Claire Kelloway
@clairek.bsky.social
Writing about food and ag for the Open Markets Institute / Food & Power. Foodandpower.net
ICYMI, catch the latest issue of Food & Power (with updated data) reprinted today in @barnraiser.bsky.social ! I explain how corporate consolidation increases the risk of large foodborne illness outbreaks like cyclospora barnraisingmedia.com/the-bigger-t...
The Bigger the Corporation, the Bigger the Diarrhea Outbreak
Taylor Farms and other large produce corporations have long exerted political power to weaken food safety regulations.
barnraisingmedia.com
While still without definitive proof, the FDA links states with the largest cyclospora outbreaks to lettuce from produce giant, Taylor Farms. open.substack.com/pub/foodandp...
"The entire U.S. food system is remarkably consolidated, exploitative and fragile." In @nytopinion.nytimes.com, @clairek.bsky.social & Sandeep Vaheesan explain what's gone wrong with our food system & the big changes needed to fix it. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/o...
Opinion | This Is Why Your Groceries Are So Expensive
nytimes.com
Excellent guest essay in the Times about the root cause of rising grocery prices.
Claire Kelloway@clairek.bsky.social · 2mo agoThrilled to write for the @nytopinion.nytimes.com today with Sandeep Vaheesan, making the case for genuine antitrust action in the food system, not just rhetoric www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/o...
Thrilled to write for the @nytopinion.nytimes.com today with Sandeep Vaheesan, making the case for genuine antitrust action in the food system, not just rhetoric www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/o...
Opinion | This Is Why Your Groceries Are So Expensive
nytimes.com
Sysco wants to be restaurants only option. This deal brings them one step closer to that. Sure, Sysco delivers and RD is "cash & carry," but small restaurants compare prices between the two. Independents already have few options for buying food, this makes that worse. www.reuters.com/business/sys...
US food giant Sysco strikes $29 billion deal for catering supplier Restaurant Depot
Sysco said on Monday it would buy catering supplier Jetro Restaurant Depot in a $29 billion deal expanding the top U.S. food distributor's reach among price-conscious independent restaurants.
reuters.com
Excellent analysis from @clairek.bsky.social about the power of the big fertilizer firms in crisis moments like this- always happy to talk with her about these kinds of issues! foodandpower.substack.com/p/fertilizer...
Fertilizer Giants Make Farmers and Food Production More Vulnerable
Fertilizer prices are rising as US and Israel’s attack on Iran closes the critical Strait of Hormuz. In theory, nitrogen fertilizer can be made all over the world, so why is the industry so consolidat...
foodandpower.substack.com
Fertilizer prices are rising as US and Israel’s attack on Iran closes the critical Strait of Hormuz. In theory, nitrogen fertilizer can be made all over the world, so why is the industry so consolidated and vulnerable? I try to answer in Food & Power! open.substack.com/pub/foodandp...
Fertilizer Giants Make Farmers and Food Production More Vulnerable
Fertilizer prices are rising as US and Israel’s attack on Iran closes the critical Strait of Hormuz. In theory, nitrogen fertilizer can be made all over the world, so why is the industry so consolidat...
open.substack.com
I spoke with meatpacking plant workers and a small meat processing operator about the chilling effect of Operation Metro Surge and other immigration restrictions on Minnesota's meatpacking towns.
Open Markets Institute@openmarkets.bsky.social · 5mo agoIn towns hours from Minneapolis, immigrant families are staying home out of fear. Kids are missing school. Errands go undone. Local economies are quietly grinding to a halt. New from @clairek.bsky.social: foodandpower.substack.com/p/ice-surge-...
The @washingtonmonthly.com Winter Issue wisely recommends Democrats go bold in their proposals to bring down prices. Our Food Program Manager @clairek.bsky.social examines one of these ideas: public grocery stores. washingtonmonthly.com/2026/01/22/h...
