President Joe Biden, meeting with a group of independent meat producers Monday to discuss ways to lower food prices, suggested that increased competition with the conglomerates in the industry would be effective in preventing future price increases, the Associated Press reports.
“Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism — it’s exploitation,” Biden said. Biden commented that the cost of food has impacted his own household, with his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, talking with her sister and a friend about the increase in the price of hamburger, which has increased about a dollar per pound.
Biden stated that independent producers will receive one billion dollars in support from the coronavirus relief package in an effort to help them expand capacity, improve working conditions and attract workers.
Establishment leaders, however, felt Biden’s initiatives would not benefit the industry. Mike Brown, president of the National Chicken Council, said, “This looks like a solution in search of a problem.” He said the administration is using the food industry as a “scapegoat for the significant challenges facing our economy. ”