3 ms·
There’s only two meat packers… two. Where are the cattle farmers to go? It’s like this across the industry thanks to monopolies like ConAgra, Tyson’s, etc.
by reactordev 9mo ago
There’s only two meat packers… two. Where are the cattle farmers to go? It’s like this across the industry thanks to monopolies like ConAgra, Tyson’s, etc.
- autoexec 9mo agoBreaking up monopolies and giving farm workers strong unions would go a long way to improving the situation.
- tstrimple 9mo agoYou'll never guess which group is consistently against unions!
- mlrtime 9mo agoThere are many many meat packers, or you just mean two big ones?
- reactordev 9mo ago“The U.S. meatpacking industry is dominated by the "Big Four"—Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS, and National Beef—which control 80-85% of the beef market and significant portions of poultry and pork”
- tbyehl 9mo agoIt's so much worse for poultry. My state and the bordering states represent more than half of US production and there's exactly one USDA facility available to independent producers. They're quite small and the cost approaches today's retail price for a whole Tyson chicken. There are USDA exemptions for tiny producers (up to 20K/yr vs 150K+ for a single modern broiler house) to slaughter and package themselves for in-state sales but anyone operating under one of those exemptions won't be able to grow that business large enough to self-finance constructing their own USDA-monitored facility.
- reactordev 9mo agoYup, this is called a ladder pull. A business moat. You legally are able but the economics make it so that you physically can’t. Not unless you have outside investment.