What ETC Group does

ETC Group (legally Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration) is a Canadian-registered non-profit research and action collective founded in 1977 and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Its mission is to monitor corporate concentration, emerging technologies, and power asymmetries in food, agriculture, and biodiversity systems, with explicit alignment to civil society movements—particularly in the Global South. It engages formally with international governance bodies including FAO, CBD, CFS, CGIAR, IPBES, UNFCCC, and SBSTTA, where civil society participation is institutionally recognized.

The organization produces a portfolio of freely distributed public-good outputs rather than commercial products: flagship research reports (Food Barons 2022 covering 11 agrifood sectors, Grain Traders Greed and Oligopoly Power, Commons to Code on agricultural data platforms, AI's Large Looting Models on generative biology, Data Justice for African Small-holder Farmers), investigative podcast mini-series (Who Will Control the Food System), multilingual educational animations (Big Brother is Coming to the Farm, available in 11+ languages), and convenings such as the Pan-African Convening on Biodigital Technologies (Addis Ababa, October 2025). Underlying 'technology' is research and analytical methodology—corporate concentration mapping, technology assessment of synthetic biology, gene drives, and geoengineering—rather than a software platform.

ETC Group operates a donations-and-grants revenue model with no paid products or services. Intake is split across individual donations (via Zeffy, credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, bank transfer), the US-based Friends of ETC Group 501(c)(3) tax-exempt vehicle, and unspecified grants. It has no venture capital or private equity ownership and is governed by a Board of Trustees drawn from peer organizations including AFSA, Movement Generation, IT for Change, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, and Inter Pares. Customer/stakeholder relationships are distributed across global civil society, smallholder farmer networks, international policy forums, and individual supporters, with formal staff presence in at least eight countries.

Name

ETC Group

Legal name

ETC Group (Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration)

Website

https://etcgroup.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ETC Group is a Montreal-based non-profit research and action collective founded in 1977 that monitors corporate concentration and emerging technologies in food and agriculture. It publishes reports, podcasts, and multimedia content serving civil society movements, smallholder farmer networks, and international policy forums.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil society research and advocacy on food sovereignty, biodiversity, and corporate concentration in food and agriculture

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Advocacy, Policy & Rights Organizations (HLAJAKAO)

Keywords

• Food sovereignty advocacy
• Corporate concentration research
• Technology assessment
• Biodiversity monitoring
• Civil society research

Headquarters

HQ city

Val-david

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: ETC Group accepts donations from individuals and supporters. They have a donation page accepting various payment methods including credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and bank transfers. In the USA, donations can be made through Friends of ETC Group, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ETC Group is a non-profit research and action collective that produces and freely distributes independent research, reports, podcasts, animations, and policy analysis on corporate concentration across the food and agriculture chain, the social and ecological impacts of emerging technologies (synthetic biology, gene drives, climate geoengineering), and the defence of biodiversity, peasant livelihoods, and food sovereignty. Its outputs are aimed at social movements, civil society organizations, and international policy forums (FAO, CBD, UNFCCC), with a particular focus on the Global South.

Product overview

ETC Group is a civil society research and action organization that produces publications, podcasts, animations, and policy analysis rather than commercial products. Its portfolio includes flagship research reports on corporate concentration in food systems (Food Barons 2022), case studies on agricultural digitalization (Commons to Code), investigative podcast series (Who Will Control the Food System), educational animations (Big Brother is Coming to the Farm), and ongoing monitoring of technology assessment, synthetic biology, and corporate power. These outputs are distributed freely as public goods for advocacy, movement-building, and policy engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food Barons 2022 Report Flagship research report analyzing corporate concentration across 11 industrial agrifood sectors, naming and ranking the largest food corporations dominating the industrial food chain based on 2020 data. For civil society, policy makers, and movements working on food systems.
• Commons to Code: How Platforms Rewire Agriculture and Reshape Power Case study examining Bayer's Climate FieldView platform and the rise of digitized, data-dependent agriculture, mapping the flow of agricultural data from farms to storage, processing, and monetization. Produced with IT for Change. For policy makers, civil society, and researchers studying digital agriculture.
• What does data justice mean for African small-holder farmers? Critical analysis of biodigital technologies and their expanding role in food and agriculture, examining the Fourth Agricultural Revolution and implications for African food sovereignty. Co-authored with multiple African and Indian civil-society partners.
• Disruptive Digital Food and Ag Tech Research in Indigenous Territories, India Investigation into how big data and agricultural technology are moving into indigenous territories in India, examining digital platforms such as SourceUp and Producers Market.
• Jack and the Cloud Giant Children's fairy tale in multiple languages explaining precision agriculture and digital farming platforms, illustrating how farmers become dependent on agribusiness digital tools.
• Who Will Control the Food System? Podcast Series Podcast mini-series investigating corporate control of industrial agriculture, featuring episodes on digitalization of food systems, agricultural big data, and disruptive technologies in indigenous territories. Distributed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and RSS.
• Big Brother is Coming to the Farm Animation Educational animation in multiple languages (Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Bisaya, English, Filipino, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi) explaining the digital takeover of food and agriculture by big tech companies.
• Corporate Concentration Monitoring Ongoing monitoring and reporting on corporate concentration in food and agriculture sectors, tracking Gene Giants, mergers, and the digital takeover of food systems, delivered via repeated reports, articles, and updates.
• Technology Assessment Service Ongoing analysis of emerging technologies (synthetic biology, genomics, nanotechnology, gene drives, climate geoengineering) and their impacts on biodiversity, agriculture, and human rights, delivered as research reports and articles on the ETC Group website.

