Resumo

MERCADO, Alexis; CORDOVA, Karenia  e  TESTA, Pablo. Organizational and technological trends of the global agrifood industry and their manifestations in Venezuela. Agroalim [online]. 2007, vol.12, n.24, pp.85-103. ISSN 1316-0354.

Global economic structure is evolving in opposition to sustainability. Trends in production (increasing use of resources and wasting), technology (profusion of mega-developments) and industrial organization (concentration in few multinationals firms) configure a pessimistic scenario that raises serious questions in social, environmental, ethics and political terms. By its implications, agrifood industry is in the «hurricane eye», deserving special attention from most of the countries. From the technological point of view, this sector is recognized as mature with few possibilities to innovate. Recently, agrifood shows a renewal face due to the development of sophisticated systems of process control and the biotechnology. The adoptions of innocuity and quality standards are defining new institutional, organizational and technological trajectories in global level. In this «global order» controlled by modern conglomerates, socio-productive processes that try to recover cultural traditions, and manufacture practices based on local knowledge are reemerging. These divergent trends implied different styles to affront socio-environmental problems and ways to approach to sustainable development

Palavras-chave : agrifood industry; industrial organization; technological innovation; sustainable development; Venezuela.