Latest Stories — Food & Power

Legal Actions From All Sides Threaten to Break Farm Equipment Repair Monopolies

Farm equipment makers face monopolization lawsuits and a new right to repair bill in the Senate.

Policy, EnforcementClaire KellowayFebruary 3, 2022Right to Repair, John Deere, Tractors, Tying, lawsuit

Inflation Doesn’t Explain Historic Corporate Profits — Monopoly Power Does

Claire Kelloway wrote about the role of food corporations’ market power in rising prices (and rising profit margins) for Time magazine.

Policy, RetailClaire KellowayJanuary 18, 2022consolidation, collusion, meatpacking, grocery, food supply

White House Pushes Plan for Fairer Meat Markets – Will it Work?

The Biden administration will invest $1 billion in new plants and issue new rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act. Will this help bring down meat prices?

Policy, Poultry & LivestockClaire KellowayJanuary 6, 2022meatpacking, Biden, Vilsack, Antitrust, USDA

Talking Turkey: An Anti-Monopoly Thanksgiving

Troubles in the turkey industry predate the pandemic.

Poultry & Livestock, Processing & DistributionClaire KellowayNovember 24, 2021poultry, Turkey, price fixing

Biden’s Farm Methane Plan Could Worsen Consolidation and Pollution

Government subsidies to build methane biodigesters encourage a dirty industry to expand.

Dairy, PolicyClaire KellowayNovember 12, 2021climate change, CAFO, Methane, Biogas, Digesters

Can Trust Busters Help Deter Union Busters?

Violating labor laws could be considered an unfair method of competition. The FTC has the power to clarify.

Labor, PolicyClaire KellowayOctober 28, 2021labor, unions, Unfair, Competition

The Iowa Farmer Group Backed by an Insurance Company

The Iowa Farm Bureau sells itself as a member-driven organization, but dividends from a financial services firm pay most its bills and executives.

PolicyClaire KellowayOctober 14, 2021Farm Bureau, Iowa

Private Carbon Payment Programs Funnel Farm Data to Big Ag

As Big Ag gets into the business of buying and selling carbon credits, they also get access to lots of farm-level data.

Seeds & Agrichemicals, PolicyClaire KellowaySeptember 30, 2021data, Carbon Markets, cargill, Bayer, Corteva

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

Multinational Meatpackers Move in on Aquaculture

JBS makes a bid for Australia’s second-largest salmon corporation, supercharging fears about factory farms at sea.

SeafoodClaire KellowaySeptember 2, 2021JBS, Aquaculture, fisheries, fishermen, consolidation

Cargill, Continental Grain Take Over Chicken Leader Sanderson Farms for $4.5 Billion

As poultry corporations face price- and wage-fixing scandals, Cargill and Continental Grain want to further consolidate the industry.

Q&A with Olivia Watkins, President of the Black Farmer Fund

For the third and final installment of Food & Power’s series on financier investment in farmland, Humon Heidarian spoke with Olivia Watkins, co-founder and president of the Black Farmer Fund.

PolicyHumon HeidarianAugust 5, 2021Q&A, investment, Racial Equity