About
The Open Markets Fair Food & Farming Systems program develops and advocates for policies that promote more resilient and environmentally sustainable food systems for the benefit of farmers, food chain workers, and consumers. The program aims to accomplish these goals by studying and exposing the pervasive corporate power and economic concentration throughout the food system.
Fewer and fewer dominant corporations control nearly every step along the food supply chain, from seeds to processing and grocery stores. Such consolidated power pushes farmers off the land, endangers food workers and suppresses their wages, harms animals and the environment, and sickens eaters. Big Food corporations translate their economic power into political influence to write the rules in their favor, further entrenching an abusive food system that serves no one other than corporate shareholders.
Open Markets believes that market regulation plays a critical role in balancing power in food markets and in leveling the playing field for a greater diversity of food businesses to flourish. The Food & Agriculture program has led the way revealing rigged food markets and corporate abuses through its biweekly Food & Power newsletter. The program has also outlined policy proposals to create fairer food markets, including structural antitrust enforcement, reforms to the Packers & Stockyards Act, bans on predatory pricing and exclusive dealing, and many more.
Publications
Open Markets Institute has partnered with the media company Participant and partners, to cosponsor the Washington, DC premiere of the documentary film sequel, Food, Inc. 2, on April 9th, and an impact campaign to improve our food system by taking on corporate power and the harmful practices that power enables.
Open Markets Food Program Manager Claire Kelloway released a statement on release of The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) final rule for improvements to Packers and Stockyards Act enforcement against discrimination, retaliation and deception in the meatpacking industry.
Open Markets Food Program Manager Claire Kelloway released a statement regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s move to block a merger between two of the nation’s largest grocers, Kroger and Albertsons.
Food systems program manager Claire Kelloway elaborates on the urgent issues that should be addressed in a new farm bill.
Open Markets’ food systems policy director Claire Kelloway on new USDA rules for chicken tournament systems that leave out turkey farmers.
Open Markets Institute was listed among the groups that have signed onto a letter opposing Koch Industries’ purchase of OCI Global’s Iowa Fertilizer Company for $3.6 billion, which would further consolidate the industry and damage competition and prices
Marketplace quoted Open Markets’ food systems policy director Claire Kelloway on how the proposed merger between grocery store giants Kroger and Albertsons would increase the company’s negotiating power with brands.
Food and agriculture systems program manager Claire Kelloway co-wrote a paper with senior fellow at American Economic Liberties Project, Matthew Buck, examining exclusionary payments as an unfair tactic used by dominant retailers to abuse their market power to corner food retail markets and marginalize new and community-based producers.
Food systems program manager Claire Kelloway argues that the main reason Kroger and Albertsons want to merge is to achieve Walmart’s monopsony power, and permitting mergers on these grounds will only harm suppliers, workers, and consumers.
Open Markets Institute was mentioned in an article in support of Beth Baltzan, an adviser to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office and a former senior fellow at OMI, who is being targeted by Big Tech firms and the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page.