Brazil and China and the new wave of innovations in the global agrifood system

Abstract

A precondition for the design of public policies and the promotion of appropriate forms of governance is
a correct understanding of the transformations underway in the global agrifood system and the ways in which these affect Brazil. We argue that innovation has shifted from agriculture to food led by actors not
committed to the traditional agrifood system but motivated by global concerns of food security. China’s
extraordinary economic growth is currently driving the global demand for animal protein with Brazil
as its principal supplier, and although currently China is overwhelmingly dependent on Brazil’s exports,
it is striving to diversify its sources and modify its consumption practices. Included in these strategies
is support for radical alternative animal protein options. We conclude that although official projections suggest the continuation of long-term demand for traditional forms of animal protein and, therefore, also for the continued dynamism of Brazil’s grains/meat sectors, China’s systemic combination of policies to reduce its external dependence require that Brazil addresses the need for more radical reconversion policies than currently envisaged.