The cartel that controls the US meat industry

Post by myshpa » Thu, Aug 03, 2023, 5:14 PM UTC

algoatecorn wrote: post #63

Food system is a technical term and is distinctly different than the meat industry, which it encompasses. These companies certainly do not "control the food system"

Post by tamimio » Thu, Aug 03, 2023, 5:17 PM UTC

Buttons840 wrote: post #43

The word "monopoly" implies one dominant company ("mono-" meaning one), but industries with 2 or 3 companies are still unhealthy for a few reasons. First, it's pretty easy for 2 or 3 companies to price fix, which is against anti-trust laws. Second, a healthy market requires that it be easy for new companies to enter the market and compete, and if there's only a few dominant companies, then clearly new competitors are…

Post by nobodyandproud » Thu, Aug 03, 2023, 5:18 PM UTC

HEmanZ wrote: post #54

darth_avocado wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is correct. Food companies cannot hike prices just because, especially when they are monopolies. If suddenly eggs cost $20/dozen, customers will ask why and if there are no good explanations, there will be a lot of noise. And politicians and regulators who are otherwise not willing to act on monopolies, do not like noise because it threatens their jobs. They will act, and that will not be great for the food comp…

Or, ya know, they can’t raise prices that high because people will just stop buying eggs and they will stop making money. Eggs are very much an elastic good. Does no one understand basic economics anymore?

Post by wonderwonder » Thu, Aug 03, 2023, 5:19 PM UTC

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #74

r3trohack3r wrote: post #14

A reminder that Tyson is abusing the legal system to force people in the American south into working in their chicken plants for free: https://revealnews.org/article/they-thought-they-were-going-... I don't know every brand that uses Tyson products, but when I discover something is coming from a Tyson factory I stop purchasing it.

I find it more shocking that, despite the terrible reported conditions at the plant, most people stayed there because it was preferable to prison. If that is preferable to their prisons...

Post by kaibee » Thu, Aug 03, 2023, 5:20 PM UTC

parrhesia wrote: post #34

Michelangelo11 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In general, I don’t know if they answer properly if profits increased because of inflation or if inflation increased because of inflation. Since the cartel existed before the shift, I would like to know what they think made companies suddenly get greedier. That's my big question too with all this "greed driving inflation" discourse. I don't doubt it at all, in fact, from everything I see it seems like the likeliest…

The price of inputs is going up, but so are interest rates (and expected future interest rates). So where money was cheap, it's going to become more expensive. I suspect it's understandable a business would want to increase its margins given the expectation of higher rates -- as opposed to the personified "greed" narrative.