We’re pleased to host political economist Jennifer Clapp on March 27 for a public lecture. The lecture is free and will be held in the Sanford Bldg. Rm 03. This lecture is co-sponsored by the Duke Climate & Sustainability Initiative, Sanford’s Duke Center for International Development, the Duke MBA Food & Agriculture Club, and the Duke Farm. This event is presented in partnership with the Environmental Institutions Seminar Series, which is presented by the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability and the University Program in Environmental Policy, a doctoral degree program jointly offered by the Nicholas School of the Environment and Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.
In this talk, political economist Jennifer Clapp explores growing corporate concentration that has become a dominant trend in food systems, with a special focus on the farm inputs sector. The talk highlights the complex drivers of concentration as it has unfolded over the past century, as well as the types of power that concentration confers to the dominant firms in the agrifood sector. The social and ecological impacts of corporate power, and the kinds of policy responses that are required to address them, are also considered.
Please RSVP so we can offer light refreshments.
Bio
Jennifer Clapp is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo. Professor Clapp is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food). From 2019-2023, she served on the Steering Committee of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and was Vice-Chair of that body from 2021-2023. Her latest book is Titans of Industrial Agriculture: How a Few Giant Corporations Came to Dominate the Farm Sector and Why it Matters (MIT Press, 2025).
