Commodity
chains and consumption are intrinsically linked as the goods that are on the
supermarket shelves every day and their origin are often seldom to thought and
may be a very trivial thing to consumers. A commodity chain allows for the
development of connections between the final commodity and the social,
environmental and geographical processes involved in its production. In order
to understand commodity chains and the way in which they work, one must first
grasp the concept of commodity fetishism. This refers to the belief that
commodities and products fall from the sky into our consumer baskets. Although
a commodity may appear simple, it may give the ideology that it is only
consisted of things that make it into the product it is, however, products and
commodities are far more than just the ingredients to a commodity for example,
they each have a unique background of condensed material and social
relationships that are often invisible to consumers. According to Karl Marx
1818-1883 theories, “When we see a world of things, and mistake social
relationships as the relationship between those things, we engage in fetishism.
The analogy is with earlier times when ideas were given a life of their own, an
independent existence. Under capitalism we give commodities a life of their
own, an independent existence, and thereby fetishise.”
Fetishism, similarly to other other social constructs can be deconstructed; deconstruction in two ways, first by comprehending the way in which products are made, and secondly by comprehending the reasoning behind their construction. By constructing a commodity chain, it allows defetishisation, which refers to viewing commodities as a holistic production, which embodies groups of social and geographical processes and also to including all the groups of people that had a part to play in making the commodity as well as selling it. Commodity chains as defined by (Leslie and Reimer 1999) as “the network of labour and production processes whose end result is a finished commodity; the notion of traces the entire trajectory of a product from its conception and design, through production, retailing and final consumption. Commodity chains are defined as the network of labour and production processes whose end result is a finished commodity. Chains constitute sets of interorganizational networks clustered around one commodity or product, linking households, enterprises and states”. As Leslie and Reimer stated, commodity chains consist of a number of interlinked separate processes that follow the trend of conception, design, production, retailing and consumption each of which are influenced by networks and systematic linkages of elements, for example spatial divisions of labour. Commodity chains are also defined by Hopkins and Wallerstein (1986) as “a network of labour and production processes whose end result is a finished commodity”. In the global market that exists today, in the production of a single product, it often involves different processes taking place in various countries or regions with each region performing a task in which it has an advantage when speaking of cost for production. This is purposed by Dicken et al. 1992 who state that, “Capitalism today thus entails the detailed disaggregation of stages of production and consumption across national boundaries, under the organizational structure of densely networked firms or enterprises”. Commodity chains are comprised of a number of networks, which are fragile and require heterogeneous elements in order to create a final homogenous product. Each commodity chain consists of a number of nodes which have flows between each point, according to Hopkins and Wallerstein 1986, the nodes are, the relations of production, the dominant organization of production and the geographical loci of the operation in question”. Early works presented commodity chains as simplified networks that goes in a specified order and flows in one given direction; however networks can be more complex and can flow back and forth between nodes. This is evident in the works of Gereffi and Korzeniewicz (1990) who emphasize the importance of including both forward and backward links from the production stage in defining a commodity chain.
Fetishism, similarly to other other social constructs can be deconstructed; deconstruction in two ways, first by comprehending the way in which products are made, and secondly by comprehending the reasoning behind their construction. By constructing a commodity chain, it allows defetishisation, which refers to viewing commodities as a holistic production, which embodies groups of social and geographical processes and also to including all the groups of people that had a part to play in making the commodity as well as selling it. Commodity chains as defined by (Leslie and Reimer 1999) as “the network of labour and production processes whose end result is a finished commodity; the notion of traces the entire trajectory of a product from its conception and design, through production, retailing and final consumption. Commodity chains are defined as the network of labour and production processes whose end result is a finished commodity. Chains constitute sets of interorganizational networks clustered around one commodity or product, linking households, enterprises and states”. As Leslie and Reimer stated, commodity chains consist of a number of interlinked separate processes that follow the trend of conception, design, production, retailing and consumption each of which are influenced by networks and systematic linkages of elements, for example spatial divisions of labour. Commodity chains are also defined by Hopkins and Wallerstein (1986) as “a network of labour and production processes whose end result is a finished commodity”. In the global market that exists today, in the production of a single product, it often involves different processes taking place in various countries or regions with each region performing a task in which it has an advantage when speaking of cost for production. This is purposed by Dicken et al. 1992 who state that, “Capitalism today thus entails the detailed disaggregation of stages of production and consumption across national boundaries, under the organizational structure of densely networked firms or enterprises”. Commodity chains are comprised of a number of networks, which are fragile and require heterogeneous elements in order to create a final homogenous product. Each commodity chain consists of a number of nodes which have flows between each point, according to Hopkins and Wallerstein 1986, the nodes are, the relations of production, the dominant organization of production and the geographical loci of the operation in question”. Early works presented commodity chains as simplified networks that goes in a specified order and flows in one given direction; however networks can be more complex and can flow back and forth between nodes. This is evident in the works of Gereffi and Korzeniewicz (1990) who emphasize the importance of including both forward and backward links from the production stage in defining a commodity chain.
