Latest Stories — Food & Power

Q&A With Food & Power Founder, Leah Douglas

In honor of Food & Power’s five-year anniversary and relaunch, current F&P reporter Claire Kelloway spoke with the project’s founder, Leah Douglas, about how the publication started and Douglas’s work covering food policy since then.

Claire KellowayNovember 10, 2020Q&A, Leah Douglas, Food & Power

What Pilgrim’s Guilty Plea Means for Poultry Price-Fixing Allegations

Last Wednesday the nation’s second-largest poultry processor, Pilgrim’s Pride, announced that it had reached a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) for price-fixing charges. Their plea hearing in federal court in Colorado will be on November 2nd.

Poultry & LivestockClaire KellowayOctober 22, 2020Chicken, poultry, price fixing

EPA Permit for Experimental Ocean Fish Farm Sparks Environmental and Economic Debate

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted a permit to an experimental ocean fish farm in the Gulf of Mexico on the very same day that dozens of fishers, environmentalists, and community members held a hearing to voice concerns about the project.

SeafoodClaire KellowayOctober 8, 2020seafood

Judge Affirms Poultry Worker Wage-Fixing Claims But Demands More Details for Largest Offenders

A class-action lawsuit accusing major poultry processors of working together to hold down plant workers’ wages will move into the next stage of litigation after a court ruling last Wednesday. However, some of the largest corporate players, including Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, and Perdue, could be off the hook unless workers fine-tune their case by mid-October.

Poultry & Livestock, LaborClaire KellowaySeptember 23, 2020chicken, slaughter

Can Amazon’s New Grocery Store Challenge Mainstream Supermarkets?

Amazon recently invited a select group of shoppers to tour its first Amazon Fresh grocery store, in Woodland Hills, California. While the new store has made headlines for its voice-powered Alexa kiosks and computerized “Dash Carts” that scan groceries as you shop, Amazon Fresh represents far more than a high-tech grocery store. The venture launches Amazon’s experiment in taking on more traditional grocery retailers, in an effort to expand its retail dominance. Amazon says that it will publicly open the store “in the coming weeks.”

RetailClaire KellowaySeptember 10, 2020retail, retailers

Consumers, Small Meatpackers, and Labor Lose Their Voice to Corporate Packers on USDA Food Safety Advisory Committee, Violating Charter

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced 10 new appointments to an independent committee advising food safety and inspection policy.

Labor, Processing & DistributionClaire KellowayAugust 27, 2020chicken, dairy, pork, slaughter, resiliency

JBS Aims to Shutter Critical Western US Lamb Processor, DOJ Issues a “Standstill” Order

In a few weeks, many Western sheep ranchers might not have a place to slaughter their lambs. Global meatpacking giant JBS last month won the bankruptcy auction for the Mountain State Rosen (MSR) lamb processing plant in Greeley, Colorado.

Food Worker Organizations File USDA Civil Rights Complaint Against Meatpackers for Exposing Workers of Color to COVID-19

Last week, a group of organizations representing meatpacking workers filed a civil rights complaint with the USDA against dominant meatpackers. The Title VI Civil Rights Act complaint alleges that Tyson Foods’ and JBS’s response to COVID-19 had a disproportionately harmful, disparate impact on their employees of color.

Attorney General Directed Agriculture Antitrust Investigations to Harass Cannabis Businesses, Whistleblower Says

A whistleblower from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division testified before Congress last week that Attorney General William Barr had disproportionately directed antitrust enforcement resources to scrutinize relatively small mergers between cannabis firms out of a personal dislike for the industry.

EnforcementClaire KellowayJune 30, 2020Antitrust, cannabis, DOJ, enforcement, Makan Delrahim, William Barr, mergers

Fewer Global Dairy Corporations Drive Overproduction and Pollution, Harming Small Farmers, Report Finds

A shrinking handful of corporations and cooperatives control a growing portion of global dairy production, to the detriment of rural communities and the environment, argues a new report by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).

DairyClaire KellowayJune 18, 2020climate change, consolidation, dairy, supply management, mergers

Farmers Join Labor Union in Call to Protect Workers, Citing Need for Farmer Labor Solidarity - Poultry CEOs Indicted for Price Fixing

A group of farmers and ranchers last week joined the leading meatpacking workers’ union to demand greater protections for meatpacking workers, acknowledging a shared fight against mistreatment by large meatpackers in the wake of COVID-19.

LaborClaire KellowayJune 4, 2020Antitrust, COVID-19, meatpacking, ranchers, safety, solidarity, UFCW, workers, pork, resiliency, slaughter

Report Exposes System of Big Food Kickbacks to Cafeteria Contractors, Cutting out Local Producers

A report released last week by Real Food Generation exposes new details about a secretive system of kickbacks between Big Food corporations and cafeteria operators.