Quantifiable outcome

• Peasant Food Web feeds 70% of world's people using less than 30% of resources
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• IT for ChangecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 October 2025Research collaboration between ETC Group and IT for Change on digitalization of food and agriculture, supported by the Center for Global Digital Justice. Produced the report 'Commons to Code: How Platforms Rewire Agriculture and Reshape Power' examining Bayer's Climate FieldView and the rise of digitized, data-dependent agriculture.
• Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 October 2025Co-convened the Pan-African Convening on Biodigital Technologies for Food and Agriculture in Addis Ababa from October 2-4, along with ETC Group and African Technology Assessment Platform. Brought together social movements, civil society organizations, smallholder producers, lawyers, and researchers to discuss digital technologies and their implications for African food systems.
• African Technology Assessment PlatformcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-convened the Pan-African Convening on Biodigital Technologies for Food and Agriculture along with Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa and ETC Group.
• GRAINcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing co-publishing partner on reports including 'Food Barons 2022' and 'Top 10 agribusiness giants: Corporate concentration in food & farming in 2025'. Both organizations publish research on corporate concentration in food systems.
• Friends of ETC GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUS-based tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity that accepts donations on behalf of ETC Group. Located at 441 Avon Street, Oakland, CA 94618 USA. Enables US donors to make tax-deductible contributions to support ETC Group's work.
• Center for Global Digital JusticesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports the research collaboration between ETC Group and IT for Change on centering equity and justice in global data governance.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GRAIN: GRAIN is a small international non-profit that produces research and analysis on corporate control of the food system, and is a long-standing co-publishing partner with ETC Group on flagship reports such as Food Barons 2022 and Top 10 agribusiness giants.
• IPES-Food (International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems): IPES-Food is an independent panel of experts producing interdisciplinary research on food systems sustainability and corporate concentration, sharing ETC Group's civil-society positioning and policy engagement approach.
• Friends of the Earth International: Friends of the Earth International is a federated global environmental advocacy network addressing corporate power, biodiversity, and food sovereignty — overlapping substantially with ETC Group's environmental and human-rights framing.
• Food First (Institute for Food and Development Policy): Food First is a US-based 'people's think tank' producing research and books on food sovereignty, agroecology, and corporate control of agriculture, addressing the same movement-aligned audience as ETC Group.
• Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP): IATP is a Minnesota-based policy organization working on fair trade, corporate concentration in agriculture, and rural communities, with similar civil-society policy engagement and research outputs to ETC Group.
• Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA): AFSA is a pan-African civil society alliance promoting agroecology and food sovereignty, and a core ETC Group partner that co-convened the Pan-African Convening on Biodigital Technologies in 2025.
• Indigenous Environmental Network: IEN is a North American Indigenous-led network addressing environmental justice, extractive industries, and food sovereignty; ETC Group board member Tom Goldtooth serves as IEN's Executive Director, evidencing deep alliance overlap.
• IT for Change: IT for Change is an India-based NGO working on data justice and digital governance; it is a core ETC Group research partner, co-authoring 'Commons to Code' on the digitalization of agriculture and providing comparable civil-society digital-rights expertise.

Broad incumbents

• Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL): CIEL is a larger, established international environmental law organization with a global footprint; ETC Group board member Lili Fuhr directs CIEL's Fossil Economy Program, evidencing close thematic and operational overlap.
• Oxfam International: Oxfam is a much larger global confederation working on inequality, food justice, and corporate accountability; it is broader in scope but publishes comparable research on corporate concentration in food systems and engages similar UN forums.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/follow
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLs1KEir4Q9vSOeSCDQGizuSgII_93Tb5o
• Facebookfacebook.com/theetcgroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ETC Group