Chapter 8 analyses the food value chain in Brazil from the perspective of its antitrust authority (‘CADE’), with a specific focus on the decisions it has rendered. The research focuses on the Brazilian transgenic seed and meat production markets, which are distinguished from one another by the different degrees of technology employed in their production processes. In considering Brazil’s meat exports, this Chapter analyses international barriers for commodities commerce, such as subsidies adopted by developed countries and the United States’ Committee on Foreign Investment (‘CFIUS’).

This Chapter introduces the theme of the book, presents the value chain approach that is followed, and explores the challenges of regulating competition in a changing environment regarding food value chains from a technological, economic and ecological perspectives.

Chapter 18 provides a human rights’ narrative in envisioning the implementation of competition law in the food value chain. The authors argue that competition law, with its inherent focus on market regulation and providing a level playing field to market players, offers a credible conceptual and institutional response for addressing this challenge along transparent, predictable and sustainable lines. They argue that not only does the implementation of the right to food stand to benefit from a market-centred approach but also that competition itself becomes a more “holistic” and meaningful tool for social reform by taking into account values inherent in the progress towards the global right to food by integrating the multi-dimensional reality of the global food supply and retail chain in the assessment of specific commercial practices and/or sectors. The Chapter provides the “grammar” of a more holistic competition policy in this crucial sector for national and global economies and attempts to dissect the actual and potential impact of the right to food rhetoric on competition law enforcement.

Chapter 10 assesses the intervention of competition policy in the process of value chain restructuring. Russia provides a good example for explaining the possibilities and weaknesses of competition policy as a regulatory instrument in the food value chain because both the restructuring of the food sector and the development of the Russian competition law and regulatory system have been developing simultaneously since the beginning of the 21st century. The chapter focuses on the enforcement of competition law as well as industry-specific regulation centred on the retail trade. During the last quarter of the 20th century, the Russian food processing industry became highly concentrated due to numerous mergers and acquisitions. Concurrently, large retail chains emerged. Large participants at both stages of value chain have sought to gain influence in governance of the value chain. Governance in the chain at the same time presumes the redistribution of value towards the governing party. Redistribution therefore becomes an important policy issue. The history of Russian competition enforcement in the food retail chain illustrates the limitations of traditional enforcement tools to effectively correct the distributional distortions within the food value chain, and, therefore, highlights the necessity to look for alternative policy instruments.