“Market” used to mean the place you go to get groceries. Mom and Pop used to own these places of commerce. Over time, markets began offering more than just food. They had always stocked things like toilet paper, washing powder, and toothpaste, but the list began to slowly grow until one morning, we woke up and the market had become a super market with many non-food items. It was at this time that the word “market” started to be dropped in favor of “store.” “Super market” was used for a time, but it was too many syllables for most people and “store” became our main designation for these shops. They tried later to redesignate these places of commerce as “super stores,” but the addition of more syllables to “store” didn’t work out culturally and only served to pump up advertisements.
Mom and Pop didn’t do well in those times. These days, they hardly exist. Convenience stores stole the customers big super stores hadn’t swept up. We lost those friendly faces that helped us find what we needed, but prices went down because the big stores could buy in volume and sell cheap. That’s why today, we have few little markets, a lot of convenience stores, and many super stores where you can buy everything you need. The convenience stores charge high prices for their convenience and the Mom and Pop stores that still exist charge a little higher price because they deal in smaller amounts of products so the wholesale prices they buy at are more expensive.
The chain stores have taken over but the prices have gone up. They remained low for a time as they were competing with each other and the little stores as well, but something happened. Actually, a lot of somethings happened. For instance, there was a potato disease in 1986 and the price of potatoes went from $1.60 cents for a ten pound bag to $2.10. As with all the other crises and shortages that would follow, the price never went back down after the crisis was over. This trend has continued and most consumer units don’t take much notice and if they do, they might grumble a little and that is it.
With control over most of the market, the super stores could slowly raise prices. Most people blame stores for the high cost of groceries these days. Those wealthy farmers also take a hit. But let us take a look at the money trail to see what’s really going on.
The following figures come from AI and represent 2024. Out of every dollar, farmers get 12 cents. The stores that sometimes shoulder the blame get 10-15 cents of every dollar. The processors and middle men get the rest of your food dollar. These figures are as accurate as can be made with the data, some of which is estimated by the USDA and/or the American Farm Bureau. It shows a seedy picture where the consumer is paying through the nose to have their food processed and delivered to the store. Let’s keep on going, because there is more.
Who owns the food processing businesses? The top seven processing companies take away around 19-21% of the total dollars spend domestically on food. The picture is really much more shocking than this. Many of these companies own parts of each other and all of them are controlled by Blackrock, Vanguard, and State Street, the three top money managers in the world who between all of them pretty much control the bulk of food processing in the US.
With this much of the industry owned and controlled by so few, the door is left open to price fixing and other economic moves not good for the consumer unit. In addition, the political power that they have can give them another leg up on the rest of the market. One result of this power is that the office of Secretary of Agriculture has been occupied by someone deeply connected to the industry for many years. Capturing the government agency that was designed to control their behavior let the corporations nudge the laws to favor their businesses which has allowed them to do things that make their products cheaper so there’s more profit. The result is not good for the consumer. I present to you the use of ractopamine and pink slime, neither of which are on the label of a package of meat. (For more information on ractopamine, read my article at https://irawhite.com/musings/ractopamine-in-your-food/.)
What does this have to do with the cost of groceries going up? When an industry has no competition and it has captured the agency meant to regulate it, the result is that the consumers pay more for lower quality food. Safety takes a hit as well. But that is not the end of it. The more control over food an entity has, the more control of the population. Before you know it, we will all be eating lab grown or plant based fake meat and loving it because there is no choice.
The question is not how do we stop it, but do we make the effort? If we don’t do anything, we will be relegated to being livestock. The problem seems unsurmountable, but it isn’t. First, refuse to be swayed by the colored packaging and the promise of convenience. Stay away from highly processed foods. Every package you don’t buy and consume is another hit against those trying to control the food you eat. The same goes for any food you grow yourself, even if it’s just a tomato plant or a spice garden in the kitchen window. The last measure you can take is to support your local farmers by buying direct. And support any Mom and Pop stores that are left in your neighborhood. It may seem to be just a little thing, but when many people follow this course, it makes a big impact.