Historical,
environmental and social conditions:
Country
of origin:
Florida’s
Natural orange Juice is produced in central Florida, United States of America.
Florida’s Natural Growers is a citrus processing co-operative that produces
many other juices in addition to orange juice. The citrus processing
co-operative was founded in the year 1933 and today consist of over one
thousand independent growers in the co-operative processing and marketing
company who own more than 50,000 acres of citrus groves in central Florida.
Source:
Florida’s Natural Website- http://www.floridasnatural.com
History of citrus globally and History
of citrus in Florida.
Citrus
plant origins historically date back to approximately twenty million years, and
may have had origins in South-East Asia. Traders and explorers took citrus from
Asia to the middle -east as well as Africa and Rome. The original citrus plant
was bitter to the taste but Portuguese explorers introduced a sweeter variety
to Europe and the Mediterranean. Citrus trees are not native to Florida as it
was introduced there by Colombus’s voyage to the isle of Hispaniola in 1493 and
then to Florida by a Spanish explorer called Ponce de Leon. Florida provided
good growing conditions and groves were established growing limes, oranges,
tangerines and lemons in St Augustine as well as Tampa. In the early nineteenth
century grapefruit was introduced from the West Indies into Florida by the
French count Odet Philippe.
Employment and structure of working
relationships:
The
citrus plants are a major source of employment for the people of Florida and
their jobs are numerous, their jobs range from scientists for fruit testing, safety
inspectors, engineers, mechanics, information technology specialists, pickers,
sorters, fruit inspectors, horticulturists, tasters and also truck drivers.
Other companies are given employment by supplying watering equipment,
fertilizer and machinery to the groves. More
than ninety thousand people work in the Florida’s citrus industry and over ten
thousand of those are the growers. All of these jobs are a working example of
Hopkins and Wallerstein (1986) statements of a network of labour and production
processes whose end result is a finished commodity. The finished commodity in
this case is the packaged Florida’s Natural Orange Juice.
Ü Growing Environment of Citrus Fruits in
Florida.
Where
and why?
Florida,
due to its geographical location has variable and unpredictable weather
conditions that have affected citrus production over the past years. Various
extreme weather events such as hurricanes, droughts, floods and freezes often
lead to negative effects on the citrus industry which include many diseases. During
the late 1980’s after freezes affected citrus plants due to its northern
geographical location, growers were forced to move more southward in order to
buffer these effects. Hurricanes have proven to pose the largest threats to the
citrus trees, as in the year 2004 Florida was hit by Hurricanes Charley,
Frances, and Jeanne in central Florida which left most of the citrus industry
and its crops with high amounts of damage.
Location
When
looking at the geology of central Florida, the ridge towards central Florida is
a series of sand dunes, that approximately three million years ago were islands
of scrub surrounded by ocean. This type of well drained sandy soil type makes
this an ideal location for growing citrus trees for production. The ridge has
seasonal ponds and moist lands that offer food and water to many animals which
all support a healthy ecosystem. Central Florida has an average high
temperature of 750F and an average low of 630F on an
annual basis. This type of weather conditions in Central Florida is reflected
the research done by (Roll 1984).This type of subtropical climate combined with
the soil type and growing conditions make this the optimum location for growing
these citrus trees, the only setback being extreme weather events.
