The different food narratives of agribusiness

Abstract

In the face of the global expansion of environmental problems and public health issues related to food, the literature has given greater attention to the study of the multiple determinations that may influence the transition to sustainable and healthy agri-food systems. Seeking to contribute to the debate, this article analyzes the narratives of different actors related to the agribusiness field on two agendas: food and nutrition security and adequate nutrition. The objective is to examine the ways in which these narratives have been mobilized and modified, both to respond to the critiques and to legitimize claims concerning public policies and legislative proposals. Covering the period between the 1990s and the 2020s, the empirical materials include corporate and state documents, public manifestations by private and political actors, and reports by international organizations. They are approached with a focus on the mobilization of categories, the discursive variations provoked by criticisms, and the heterogeneous representations of the field. The results show that, by losing legitimacy regarding the food and nutrition security agenda in Brazil, dominant representations of the commodity chains begin to privilege discourses that stress their contributions to the exports of these products, while a new controversy gains momentum, one that relates food to health.