Chicken industry is being investigated, after getting complaints from food distributors. (Image via Daily Mail)

Chicken Industry in the U.S. is Investigated; What Happened?

It turns out that chicken industry in the U.S. has several problems. The U.S. government is believed to do investigations, after some companies filled complaints about chicken companies. Although these companies have complaints since 2016, but the news of the investigation is widely spread started this year. What exactly happened?

Turn back time to three years ago, a New York food service distributor called Maplevale Farms, filled a lawsuit against chicken companies (Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride, Sanderson and Perdue) in September 2016.On the lawsuit it is said that the chicken companies trying to conspired and combined in order to fix, raise, maintain and stabilize the price of chicken broilers. Maplevale Farms also revealed that these companies were trying to limit the chicken production. If the chickens on the market are in limited amount, it means the price will increase.

Maplevale Farms was not the only one who complained about the chicken companies. Last month, Walmart did as well, as they sued the same poultry companies. They revealed that the chicken companies were killing hatchlings with the same intention as stated above—to raise the price. Another food distribution, Sysco, sued the chicken companies last year as well. According to Watt Poultry USA, Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride, Sanderson and Perdue take control 51% of the chicken industry, which make them to be powerful.

Tyson, however, stated that the claims are baseless. The statement was released after the Justice Department asked the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to stop the discovery process for six months. This is due to the fact that it pursues a criminal investigation.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/25/business/chicken-investigation/index.html