FTC — Latest Stories — Food & Power

The FTC published a report confirming what many suspected about the role of profiteering in driving up food prices and aggravating shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Policy, RetailClaire KellowayApril 4, 2024FTC, Inflation, grocery

Infant Formula Supply Chain Was Built to Break, FTC Report Reveals

An FTC retrospective on the 2022 infant formula crisis highlights the ways public procurement policies contribute to industry consolidation and supply chain vulnerability.

FTC Sues to Block Kroger-Albertsons Merger; USDA Finalizes Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Retaliation Rule

Antitrust enforcers dealt two major challenges to corporate power at different ends of the food supply chain over the past two weeks.

Antitrust Enforcers Draft New Guidelines for Approving Mergers. Here’s What It Means for the Food Industry.

DOJ and FTC set new standards for reviewing mergers and acquisitions that take a stronger stance against concentrated market structures, vertical integration, harms to suppliers, and more.

Policy, EnforcementClaire KellowayAugust 10, 2023FTC, DOJ, merger guidelines, mergers, vertical integration, Secondary Feature

How the FTC’s Noncompete Ban Would Affect Food Workers

One in six U.S. food service workers and one in five agriculture industry workers have signed a noncompete agreement. Banning these contracts could raise wages and entrepreneurship.

Policy, LaborClaire KellowayJanuary 26, 2023Noncompetes, FTC, labor, workers, Fast Food, Secondary Feature

FTC Says Pesticide Companies Paid to Block Cheaper Competitors, Raising Prices

The FTC alleges that Syngenta and Corteva maintained pesticide monopolies by paying distributors not to carry generic products. Pesticide firms aren’t the only businesses using pay-to-block schemes.

Farmers, Ranchers, and Business Owners Urge Antitrust Action at Agency Midterm Review

Open Markets and Farm Action hosted farmers and other food business owners in Washington, DC to assess the Biden administration’s commitment to restoring fair competition in the food system.

Enforcement, PolicyAmy HuoJune 17, 2022USDA, DOJ, FTC, Executive Order, Biden

Farmers and Business Owners Testify to Harms of Lax Merger Policy

Farmers and food businesses urge antitrust enforcers to strengthen merger guidelines and fight consolidation.

Mergers & Acquisitions, Policy, EnforcementClaire KellowayMarch 31, 2022FTC, DOJ, mergers, vertical integration

FTC Vote to Repeal Vertical Merger Guidelines Signals Shift to Stronger Enforcement

Antitrust agencies have had a light touch on vertical merger enforcement for decades. That may be about to change.

Mergers & Acquisitions, PolicyClaire KellowaySeptember 16, 2021Antitrust, mergers, vertical integration, FTC

Expanding the Frontier of Agricultural Co-ops, Maine Loggers Gain Collective Bargaining Rights

Last week, the Governor of Maine signed a law granting loggers and haulers the right to bargain collectively with forest owners and sawmills. Previously, loggers and haulers have had difficulty striking better contract terms with timber buyers because antitrust laws against price fixing prohibit independent contractors from coordinating.

Personal Pricing, Like Really Personal

At the National Retail Federation annual conference, retailers discuss how to use big data to personalize customer prices. Tactics include in-store cameras that track which products you’re examining, so Kroger can send you a coupon for chips as you’re still roaming the salsa aisle. Or if you buy cat food towards the end of the month, you’ll be e-mailed a special offer on the 25th, rather than showered with ads all the time. But do the savings outweigh the creepiness?

RetailLina KhanJanuary 16, 2014DOJ, FTC, price discrimination, Lina Khan