How to Bring Down Grocery Prices
A civilian equivalent of the commissary system could deliver more affordable grocery prices to hard-pressed Americans.
washingtonmonthly.com
I live in Minneapolis, and witnessing the ways local businesses are boldly and creatively stepping up to meet community needs as large corporations offer mild statements or facilitate ICE reminds me why antimonopoly policy is central to a healthy democracy. foodandpower.substack.com/p/wall-stree...
Wall Street Doesn’t Reward Resilience, Main Street Does
Minnesota shows how small businesses can support their communities through crisis while large corporations make measured statements, or worse, cooperate with authoritarian overreach.
foodandpower.substack.com
I live in Minneapolis, and witnessing the ways local businesses are boldly and creatively stepping up to meet community needs as large corporations offer mild statements or facilitate ICE reminds me why antimonopoly policy is central to a healthy democracy. foodandpower.substack.com/p/wall-stree...
Wall Street Doesn’t Reward Resilience, Main Street Does
Minnesota shows how small businesses can support their communities through crisis while large corporations make measured statements, or worse, cooperate with authoritarian overreach.
foodandpower.substack.com
A public option for grocery stores, based on the proof of concept provided by the commissary model, could not only vastly improve food access; it could inject more competition into the broader grocery market and bring down food prices for all Americans in the long term. By @clairek.bsky.social
How to Bring Down Grocery Prices
A civilian equivalent of the commissary system could deliver more affordable grocery prices to hard-pressed Americans.
washingtonmonthly.com
As consumers struggle with rising food prices, an unsealed antitrust suit involving Walmart and Pepsi and a report on Instacart’s algorithmic pricing model demonstrate the ways large food corporations charge different prices to different retailers and consumers. open.substack.com/pub/foodandp...
Revelations from FTC’s Unsealed Pepsi Case and Instacart Pricing Investigation
As consumers continue to struggle with rising food prices, an unsealed antitrust suit involving Walmart and Pepsi and a report on Instacart’s algorithmic pricing model demonstrate the ways large food ...
open.substack.com
Bird flu has killed 8.7 million turkeys, chickens, and ducks in the U.S. since September, alone. Outbreaks on turkey farms earlier this year plunged the U.S. turkey flock to its lowest size in 40 years. As a result, wholesale prices for whole turkeys surged 75% between October 2024 and October 2025.
Policymakers at all levels have options to make food markets more fair & competitive to stabilize prices for the long run. This includes fair pricing policy like the RobinsonPatman Act, public option grocery stores & wholesalers, and banning surveillance pricing, price-fixing, and exclusive dealing.
Open Markets Institute@openmarkets.bsky.social · 8mo agoYour Thanksgiving guide to fairer food prices, from @clairek.bsky.social and Food & Power: 🦃🌽 www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
Your Thanksgiving guide to fairer food prices, from @clairek.bsky.social and Food & Power: 🦃🌽 www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications...
New Expert Brief -- Creating Fair Food Markets for Affordable Groceries — Open Markets Institute
Creating Fair Food Markets for Affordable Groceries, an expert brief by Food Systems manager Claire Kelloway, shares how policymakers at all levels of government can hold food corporations to account...
openmarketsinstitute.org
Can always count on @grocerynerd.bsky.social to tell it like it is! A great breakdown of the past 5 years of food price hikes, why profiteering is a driver of these price increases, and policies that would help ensure food is a human right www.forbes.com/sites/errols...
Why High Food Prices Will Make Public Groceries Inevitable
Grocery prices have jumped 25% in just 4 years while consumption volumes have plummeted. Public sector solutions may be the key to bring back affordability.
forbes.com
At Food and Power, @clairek.bsky.social discusses what Mamdani can learn from past and present public grocery projects.
What Mamdani Can Learn from Past and Present Public Grocery Projects
Cities, small towns, and the federal government have all tried running public food markets and grocery stores. New York City can learn from the military commissary system and benefit from Robinson-Pat...
foodandpower.substack.com
NYC Mayor-elect Mamdani's public grocery store pilot ruffled feathers, but the idea isn't all that new. American cities used to play a big role in food retail running public markets and the military runs a successful public grocery chain for military families. 🧵 substack.com/home/post/p-...
