Corporate harm and embedded labour exploitation in agri-food supply networks

Abstract

Harm facilitated by corporations has received increased attention in recent years. However, corporate crime and harm remain under-researched themes in relation to labour exploitation, in both theoretical and empirical terms. The purpose of this article is to argue that, in the context of agricultural and food supply networks, harmful labour practices result from structural problems associated with the demand for products. Although individual employers and businesses have a role in facilitating these harmful practices, these practices also emerge from otherwise legitimate agri-food supply network dynamics, such as subcontracted labour, which results in fragmented responsibility. Therefore, labour practices have significant implications for the nature, organization and control of corporate harms, whereby harmful consequences become normalized, accepted and embedded in agri-food supply network practices. Criminological analyses of food production and contemporary markets more widely can begin to address the systemic challenges of harmful labour practices, in both domestic and global supply networks.