Yep, I’ve read Barons. I love how Austin’s stories make corporate power feel real and concrete, not abstract. A lot of those same dynamics are showing up in this Tyson closure.
Thank you, Ra! I haven’t seen any reporting that Bill Gates bought the plant, but I’m also concerned about his control over farmland and food. It sounds like Tyson closing the plant rather than selling it, which cuts competition and options for ranchers.
Tyson’s public explanation is low cattle supplies and the plant running below capacity. At the same time there’s a broader processing bottleneck nationally when so few companies control the market.
Either way, closing a major plant instead of selling it reduces competition and options for ranchers, and it definitely deserves antitrust scrutiny.
We have to encourage entrepreneurship and limit the stringent USDA and FDA regs that keep small-local producers out of the game WHILE maintaining compliance and best practices. This industry needs horizontal integration - including better distribution ASAP. The consolidated industrial to supermarket model has its grip on the country - both consumers and producers.
Are you familiar with Austin Frerick’s book “Barons”?
Yep, I’ve read Barons. I love how Austin’s stories make corporate power feel real and concrete, not abstract. A lot of those same dynamics are showing up in this Tyson closure.
Consider that Bill Gates had and is buying up US farmland. I hear as fast as he can. Perhaps he bought out this meat packing plant?
Thank you for asking important questions!
Thank you, Ra! I haven’t seen any reporting that Bill Gates bought the plant, but I’m also concerned about his control over farmland and food. It sounds like Tyson closing the plant rather than selling it, which cuts competition and options for ranchers.
And this is when even USDA acknowledges the processing bottleneck and brags about how many hundreds of millions it is spending to increase capacity.
What was the excuse for closing it? I assume the real reason was to create more of a shortage to drive up prices?
An “ask” for Brooke Rollins might be to negotiate or otherwise influence this closure give the huge impact it will have on beef nationally.
Tyson’s public explanation is low cattle supplies and the plant running below capacity. At the same time there’s a broader processing bottleneck nationally when so few companies control the market.
Either way, closing a major plant instead of selling it reduces competition and options for ranchers, and it definitely deserves antitrust scrutiny.
We have to encourage entrepreneurship and limit the stringent USDA and FDA regs that keep small-local producers out of the game WHILE maintaining compliance and best practices. This industry needs horizontal integration - including better distribution ASAP. The consolidated industrial to supermarket model has its grip on the country - both consumers and producers.