Some of America’s Top Chicken Purveyors Are Under Investigation for Price Fixing

https://www.eater.com/2019/6/26/18759596/chicken-price-fixing-investigation-perdue-tyson-sanderson-farms

by smacktoward • 7 years ago

83 46 7 years ago

bduerst• 7 years ago

The suit alleges that these companies used a subscription service called Agri Stats to share information with each other about the age of their chickens and operating costs.

Is AgriStats just another industry BI data vendor or is it some messaging/forum platform as well?

IfOnlyYouKnew• 7 years ago

Obligatory Matt Levine link: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-06-26/everyt... (search "chicken")

kazinator• 7 years ago

These puffed up, cocky bastards sure think they rule the roost.

jMyles• 7 years ago

I'm fine with pun threads, but this feels overdone and not funny, at least to me.

foolfoolz3• 7 years ago

this is pretty amazing. i buy a lot of costco canned chicken. it's usually $10 for 6cans, 7oz of chicken each can. that's like $3.80 a pound. i know that cans have additional packaging costs but fresh chicken isn't too much more than that, you can usually get it for $6/lb.

i feel like canned chicken should be far below fresh in price. who knows how old these cans are? or how many chickens are actually in each can? the ability to inventory should keep the price pretty constant

Amezarak2• 7 years ago

Those are some crazy prices. Fresh chicken goes for around 2.50/lb in the South US.

nullwasamistake• 7 years ago

I can get breasts for $1.60/lb here in bulk

geodel• 7 years ago

I guess you are buying inorganic chicken :-)

foolfoolz3• 7 years ago

i swear like 4-5 years ago it was commonly $4 and organic/free range/memory foam pillow raised chicken was like $7. now the fancy chicken is like $9. its ridiculous. i'm talking only breasts here, thighs/legs you can get cheaper. haven't seen breast meat for less than $2.50 in almost 10 years

opportune• 7 years ago

I live in a HCOL part of the west coast and I usually eat drumsticks and thighs which are $1-1.70/lb when buying larger packs (3lb+)

tracker14• 7 years ago

Best bet with Costco is to get the rotisserie chicken, pull the meat off yourself, vacuum seal and freeze at home. Usually the lowest price you'll find for chicken.

NOTE: I also freeze the bones/skin etc separately for making broth/stock.

dboreham• 7 years ago

That's because Costco loses money on every rotisserie bird sold.

hyperbovine• 7 years ago

Or, buy one of the nineteen different prepared entrees they sell featuring shredded chicken.

foolfoolz3• 7 years ago

i absolutely love cleaning a costco chicken. i take pride in it. i do not wear gloves. some people challenge themselves to do something good in the world every day. i challenge myself to get as much meat off that carcass as i possibly can

jessriedel• 7 years ago

My impression was that modern delivery chains are so efficient that the premium for freshness is very small. I thought the bulk of the cost was just the chicken.

pixl97• 7 years ago

If you're cheap, Walmart commonly has breasts for $2/lb. Which seems insanely cheap.

irishcoffee• 7 years ago

I refuse to spend more than 99 cents/lb on chicken. Buy it when I find it and freeze it, never had any issues.

sjg0072• 7 years ago

but is it... good?

Johnny5552• 7 years ago

They aren't selling you just chicken, they are selling you the convenience of shelf-stable canned chicken. If you wanted fresh/frozen/cooked chicken, you'd just buy that but instead you buy the canned chicken and you're willing to pay a premium for it for the convenience -- and Costco knows that.

A 25 cent can of soda sold at Costco is almost entirely sugar and water, you could buy a 25 pound bag of sugar and mix up some sugar water at home for a few pennies. (ok, so technically most soda uses HFCS, not sugar)

gowld• 7 years ago

You forgot the carbonation, canning, flavoring, and preservatives.

maxerickson• 7 years ago

I pay $2 a pound for boneless skinless thighs.

I guess there are usually breasts sitting next to it for the same price or a bit cheaper, but they are dry and tasteless.

brownbat• 7 years ago

they are dry and tasteless

I often prefer thighs too, but if you're stuck, you can avoid dry/tasteless breasts if you use a lower heat for most of the cooking process, then blast briefly at higher heat for a rich malliard.

Also, season more aggressively than you expect. A chicken breast is not a steak, you need to work it a bit more for best results. Salt both early and late in the process, consider using a bit of garlic or onion in the oil, or go all the way and add something bold like sriracha before it hits the pan. Dusting with a mixture of flour and a spice blend like old bay is another good approach.

chmod775• 7 years ago

I didn't even know canned chicken was a thing.

Why...

EForEndeavour• 7 years ago

Do you mean why does canned chicken exist? I imagine the same reason why other canned meats/foods exist: easy storage for months or years at room temperature while being ready to eat immediately on opening.

jfengel• 7 years ago

It's basically the same as canned tuna. In fact, since both are massively overcooked, they're barely distinguishable.

tracker14• 7 years ago

I do find it interesting that Chicken seems to be more than Beef, and a lot more than Pork lately. I've just been having more pork and beef anyway.

koolba• 7 years ago

You mean “more” as in higher prices per pound? If so, what cuts?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen chicken prices anywhere near a decent cut of beef. Plus the best parts, the dark meat, is cheaper than the tasteless breast.

dsfyu404ed• 7 years ago

What?

Even the cheapest ground beef still costs more per pound than most chicken assuming you make a reasonably even comparison between form factors.

kartan• 7 years ago

the price of broiler chickens jumped by 50 percent between 2008 to 2016, despite the fact that cost of feeding the chickens went down during this period.

If costs to down and price go up and there is no increase in demand there is a problem.

Three of these companies — Sanderson, Tyson, and Pilgrim’s Pride — control nearly half the American chicken market

This sums up XXI century capitalism. Olygopolies control everything leaving consumers or even business with just a couple of options. It's easier to fix prices that way as it's easier to increase profit thru cooperation that to risk a competition war.

TaylorAlexander• 7 years ago

We need an economy of worker owned cooperatives. It won’t solve every problem but it would solve some problems. A few executives are more likely to screw over the public than a large collection of workers.

rmorey• 7 years ago

"America's Top Chicken" sounds like an awesome reality show

marsrover• 7 years ago

This reminds me of the movie "The Informant". Good movie.

That's about all I have to contribute to this conversation.

iscrewyou• 7 years ago

I enjoyed that movie and never have I said “What is going on???” more times than watching that movie.

sjg0072• 7 years ago

This was a plot device in Billions.. funny.

apricot13• 7 years ago

They covered this in the series rotten on Netflix. The chickens suffer and the farmers suffer but the corporation profits.

Some of America’s Top Chicken Purveyors Are Under Investigation for Price Fixing

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