Latest Stories — Food & Power

Bayer-Monsanto Deal Closes as Farmers Warn of Higher Prices and Less Resiliency

On Thursday, Bayer closed its $62.5 billion purchase of Monsanto. This comes roughly a week after the Department of Justice (DOJ) approved the merger, on the condition that the corporations sell off $9 billion worth of assets, including seed divisions, intellectual property, research projects, and more. Yet even after these divestitures, the combined entity will be the largest global seed and agrochemical corporation, and U.S. based field crop growers fear the power of the new combine.

Seeds & AgrichemicalsClaire KellowayJune 7, 2018Bayer, Chemicals, commodity, merger, monsanto, seeds, GMO, grains, Big Data

Rapid Consolidation in Canada’s Cannabis Market Raises Fears Among Small Growers – Both North and South of the Border

Last week, Canada’s Aurora Cannabis Inc. announced plans to purchase rival medical marijuana grower, MedReleaf for $2.5 billion, the biggest ever deal in the legal cannabis industry. This follows a wave of consolidation in Canadian cannabis as the country prepares to become the first G7 nation to legalize recreational marijuana nationally as early as this summer.

Mergers & AcquisitionsClaire KellowayMay 24, 2018mergers

Walmart Sells U.K. Subsidiary, Putting One-Third of the British Grocery Market Under One Roof

Last week, Walmart announced plans to sell its U.K. subsidiary Asda to rival British grocery chain Sainsbury’s. The proposed deal would create the largest grocery store chain in British history, with more than 31 percent of the market in the hands of one company. It would put even more pressure on farmers and food suppliers, and threaten 330,000 employees with job losses.

Retail, Mergers & AcquisitionsClaire KellowayMay 10, 2018retail, retailers, mergers

Ranchers Oppose Marfrig Acquisition that would Spell More Foreign Control Over US Beef

A growing number of American ranchers are calling on the Trump Administration to block a Brazilian corporation’s plan to take over America’s fourth largest meatpacker. They say the deal would worsen monopolization in the sector and further harm the livelihoods of American farmers and ranchers.

Mergers & AcquisitionsKevin CartyApril 26, 2018foreign ownership, mergers

How Grubhub, UberEats, and Minibar are Taking over Your Local Restaurant and Wine Store

A frenzy of deal-making is remaking the food delivery app business. In January, UberEats acquired Ando, a food delivery startup founded by celebrity chef David Chang. In early March, Japanese conglomerate Softbank invested $535 million into DoorDash. A few weeks later, Grubhub expanded its partnership with the review site Yelp to facilitate ordering home delivery of restaurant meals. Meanwhile, the tech publication ReCode reported last week, DoorDash and Postmates have discussed merging.

RetailKevin CartyApril 12, 2018data, DoorDash, drizly, Grubhub, minibar, monopoly, Postmates, UberEats, price discrimination, retailers, retail, Beer, Big Data

USDA Reports on Farm Consolidation but Ignores the Cause

A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report concludes that big farms keep getting bigger while smaller farms keep disappearing. Since 1989, the USDA finds, the number of large crop farms has nearly doubled while the number of midsize farms has fallen nearly in half.

Mergers & AcquisitionsKevin CartyMarch 29, 2018chicken, GMO, seeds, mergers, Acquisitions

New Iowa Egg Bill Would Block Grocers from Selling Only Cage-Free Eggs

Kroger, Albertson’s and Walmart are just a few of the big U.S. grocers that have committed to transitioning to sell only cage-free eggs over the next decade. But a bill in Iowa would block grocers from going entirely cage-free in the state, a move that illustrates the power of the factory farm egg industry in the country’s biggest egg-producing state.

RetailKevin CartyMarch 29, 2018eggs, Farm Bureau, Iowa, chicken, organics, Cage-free

Bayer Plans Sell-Off that would Worsen Competition in Seeds, Chemicals

In the fall of 2016, the German drug, seed, and crop chemicals conglomerate Bayer announced plans to merge with the U.S. chemical and bio-tech seed giant Monsanto. Hoping to overcome objections from European anti-trust regulators, Bayer is promising to sell off its vegetable seed business to BASF, a German corporation that is currently the largest chemical maker in the world.

EU Antitrust Chief Says "Beware" of Bayer-Monsanto Control over Farm Data

When Bayer first announced its plan to purchase Monsanto, most observers focused on how much power the two corporations already wield over agricultural inputs like seeds and pesticides. But Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s top antitrust enforcer, appears also to be focusing on how much control a combined Bayer-Monsanto would have over the data generated from private farms.

An ADM-Bunge Merger Would Drive More Concentration in Commodity Grains

Commodity trader Archer Daniel Midlands (ADM) is in advanced talks to purchase fellow commodity trader Bunge, Bloomberg reported this week. That deal, if completed, would create a $34 billion grain company rivaling Cargill, the world’s most dominant trading house.

Big Beef Targets Virginia Ranchers With Bigger Checkoff Tax

Virginia State Senator A. Benton Chafin last week introduced a bill that would significantly hike “checkoff” taxes that cattle growers in the state must pay. The move follows efforts in other states—including recently in Oklahoma—to increase or introduce state-level checkoff taxes, which are charged in addition to the $1 per head tax collected at the federal level. Many local ranchers oppose both the tax and the idea that it will be imposed by the legislature, saying the process effectively shuts independent cattle producers out of having a say in this sector specific levy.

Poultry & Livestock, PolicyLeah DouglasJanuary 25, 2018Bacardi, checkoff, JBS, NCBA, Nestle, OCM, Oklahoma, virginia, Leah Douglas, checkoffs, Beef

Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Idaho’s Ag-gag Law

On January 4, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Idaho’s “ag-gag” law, finding it an unconstitutional violation of free speech. The decision marks the first time a federal appeals court has ruled against an ag-gag law. Opponents of the law, which had been in effect since 2014, hope that the ruling will provide a precedent for overturning ag-gag laws in several other states.

DairyLeah DouglasJanuary 11, 2018ACLU, cooperative, dairy, Idaho, Iowa, tax bill, Wyoming, Leah Douglas, Ag-gag, Animal Rights