| On Grist, Tom Philpott predicts that Tyson is engaging its largest competitor, Pilgrim's Pride, in a game of chicken. How so? According to Philpott, Tyson is INCREASING chicken production at a time when chicken prices are already low. He predicts this could drop chicken prices below the cost of production.
Tyson may be able to sell chicken at less than it costs to produce it - they are also in the beef and pork businesses and they can profit there to stay solvent overall. Pilgrim's Pride only sells chicken - if they are forced to sell chicken at less than it costs to produce it, that's gonna hurt.
If this is truly the case and Philpott is right about Tyson's intent, this might lead to even MORE consolidation in the already-consolidated chicken industry (the largest 4 companies control 58.5% of the market). That's bad.
In another equally disturbing article about Tyson, Philpott reports on a recent interview with Don Tyson. In the interview, Tyson shares plans to expand operations overseas in India, China, and Brazil. Great, so our appetite for cheap chicken can pollute the rest of the world too. |
