Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, and Perdue Farms have all been subpoenaed by the Department of Justice in the agency’s grand jury investigation into the poultry sector. FERN broke news of the investigation in June. The Wall Street Journal reports that the three poultry companies will cooperate with the subpoenas.
The DOJ’s grand jury investigation comes as allegations of collusion in the poultry industry gain momentum. Retailers such as Walmart and Kroger, distributors like US Foods and Sysco, and restaurants have filed suits alleging that the industry colluded to keep chicken prices artificially high between 2008 and 2016.
FERN reported on the DOJ’s grand jury investigation in June when the agency intervened in one of the cornerstone lawsuits against the poultry industry, led by distributor Maplevale Farms, with a motion to halt discovery in that case. The agency argued that the Maplevale discovery could interfere with its own grand jury investigation. The judge in the Maplevale case partially granted the DOJ’s request, halting discovery for three months instead of the agency’s proposed six months.
A recent investigation by FERN and The Guardian reported on farmers’ allegations that poultry companies have also colluded to suppress farmers’ wages. All of the allegations regarding collusion by the poultry companies involve the data-sharing company Agri Stats, which generates daily reports for poultry executives on numerous metrics of the industry. The lawsuits allege that the companies can use data from Agri Stats reports to keep consumer prices high and farmer wages down.