Jason Penn, CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride Poultry, is among four current and former chicken company executives indicted on federal charges of price fixing. The antitrust investigations spans five years and the charges include price fixing, rigging bids, and other anti-competitive conduct.
Unfair poultry pricing has also been the cause of numerous civil lawsuits from farmers, restaurants, and supermarket chains. According to Dow Jones, company shares were frozen immediately after the news, but reopened to a 13 percent decline.
In response to the charges, the National Farmers Union says the government should do more to “enforce antitrust policy; restore competition in the agricultural marketplace; reinstate the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration; and develop strong protections to farmers.”