Meat Packers Caught in the (Packers and Stockyards) Act
The Blog for Rural America shares the news that a federal jury in South Dakota ruled that the three largest American meat packers violated the Packers and Stockyards Act when “their conduct during the period had the purpose or effect of injuring competition in the fed cattle market.”
Tyson, Cargill, and Swift neglected to tell beef producers about the misreporting of the USDA’s price on boxed beef. The jury decided that this represented price manipulation in violation of the Act.
This underlines a problem with our modern food production system: A small number of buyers set the market price. Basically, each company says, “cut costs or we stop buying.” With no other buyers, the farmers agree and sell their products below cost, a better option than not making the sale at all. The American taxpayer pays for the agricultural subisides that rescue industrial farms in this situation, but none of that money finds its way to small farmers and they go out of business. Even though small farms represent a better return on investment.
