Monopolies Killed My Hometown

We're back to the Price Spreads Report, and this time we are focused on the Meat Packing Industry. This section fascinated me. I loved the commissions discussion about the largest meat packing companies expanding into and losing money in other business lines, like creameries. The commission found that the profits from the meat packing industry subsidized those losses, but those losses also harmed other industries. How can a small creamery compete with another creamery that can afford to lose money every year? And how can a small business today compete against companies that can lose money? 

My favourite facts from the episode - In 1933, the top 2 companies - Canada Packers Limited and the Swift Canadian Company - had 85% of the sales in the industry. In 2021, the top 2 companies - JBL and Cargill - had 85% of the sales. Hmmm... The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Links from today's episode:

What is Monopolies Killed My Hometown?

Do you wonder why small towns, small businesses and people seem to be falling behind and you don’t know why? Feeling helpless about whether any of us can do anything to halt the decline of the places we love? Well, we know a secret. Our society fought the same battles about 100 years ago, and small towns won.

Join Andrew Cameron, the founder of the Center for Small Town Success and small business owner, every other week as he rediscovers our Canadian Anti-Monopoly tradition. The goal is to learn how we successfully fought back against Monopolies in the 1900s so we can restore power to small towns, small businesses and individuals today.

Listen to this podcast if you want to learn more about Canadian Competition Policy and to join the Anti-Monopoly movement. #freeboswell #cdnpoli