U.S. Food Prices Are Up. Are the Food Corporations to Blame for Taking Advantage?

All food prices were up a bit more than usual but the most dramatic price increases come from meat, pork cost 14% more than a year ago and beef cost 20% more. These increases are slowing, per consumer price data released January 12th, but show no signs of dropping to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon.Food companies say rising prices are merely free markets at work—extreme weather and pandemic disruptions increased production costs and diminished the supply of food while demand increased in the U.S. and abroad as people started to emerge from the pandemic. They argue that industry consolidation, especially in meat processing, helps a handful of corporations profit off inflation expectations by raising prices even further. And if corporate consolidation helps competitors raise prices together, what will it take to tame price gouging?Food markets have been out of whack since the pandemic began. In beef processing, baby food, pasta, and soda the top four companies control more than 80% of the U.S. market.With tight control over production food companies have more power to exploit pandemic disruptions and unfairly raise prices. In late November the antitrust enforcer requested that Walmart, Kroger, Kraft, and Tyson, among others, hand over information in an investigation into price hikes and food shortages.There is one clear indicator of excessive monopoly power: record corporate profits.