We found out in 1929. Today, we have corrected the problems of the great market crash of 1929 and it is time to apply the same rules to commodity markets. Trading on material non-public information is called insider trading and is illegal in the stock market. As a cattle feeder I would like to know what prices the formula and contract feedyards are receiving. Concentration is bad to the extent that it reduces competition.
Concentration also poses other threats such as food safety.
It is now evident Congress has abrogated its oversight responsibilities regarding meat safety in allowing the beef and food industries to be dominated and controlled by a powerful packer monopoly and other domestic and multi-national food powerhouses. These companies, while maximizing profits, justify risking consumer's health and safety by promoting their false efficiencies, economies of scale and benefits of free global trade. Nebraska raised the multi-national corporation ConAgra. ConAgra and IBP have grown very large with their roots in the fertile Nebraska soil. I believe that while individual agricultural producers have been too busy doing the work of many, powerful corporations have gained complete control by writing the laws of this nation in their corporate boardrooms.