Weekend reading: the potato cartel

Happy Valentine’s Day!  Since I’m talking about potatoes, try these!

I learned about this from a Tweet (X) from Dan Barber.

I went right to The Lever and signed on so I could read: The Rise Of Big Potato: Allegations of price collusions among the potato cartel reveal the new, sophisticated methods food corporations are using to keep prices high.

The four companies now stand accused of operating as a “cartel” and conspiring to hike prices, jacking up the cost of french fries and Tater Tots around the country. But they’re hardly alone. The case against Big Potato is a window into how consolidation has crept into every corner of the food industry — and how these firms are finding new, sophisticated methods to keep prices high.

After decades of consolidation, just four firms now control at least 97 percent of the $68 billion frozen potato market, the antitrust cases reveal. These four companies participate in the same trade associations and use a third-party data analytics platform — PotatoTrac — to share confidential business information. The lawsuits allege the firms’ collusion has driven french fries and hash browns to record-high prices.

All of this reminds me of:

• Get big or get out: the USDA’s advice to corn farmers in the 1970s
• Congressional overturning of school lunch standards restricting the number of times french fries could be served
• Health concerns about frequent consumption of french fries