Latest Stories — Food & Power

USDA Proposes to Regulate Chicken Tournament Systems

Contract chicken farmers say that they aren’t paid based on their efforts. A new USDA rule aims to make performance-based pay more fair.

Poultry & LivestockClaire KellowayJune 14, 2024USDA, Packers and Stockyards, tournament, poultry, contract farming, Secondary Feature

Sugar Companies Accused of Price-Fixing

The DOJ may have failed to block a major sugar merger, but documents from their trial raised red flags for sugar buyers who now accuse sugar companies of price-fixing.

Enforcement, Processing & DistributionClaire KellowayMay 31, 2024price fixing, sugar, DOJ, Secondary Feature

Chicken Farmers’ Antitrust Suit Clears Hurdle, Plus New Data on Agribusiness Lobbying Might

New report shows special interests spent half a billion lobbying on the latest farm bill and chicken growers wage-fixing suit survives class certification.

Enforcement, Poultry & Livestock, PolicyClaire KellowayMay 15, 2024farm bill, contract farming, poultry, chicken, Antitrust, Class Action, Secondary Feature

Canada Raises Red Flags on Bunge-Viterra Merger

Canada’s Competition Bureau finds that Bunge’s takeover of Viterra would hurt some farmers and canola buyers.

Mergers & AcquisitionsClaire KellowayMay 1, 2024Bunge, Viterra, grains, mergers, merger, Canada, Secondary Feature

As Bird Flu Hits Dairy Cows, Consolidation Amplifies Risk

Consolidated food production is more vulnerable to disruptions from diseases and plays a role in spreading them.

Dairy, Poultry & LivestockClaire KellowayApril 18, 2024Bird Flu, cattle, dairy, resiliency, 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.

Processing & DistributionClaire KellowayMarch 20, 2024FTC, Infant Formula, supply chains, Secondary Feature

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.

Policy, Mergers & Acquisitions, Poultry & Livestock, RetailClaire KellowayMarch 7, 2024Kroger, Albertsons, FTC, USDA, Packers and Stockyards, Meatpackers, Secondary Feature

How California’s Low-Carbon Fuel Standard Entrenches Industrial Animal Farms and Local Pollution

The California Air Resources Board is weighing a change to its low carbon fuel standard, which critics say overvalues gas from livestock manure lagoons.

Policy, Dairy, Poultry & LivestockClaire KellowayFebruary 23, 2024Methane, Biogas, California, climate change, Secondary Feature

HHS Partners With Instacart to Advance Food as Medicine

The federal government has tapped an unlikely accomplice, Instacart, to combat diet-related disease and expand “food as medicine” programs. Yet Instacart’s gig-worker business model drives the economic inequality at the root of nutrition disparity.

Policy, LaborClaire KellowayFebruary 12, 2024Instacart, Groceries, Health and Human Services, food access, nutrition, Secondary Feature

Washington AG Sues to Block Kroger-Albertsons Merger

Kroger and Albertsons sell over half of all groceries in Washington state. State antitrust enforcers say that their merger will raise prices and harm workers and they’re suing to stop the deal.

Enforcement, Mergers & AcquisitionsClaire KellowayJanuary 25, 2024Kroger, Albertsons, Washingon, Attorney General, Secondary Feature

Private Equity’s Cold Storage Roll-Up Could Pay Off in 2024, but It Cost Small Food Companies

Just two companies control over 70% of cold storage in the US. Dozens of acquisitions shut small food companies out of chilled warehouse space. But new construction is on the rise.

Processing & Distribution, Seafood, Mergers & AcquisitionsClaire KellowayJanuary 11, 2024supply chains, logistics, warehousing, cold storage, mergers, consolidation, private equity, Secondary Feature