Trade, Transnational Corporations and Food Consumption: A Global Value Chain Approach

Abstract

A challenge associated with the nutrition transition in developing countries (i.e., simultaneous presence of over-nutrition and under-nutrition, both being most prevalent in the poorest population segments) is the integration of their markets into the global economy. This integration determined rapid and strong changes in the production and trade of agricultural goods in the developing countries as well as growing foreign direct investments in food processing and retailing, and the expansion of food advertisements with obvious implications for dietary patterns and the risk of obesity. This paper develops a global value chain (GVC) framework for the study of global economic processes, food consumption patterns and obesity. Three country case studies (China, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago) and two company profiles (McDonald’s and PepsiCo) are used to examine the linkages between trade, foreign direct investment and food consumption through a GVC focus.

Keywords: trade, transnational corporations, global value chains, food consumption