Atlas

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

Facts and figures about the corporations that control what we eat

German version (Konzernatlas 2026)

AgribusinessAtlas web dossier banner — Image credits

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, IPES-Food, Friends of the Earth Europe, Association of Ethical Shareholders

Published: September 2026

A handful of corporations dominate our food system, setting prices, profiting from crises, and driving relentless pressure on the environment, farmers, and consumers alike. The Agribusiness Atlas 2026 traces how this concentration of power took hold, and charts the political pathways toward a fairer food system built around the common good.

PRESS RELEASE | Europe must curb agribusiness’ lobbying power to tackle climate, biodiversity, food and farming crises

Press release

New ‘Agribusiness Atlas’ reveals how a handful of corporations increasingly control what we eat.

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, IPES-Food, Friends of the Earth Europe

All articles from the Agribusiness Atlas 2026

Background and trends | Our food | Who benefits? | Solutions

Agribusiness Atlas 2026: Foreword

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

The world faces its fourth wave of global food price crises in just 20 years. This atlas not only documents the damaging impacts of corporate power within the food system but also highlights practical alternatives and successful efforts to curb corporate dominance and guarantee access to healthy, affordable food.

Dr. Imme Scholz, Lim Li Ching, Olivier De Schutter, Matilda Flemming, Christian Russau

12 brief lessons about corporate power

Our food

Meat and dairy: Cows, cash, and carbon

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

The world's largest meat and dairy corporations emit as much greenhouse gas as entire countries and resist limits using fossil fuel lobby tactics. Data is key to accountability, but progress on reporting remains slow and under threat.

Reinhild Benning, Claire Stockwell

Blue food: Big fisheries take over

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

A handful of corporations now shape what kind of fish and seafood reach dinner plates worldwide. The industry has grown more concentrated and industrialised, from Norwegian salmon farms to global supply chains. Aquaculture has surged, yet wild stocks remain under pressure as fleets push further offshore. The shift is changing who profits and at what cost to consumers and the environment.

Phil Howard

Pesticides: Exports despite a ban

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

Agrochemical corporations export pesticides that are banned in the European Union to countries where safeguards for health and the environment are weak. For BASF, Bayer, Syngenta and others, this is a lucrative business. For many people in the Global South, the consequences are severe.

Dr. Silke Bollmohr, Susan Haffmans

Seeds: Plants under copyright control

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

Seeds form the foundation of our food supply. Yet they are increasingly controlled by a small number of multinational corporations. New genetic engineering techniques are accelerating this trend. Together, these developments are eroding biological diversity and pushing farmers around the world into ever greater dependence.

Pia Voelker, Daniela Wannemacher

Who benefits?

Water privatisation: Thirst for profit

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

Access to clean water is a human right since 2010. Yet this vital resource is increasingly coming under corporate control. Across the world, corporations extract groundwater and spring water, selling it in branded bottles at prices that are often many times higher than those of tap water.

Inka Dewitz

Animal feed: The power behind soya

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

A small number of global players dominate the trade in animal feed, much of which is produced at the expense of rainforest and savannah clearance and the displacement of Indigenous communities. At the end of these supply chains, soya from corporations such as Cargill ends up in feed troughs on farms across Europe.

Lena Luig

Price and profit: How power shapes food prices

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

How are food prices determined? How are profits distributed along the supply chain? For consumers, this is often quite hard to discern. Scientific studies consistently show that prices are rarely determined by supply and demand alone. Instead, they are shaped by power relations within the food system.

Christophe Alliot

Fair prices for farmers: When prices fail to sustain incomes

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

Deregulation of agricultural markets has led to volatile prices, unequal subsidies and farmers often selling below production costs. This undermines livelihoods and sustainable farming. Stronger European market regulation and fair pricing rules are needed to secure stable incomes and sustainability, and drive the much-needed agroecological transition.

Anna Wolff, Eliaz Moreau

Public procurement: The public plate's untapped power

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

Public food procurement is largely driven by cost minimisation, reinforcing corporate concentration and the spread of ultra-processed foods. Brazil offers a different model, using public purchasing to support smallholder farmers and improve diets.

Raj Patel

Solutions

Public groceries: How to fix a broken market

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

For millions of households in the United States, putting food on the table has become a daily struggle. Meanwhile, a handful of powerful suppliers dominate everyday staples such as eggs, soft drinks, beef, chocolate. By doing so, they reap enormous profits. One possible solution: public-sector stores that treat food not as a commodity but as a public good to make healthy, affordable food accessible to everyone. This idea could help reshape the food system.

Errol Schweizer

Territorial markets: The future of African food systems

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

Across Africa, millions of people still rely on territorial markets rooted in local food cultures and informal trade. As food imports rise and ultra-processed diets spread, these food networks are not relics of the past, but essential to Africa's future. Yet these systems are rarely in the focus of agricultural or investment policy.

Million Belay

Price regulation: A shield against crises

Agribusiness Atlas 2026

Wars and speculation are pushing up prices of agricultural commodities and food worldwide. Public buffer stocks for food can help cushion inflation and the impact of price shocks.

Lena Luig, Merle Schulken, Isabella Weber

Download the Agribusiness Atlas 2026

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Launch event | 30 September 2026

Launch of the Agribusiness Atlas 2026 - Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union

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