Source:
SOFIA http://sofia.usgs.gov
Production:
The
majority of Florida’s orange crop is processed into juice. Oranges are
harvested by hand picking when they reach the peak level of sweetness and
juiciness. After picking workers place the ripe fruit in large canvas bags
which are then loaded into containers that are picked up by special vehicles
called “goats” which transport harvested fruit from the grove to trucks which
then take them to processing facilities. The fruits are then unloaded onto
conveyor belts and washed to remove any dirt and then separated by size.
Oranges are then passes through several inspections to ensure that quality
fruit is used in the making of Florida’s Natural orange juice that comply with
FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) and USDA (United States Department of
Agriculture) regulations. State of the art extracting machines then extract
just the right amount of juice from the fruit which is then pasteurized to
ensure food safety. The next step involves chilling and blending to ensure
quality taste and consistency to be packaged into carton containers which are
then labelled and loaded onto pallets to be distributed.
Distribution systems and Transport
Networks Of Florida’s Natural Orange Juice
When
investigating the sales and marketing techniques of Florida’s Natural Orange
Juice, they participate in a program called the Global Grid marketing program
put forward by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer services.
According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer services, the
Global Grid marketing program works on the basis that participating grocery
chains agree to purchase Florida’s products and in ads and point of sale
materials they must use the, “Fresh from Florida” logo. They also purpose “Over
the last 8 years, the number of retail partners in “Global Grid” has grown to
include 42 chains and more than 11,000 stores.” Florida Natural Orange Juice is
distributed worldwide but particularly to the Caribbean as well as South, North
and Central America as shown in the map below.
Transportation Networks that transforms
produce into product for Florida Natural Orange Juice.
Source: UNCTAD
Secretariat
Why
did I choose this topic for my Commodity Chain?
There
is truth in saying that society seldom thinks as to where commodities originate
and the processes and relationships that go into making them into one final
product. Citrus fruits are one of the world’s most important fruit crops and
are known for their nutritive value (Pei-Hsin Shie 2013). The reason I chose
the commodity chain of Florida’s Natural Orange Juice takes its roots from my
early childhood years as it has always been an essential part of my morning
breakfast for over fifteen years. Having been part of my daily lifestyle for so
many years, I was interested in knowing more about the product, its origin,
history, production and distribution. The fact that it’s all natural orange juice,
which promotes a healthy lifestyle, is enough reason in my humble opinion to
have this as a part of my daily diet.
References:
Dicken,
Peter. 1992. Global Shift. The Internationalization of Economic Activity. 2d.
ed. New York: The Guilford Press.
FDA.,"Department
of Agriculture and Consumer Services Marketing Campaign Adds Partners, Lifts Sales of Florida Agricultural
Products." / 2011 Press Releases / Press Releases / News & Events / Home. Accessed
January 10, 2014.http://www.freshfromflorida.com/News-Events/Press-Releases/2011-Press- Releases/Department-of-Agriculture-and-Consumer-Services-Marketing-Campaign- Adds-Partners-Lifts-Sales-of-Florida-Agricultural-Products.
Gereffi,
Gary and Korzeniewicz, Miguel. 1990. “Commodity Chains and Footwear Exports in the Semipheriphery.” In Semipheripheral
States In the World Economy, edited by William
G Martain, pp 45-68. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Hopkins,
Terrence K., and Wallerstein, Immanuel. 1986. “ Commodity Chains in the World Economy Prior to 1800.” Review 10. 1:
157-70.
Leslie,
D. and Reimer, S. 1999: Spatializing commodity chains. Progress in Human
Geography 23, 401–20.
Pei-Hsin
Shie and Horng-Liang Lay.2013. “Component analysis and antioxidant activity of Citrus limon” Academia Journal of
Medicinal Plants 1(3): 049-05
Roll.,
Richard. 1984. “Orange Juice and weather”. The American Economic review, Vol.
74, No. 5, 861-880.
UNCTAD.,
"Marketing chain - UNCTAD.org." Marketing chain - UNCTAD.org. Accessed
February 10, 2014.http://www.unctad.info/en/Infocomm/Agricultural_Products/Citrus- fruit/Marketing-chain/.
