There's a real and renewed "energy, attention and momentum" around antitrust reform, according to @CLeonardNews speaking to #BigAgConference. Chris is a cynical as me about the potential here, and I agree that this is the ripest time for taking on corporate control in a century.

Chris is laying out his experience reporting on Tyson Foods in Waldron, Arkansas. And he's laying out the ills of the contract system and the tournament pay system. "This stunned me" for the evil genius the factory farm contract system gives to rig the game in favor of Tyson.

Chris spent quite a bit of time interviewing Don Tyson, and Tyson told him his philosophy of "expand or expire," of "go big or go home" which Tyson flexed throughout the 1970s and 1980s. That playbook led to monopoly market power for Tyson.

Tyson, through its monopoly control, now has the power to drive down input costs (meaning paying contract poultry or hog producers less), and also to raise prices on consumers.

Oh hell yeah. @CLeonardNews is now talking about his experience publishing his 2014 book The Meat Racket, and how the industry came at him with terrible reviews, setting up a "Meat Racket is a bunch of lies" website, and more.

And Chris is explaining how the way to fix the rigged agriculture market is through policy, not through boycotts. You can't boycott Tyson and fix things. There must be a federal antitrust action to fix these problems, just like there was from FDR and TR in the early 1900s.

The Obama Administration, including Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack from 2009-2016 and 2021-?, didn't do squat about the corporate takeover as their reform efforts fell apart, @CLeonardNews said.

Antitrust law gives private sector actors the ability to sue on collusion and corruption among a handful of corporate market manipulators. And there is momentum and action on the antitrust reform "direly needed" to help #rural poor and working class people, @CLeonardNews said.

On pollution from concentrating hogs and poultry in factory farms, @CLeonardNews says it's time to re-think water and air and climate pollution policy to make the corporations (Tyson, JBS, Smithfield, etc.) pay the cost and liability from pollution instead of contract farmers.

If you're interested in these issues about corporate power in ag and food, or even on the broader economy, buy @CLeonardNews's books or follow him, etc. We are old friends and he's an amazing reporter. His website is here: http://www.christopherleonard.biz/ 

Here's a link to one of @CLeonardNews's articles about AgriStats, co-reported with @leahjdouglas @FERNnews. https://thefern.org/2019/08/is-the-u-s-chicken-industry-cheating-its-farmers/