10 companies that put nearly all the food on supermarket shelves

July 8, 2014, http://blogs.marketwatch.com/themargin/2014/07/08/10-powerful-companies-that-put-nearly-all-the-food-on-supermarket-shelves/

The American supermarket now offers more than 38,000 items, and an infographic by Oxfam International making its way around the Web reveals how 10 companies are responsible for almost all the processed food and beverages stocked on the shelves.
According to Oxfam, the Big 10 are Coca Cola Co. KO , Nestle , PepsiCo Inc. PEP , General Mills Inc. GIS , Kellogg Co. K , Associated British Foods UK:ABF , Mondelez International MDLZ , Mars, Danone FR:BN  and Unilever UK:ULVR .
The report warns about the dangers of a convoluted global food system: farmers with fewer buyers for their products, agricultural workers exploited and suffering unsafe conditions, consumers unable to keep track of who’s behind the brand, and massive international conglomerates unaware of what’s happening in their own supply chains.
Oxfam also says the food and beverage industry is not doing enough to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, contributing to climate change and ultimately hurting farmers.
A May 2014 report says if the Big 10 were a country, it would be the 25^th highest-polluting nation in the world, more than Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway combined.
(H/T KnowMore)
— Michelle Coffey