’s food retail market. Concentration can be even more extreme in less visible segments of the food economy, as documented by Jennifer Clapp and Keldon Bester in their article The Monopoly Problem at the Heart of Canada’s Food System. Fertilizer production is dominated by a single company controlling 60% of North American potash. And duopolies abound - from Canola seed production to farm equipment, to beef slaughterhouses where, in Canada, nearly 100% are controlled by two companies. The truth is: the food system Canada built over the last century is exceedingly good at solving the problem of export and efficiency of production. However, we have lost sight of other values: sustainability, soil health, and food as a social good.
Challenges in the Current Food Economy
This concentration creates what experts call “choke points” in the system, where a small number of actors can exert disproportionate influence over supply, pricing, labour conditions, and environmental practices. This becomes evident in basic household staples. Bread prices have risen far more sharply than the price farmers receive for wheat, while bacon prices climbed even as hog prices fell.
The costs borne by consumers are increasingly decoupled from the prices paid to farmers.
Choke Points on a Global Scale
The concentration and choke points observed in Canada are mirrored globally. With roughly 8 billion consumers and 608 million farmers worldwide, a small number of corporations hold disproportionate control over seeds, agrochemicals, breeding, processing, and commodity trade. Even though nature provides seeds for free, four companies have managed to assert control over 60% of the global seed market. The same four companies control between 60-62% of the global agrochemical market. We see the same pattern in the pesticide market, where the global economy rewards a few main players for their toxic inputs to our food system.
In a system where profit is the ultimate end and environmental costs need not be accounted for, where countless small producers are subject to the terms set by a handful of dominant actors, this pattern creates structural vulnerabilities and significant risk. In Canada and across the globe, from seeds to package goods, a small number of firms wield outsized influence over prices, policy and consumer choice. Yet this is far from the only way food economies can operate. Alternatives already exist; they just need stronger supports.
In Canada, there are roughly 6,900 independent grocery stores, even the biggest of which are facing challenges trying to compete against the grocery giants, and 14% of Canadian farms rely on direct sales. Despite significant obstacles, thousands of business leaders across the country are actively cultivating a different path. Farmers like Derek and Tannis Axten of Axten Farms in Saskatchewan are revitalizing soil through regenerative practices while processing and selling grain directly to customers. In Ontario, Dave Kranenburg’s Green Circle Food Hub connects producers and eaters, improving access to fresh, sustainable food while demonstrating strong demand for regional systems. These examples show that a food economy designed for ecological sustainability, local well-being, and community resilience is not just possible, it’s already underway.
Looking Forward
Canada’s approach for the next century must focus on building a food system that truly serves people and planet. By re-orienting food as a social good and prioritizing the health and well-being of local economies, we can nurture a food system that delivers meaningful outcomes: improved human health, ecological health and community resilience. By strengthening connections between producers and eaters, rewarding stewardship, and supporting thriving local food economies, we can create a food system whose benefits are widely shared and resilient by design.
