Hawley discusses his bill to curb meatpacking industry’s monopoly tendencies

Missouri U-S Senator Josh Hawley is sponsoring a bill he says will put a stop to large meatpacking companies operating as a monopoly. 

He told Newstalk KZRG that Tyson Food’s recent decision to close two chicken plants in southern Missouri amounts to corporate greed:

Hawley stated:  “They canceled who knows how many hundreds of contracts with farmers who are now going to lose out on all this business, shutting down facilities in our state, and why? Because they want the price of chicken to be higher. They want it to be higher for consumers. They want to make more money.”

But Tyson executives blame the moves on lower profits and reduced demand for chicken from consumers. 

Hawley’s bill would remove incentives for large corporations to buy up smaller meat producers, which he says eliminates competition and drives up costs.