Sen. Warren unwisely sought relevance at Thanksgiving

Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, asking the agency to investigate the anticompetitive practices of the top poultry companies of the United States.

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Twitter)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Twitter)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts,  sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, asking the agency to investigate the anticompetitive practices of the top poultry companies of the United States.

The letter was dated November 22, and a press release announcing that letter was issued the same day.

What’s the matter, Sen. Warren? Are you not getting enough attention?

I noticed the press release prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, but by acknowledging the letter in the media then, I would be giving her what I think she was wanting. I think she was wanting to play at people’s emotions about the price of chicken and turkey, specifically turkey, prior to Thanksgiving. Sorry, Senator, I said it before, Thanksgiving is not time to stir up political trouble.

Now that political talk is again appropriate, I have to say the press release made very little sense. It’s like she didn’t know the difference between turkeys and broilers. Or maybe it is just that the person writing it just threw something together quickly and haphazardly so he or she could get home for Thanksgiving.

The headline of the press release reads “Warren calls for DOJ Investigation into top poultry companies’ anticompetitive practices as Americans Face record-high turkey prices ahead of Thanksgiving.”

Yet when you read further down into the press release, there is only mention of the broiler industry.

Oh, and her information is a bit off. The press release referred to the “Big Four” poultry companies, “JBS Foods, Tyson, Perdue and Sanderson.” Technically, JBS Foods is not the same thing as JBS-affiliated Pilgrim’s Pride. But assuming that is what Warren’s staff meant, it isn’t quite right.

Her information is also outdated. Yes, there was a time when the four largest broiler companies in the United States were, in this order, Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, Sanderson Farms and Perdue Farms, but Mountaire Farms has since surpassed Perdue Farms in terms of the amount of ready-to-cook pounds of chicken processed on a weekly basis, according to the WATT PoultryUSA Top Companies survey.

Mind you, Tyson Foods and Perdue are also top turkey companies, but Warren’s criticism of those companies seemed focused on their chicken businesses.

We know Warren has been critical of Tyson Foods in the past, disrespecting the company prior to visiting Storm Lake, Iowa, where Tyson has two facilities, including a turkey facility.

And we also know other politicians used a similar tactic of playing at people’s emotions leading up to a holiday. Remember New York Attorney General Letitia James’ press conference that accused Hillandale Farms of the price gouging right around Easter? I see this as a similar example of political grandstanding.

I get that in order to continue to get re-elected, you need to get your name out there to stay relevant. But if you’re going to criticize an industry, shouldn’t you at least make it sound like you know what you’re talking about?

Oh, and this might not be the last we hear from Warren and her staff on this matter. She has requested that the DOJ respond to her by December 20. You know, so another press release can be sent out around the same time folks go shopping for their Christmas turkey.

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