In 1970 the US had around 600,000 dairies. Today? There are less than 20,000! Food regulations have created unrivaled monopolies in food production under the guise of safety. pic.twitter.com/a8Z2eZYQQN
— Back to the People (@backtothepeople) April 26, 2025
It seems to me that cutting the funds to the regulators that are regulating the small producers could be, something that could be a win-win for everybody.
00:12. I've always thought that. I just think they, you know, when you get a law like the Food Safety Modernization Act, 2011, [thanks, Obama] I think the underlying purpose of those acts is to consolidate control of the food system. That's what happened with the Wholesome Meat Act, 1967, which gave us the meat regulatory system we have today. At the time that Act was passed, I'd seen a congressional report that said meat was a competitive industry, and now you have four companies controlling maybe 85% of the market. It's not a food safety issue, it's an industry consolidation under the guise of food safety.
00:54. Where are the antitrust people?
00:55. Well, that's it. The antitrust laws aren't enforced in this country at least in the food sector that I've seen. It's interesting, I think in 1970 there were 600,000 dairies in this country, and today is less than 25,000. I don't think they're including the raw milk dairies; these are just the grade A dairies, the dairies that produce milk for pasteurization. And most of these dairy farmers don't have the resources to have their own bottling plants and pasteurization plants where they don't have to sell their milk to a coop. And in some of these states, I think Dairy Farmers of America is like the only game in town. You sell to them or you're not in business.
Some further reading:
"How the Feds Broke the Meat Industry," Michael Maharrey, Power & Market, January 7, 2022.
"Congress Broke the Meat Supply Chain 50 Years Ago," Mike Maharrey, The Tenth Amendment Center, May 8, 2020.
