Washington, D.C. — The American Economic Liberties Project today released the following statement in response to a new proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would enhance enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act and require meatpackers to be more transparent in their dealings with contract farmers.

“Bringing transparency to poultry pricing is important and we applaud the Biden Administration for addressing this issue,” said J.D. Scholten, Senior Advisor at the American Economic Liberties Project. “However, the current tournament system ultimately benefits multinational meatpacking corporations while squeezing farmers, ranchers, and consumers alike. The USDA must fully enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act and should break up the four dominant multinational companies — Tyson, JBS, Perdue, and Sanderson — that control more than half of the market in chicken processing and return power to farmers, workers, and consumers.”

To learn more, read “Courage to Learn: Agriculture.”

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.