Latest Stories — Food & Power

Consolidation Is Eating Our Food Economy

A generation ago, America’s farm and food economy was dominated by small family enterprises. Today, just four companies control 65 percent of pork slaughter, 84 percent of cattle slaughter, and 53 percent of chicken slaughter. Milk production is largely shaped by one large processor, Dean Foods, and one large cooperative, Dairy Farmers of America. Recent mergers, such as the Brussels-based Delhaize’s (Food Lion) acquisition of the Dutch company Ahold (Giant, Stop & Shop), have reduced the number of large grocers down to four. What does all this consolidation mean for our food economy?

Time to Put Big Soda on a Diet

From the latest Taco Bell concoction to the lack of fresh produce in many low-income communities across the country, there’s no shortage of targets to blame for America’s poor national diet. But in recent years, many public health campaigns have zeroed in on a single enemy: soda. And there’s good reason for this. Drinking soda is entirely optional (there’s no medical reason to consume sugar water). It is remarkably common (around 50 percent of Americans regularly consume non-diet sodas). And the industry has huge political sway (Big Soda contributes millions of dollars a year to campaigns and candidates).

EnforcementLeah DouglasFebruary 10, 2016Coca-Cola, Marion Nestle, soda, Leah Douglas, Book Review

Nebraska's Livestock Market Faces Death by Big Meat Lobbying

Few images are more emblematic of the American heartland than that of farmers taking their livestock to market. But if Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts signs a bill passed last month by his state’s legislature, one of the last of the country’s traditional open livestock markets may soon close forever. The bill would remove one of the few safeguards that allow farmers to sell their livestock in a transparent and competitive way.

Book Review: Mark Bittman's A Bone to Pick

With A Bone to Pick, an anthology of columns from his four years at the Times, Bittman provides a survey of his food policy analysis. But the collection also reveals Bittman’s disheartening lack of analysis about how, exactly, the American public came to find itself in the midst of such a widespread – and growing – agricultural and dietary crisis. Bittman’s proclivity to position the eater as a powerful decision-maker and federal food policy reform as the most effective path forward obscures much of the reality of who holds the power in today’s international food system.

PolicyLeah DouglasAugust 19, 2015guthman, Smithfield, Leah Douglas, Bittman, Book Review, produce

Got Organic?

For years, these familiar slogans have highlighted the importance of American kitchen staples. What better represents the American way of eating than a glass of milk with your cookies or a hamburger on the grill? On billboards and television, these ubiquitous marketing campaigns have long shaped public perception of which foods constitute a wholesome diet. But consumers are often unaware of who, exactly, writes, produces, and pays for these ads.

Leah DouglasMay 14, 2015checkoff, NCBA, organic, OTA, Leah Douglas

Why You Should Pay Attention to the Heinz/Kraft Merger

Mergers and acquisitions in the food sector rarely draw the eye of supermarket shoppers. But name recognition has brought last week’s announced merger of H.J. Heinz Co. and Kraft Foods Group Inc. to the fore of business news. After all, these companies’ products are household staples — most readers of this article probably have a Heinz or Kraft product in their refrigerator right now. While this merger may seem innocuous — who cares that the mac and cheese company owns the ketchup company? — there could be serious ramifications for consumers and producers.

Mergers & AcquisitionsLeah DouglasApril 8, 2015consolidation, Heinz, Kraft, mergers, Leah Douglas

The Last State Standing Against Corporate Farming Weighs A Change

State Senator Ken Schilz introduced LB 176 in the Nebraska state legislature in January to overturn a 15-year-old law – the Competitive Livestock Markets Act – that bans corporations from owning livestock except in the days immediately before slaughter. Known colloquially as the “packer ban,” the law was intended to force corporations to buy their animals from independent producers, thereby supporting a competitive livestock market. What would the impact of this law be on hog farmers?

Poultry & LivestockLeah DouglasMarch 24, 2015Nebraska, packer ban, Smithfield, Leah Douglas, pork

Why You Might Pay More Than Your Neighbor for the Same Bottle of Salad Dressing

Retailers are positioning themselves to charge customers based on their willingness to pay—so that my Burberry-dressed neighbor pays more than my thrifty neighbor for the same product. How are retailers tracking our shopping habits, and what does it mean for you?

RetailLina KhanJanuary 19, 2014price discrimination, retailers, Lina Khan

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

Big Beef

Imagine if the federal government mandated that a portion of all federal gas taxes go directly to the oil industry’s trade association, the American Petroleum Institute. Imagine further that API used this public money to finance ad campaigns encouraging people to drive more and turn up their thermostats, all while lobbying to discredit oil industry critics—from environmentalists to those calling for better safety regulations or alternative energy sources.That’s a deal not even Exxon could pull off, yet the nation’s largest meat-packers now enjoy something quite like it. Today, when you buy a Big Mac or a T-bone, a portion of the cost is a tax on beef, the proceeds from which the government hands over to a private trade group called the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. How did this system come into being? And what is the NCBA doing with all that money?

Monsanto’s Scary New Scheme: Why Does it Really Want All This Data?

Imagine cows fed and milked entirely by robots. Or tomatoes that send an e-mail when they need more water. Or a farm where all the decisions about where to plant seeds, spray fertilizer and steer tractors are made by software on servers on the other side of the sea. This is what more and more of our agriculture may come to look like in the years ahead, as farming meets Big Data.

Lina KhanDecember 29, 2013monsanto, price discrimination, Lina Khan, Big Data

The Rise of Big Chocolate

It’s an industry that’s largely invisible to consumers, yet central to feeding the world’s sweet tooth. Cocoa processing — the process of turning raw cocoa beans into powder, liquor, and butter — is a major step in creating the candy bars and truffles that line store shelves. And thanks to a recent pair of recent business deals, it’s an industry that may never be the same.

DairyLina KhanNovember 12, 2013cargill, chocolate, hershey's, mars, dairy, Lina Khan