Senator Chuck Schumer visited a Niagara Falls meat shop Monday morning, where he purchased some of their products. But first, he came to talk about the rising costs of meats such as those sold there.
He said only a handful of companies — Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef — dominate the meat production market, calling the food system rigged in favor of corporate monopolies.
“There's a huge monopoly in the meat and pork industries that raises prices, hurts consumers, and there's no competition,” said Schumer, standing outside Niagara Sausage Company on Lockport Road. “Four companies control 85% of the beef market. Four companies control 67% of the pork market. Four companies control 60% of the chicken market."
The Democrat and longtime U.S. Senator from New York announced proposed legislation titled the "Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act." It calls on the Federal Trade Commission to look into current business practices, force the nation’s largest meatpackers to commit to only one line of business, provide technical and financial assistance to assistance to small businesses and farming cooperatives to create more local supply chains, and rein in foreign-owned conglomerates competing in the U.S. market.
“This legislation that the senator is proposing is going to address a major issue that's facing everyday families here in Niagara Falls, and that is the high cost of groceries” said Niagara Falls city administrator Anthony Restaino. “By creating more competition, this is going to result in groceries becoming more affordable, and will also benefit our local farm community here in Niagara County.”
The affordability issue is a prominent topic nationwide, and it looms large in Niagara County where, according to U.S. Census data, the median household income is $69,633. Per capita income, according to the same data, is $38,904, and the poverty rate is just over 13 percent.
The leader of a local not-for-profit human services agency said it is seeing the impact of food insecurity every day, and the need for help is growing.
“Our numbers have increased almost 200% over the last three years. It just continues to go up and up and up,” said Robyn Krueger, president and executive officer of Community Missions of the Niagara Frontier. "It doesn't appear at this point that there is any end in sight, and it is unfortunate that we have to talk about doing things like this in order to get people's attention and to make sure that there's awareness as to what is going on in our communities."
When the price of the product rises, retailers must raise their prices to keep up with their expenses. Without relief from rising prices, there’s the risk of customers no longer coming to make purchases, which in turn jeopardizes the business. Staff from Niagara Sausage Company, including owner Mike Greenawalt, stood with Schumer in support of his bill.
“We're doing our best to keep our prices to where our customers can still shop,” said Niagara Sausage Company’s Shanna Olszewski. “Here, quite a few are on a fixed income. We cater to local families. Everybody's just trying to do their best to make do with the rising costs of everything, so we're doing our best to keep the food costs down.”
Schumer recalled the 1906 novel "The Jungle," by Upton Sinclair, which provided a criticism of the meatpacking industry during that era, highlighting unsafe working conditions and corporate conglomerates running the industry. The senator said Monday public reaction then led to reforms in the meatpacking industry.
He believes the nation is again feeling outraged, and he’s hopeful his colleagues will pass this bill, perhaps in the next session.
“All of America is realizing that the cost of the affordability crisis, the costs of (what) people need, is just getting out of hand,” he said. “We're beginning to see that the partisanship that has so slayed Washington is fading a bit on this issue.”