What Mamdani Can Learn from Past and Present Public Grocery Projects
Cities, small towns, and the federal government have all tried running public food markets and grocery stores. New York City can learn from the military commissary system and benefit from Robinson-Pat...
substack.com
Apropro of nothing, re-upping this op-ed by Zephyr Teachout on what city government can do to create more fair and affordable grocery markets 👀 www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/o...
Opinion | New York City Has the Power to Bring Down Grocery Prices. All Cities Do.
nytimes.com
Rural stagnation is not inevitable; it is a policy choice. We can begin to fix it at the state-level - with anti-monopoly legislation and by supporting fair competition in agriculture. More from @clairek.bsky.social in our inaugural journal: www.statesforum.org/journal/issu...
Fair Markets For Rural America - The States Forum
Every election season, red and blue maps reinforce the myth of “two Americas,” the wealthy, liberal cities and the declining, conservative countryside.
statesforum.org
President Trump’s plan to import more beef from Argentina hit a nerve with ranchers, not only because it sunk cattle futures, but because U.S. ranchers already feel threatened by unlabeled imports and the powerful multinational packers that profit off of them. substack.com/home/post/p-...
The Bigger Tensions Behind Trump’s Beef with Cattle Ranchers
President Trump’s plan to import more beef from Argentina hit a nerve with ranchers, not only because it sunk cattle futures, but because U.S. ranchers already feel threatened by unlabeled imports.
substack.com
ICYMI - Among the many shutdown casualties is the Packers and Stockyards division. It's the latest blow to ag antitrust enforcement after USDA canceled its Farmer Seed Liaison cooperative agreement early last month.
Open Markets Institute@openmarkets.bsky.social · 10mo ago"The shutdown is just the latest blow to agriculture antimonopoly enforcement, as the Trump administration quietly dismantles Biden-era projects." Read more in @clairek.bsky.social's Food & Power: www.foodandpower.net/latest/shutd...
I raise a few questions about McDonald's commitment to regen ag here. @nsac-sustainableag.bsky.social puts this initiative in context, including major cuts to #USDA staff managing programs that could help farmers. Great reporting by @clairek.bsky.social www.foodandpower.net/latest/mcdon...
How McDonald’s Latest Regenerative Beef Investment Falls Short — Food & Power
RFK Jr. praised McDonald’s $200M donation as the Trump administration cuts USDA staff that support rangeland conservation. Rather than fund short-term projects, advocates want McDonald’s to pay ranche...
foodandpower.net
The OBBB changed a lot of important things, including the way Congress passes food and farm policy. By reauthorizing much of the Farm Bill through the OBBB, including massive SNAP cuts, there's little incentive for Congress to pass a traditional Farm Bill, now or maybe ever again.
Open Markets Institute@openmarkets.bsky.social · 11mo agoOur Food Program manager @clairek.bsky.social spoke with @marketplace.org about the Farm Bill and how the once-bipartisan process for passing it has changed ---> www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
At first the Trump admin said farms & food plants would not be targets for immigration raids, but as pressures mount to meet aggressive deportation targets, that's beginning to change. This threatens US food security and approx. 850,000 immigrant families who have worked on US farms for decades
The Food & Environment Reporting Network@thefern.org · 11mo agoRead the full story, a collaboration with Successful Farming, at thefern.org/2025/09/is-f... @clairek.bsky.social
Read the full story, a collaboration with Successful Farming, at thefern.org/2025/09/is-f... @clairek.bsky.social
Kraft Heinz lost 60% of its stock value since merging, and now it wants to split in search of growth. Getting too big and PE cost-cutting set Kraft Heinz back, but it still dominates many segments of the grocery store, and this split won’t change that. substack.com/home/post/p-...
After a Rough Decade, Kraft Heinz Splits Up
Turns out bigger isn’t always better.
substack.com
With lots of buzz about Mamdani's public grocery pilot, Zephyr Teachout urges mayors to *also* use competition policy to bring down food prices and help local grocers and farmers: ending big box favoritism, commercial bribery, and price gouging www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/o...
Opinion | The Solution to $10 Eggs Lies Within New York City Limits
nytimes.com