FTC — Latest Stories — Food & Power

Antitrust Action on the Way Out the Door, Biden Administration Finalizes Poultry Payment Rules and Sues John Deere and Pepsi

In the final days of the Biden administration, antitrust enforcers filed several lawsuits and finalized rules to help farmers and independent retailers.

Analysts Expect More Food Mergers in 2025

Food industry experts project that dominant brands and private equity firms will buy more mid-sized companies in 2025, threatening innovation, price competition, and jobs.

Mergers & AcquisitionsClaire KellowayJanuary 9, 2025mergers, killer acquisition, DOJ, FTC, mars, Secondary Feature

Trump’s Antitrust Enforcers Could Kill Unfinished Cases. Will They?

Federal antitrust enforcers have outstanding cases against AgriStats, Kroger and Albertsons, and Corteva and Syngenta. What will happen to them during a Trump administration?

EnforcementClaire KellowayNovember 14, 2024Antitrust, FTC, DOJ, Trump, agri stats, Corteva, Syngenta, Robinson-Patman, Secondary Feature

Revelations from the Kroger-Albertsons Trial

Internal communications reveal instances when Kroger only lowered its prices after Albertsons did. Plus new evidence that C&S will struggle to manage over 550 divested stores.

Mergers & Acquisitions, EnforcementClaire KellowaySeptember 13, 2024Kroger, Albertsons, FTC, Secondary Feature

Greedflation at the Supermarket is Real

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