The Feds Found Evidence of an Egg Cartel, and Almost Nobody Noticed
Maybe There Was an Egg Cartel After All
Egg prices more than doubled in a year, and economists blamed bird flu while dismissing collusion talk as crankery. Then the Justice Department and 17 state attorneys general alleged that three of the largest producers — Cal-Maine, Hickman's and Versova — coordinated inflated bids on the Egg Clearinghouse to prop up Urner Barry benchmark prices. The scheme took three years to untangle, ended with no admissions of wrongdoing, and barely made headlines. The cranks, it turns out, saw it first.
Eggs are a classic example of where collusion makes an awful lot of sense. I am going to have my two eggs and bacon every Wednesday, and on Saturday as well, regardless of the price of eggs.