Dairy Group Settles Antitrust Class Action On Inflating Milk Prices

In yet another example of corporate criminal behavior, major US dairy producers will pay $52 million to settle an anti-trust lawsuit accusing them of slaughtering half a million cows in order to raise the price of milk, yogurt, cream, and other dairy products. The suit alleges that a dairy industry group oversaw a program that bought up around 500,000 dairy cows and slaughtered them between 2003 and 2010. The resulting decrease in raw milk supplies increased the price of milk by about $0.59 for every 100 pounds of milk in the four years between 2004 and 2008. The industry group had said the program of buying up cows and then slaughtering them “allowed dairy farmers who wanted to stop farming, to exit farming altogether.” Of course it is hard to see why those farmers could not have sold the cows to other farmers willing to take on more productive cows. It is also unclear whether the farmers understood that their cows would be slaughtered. The settlement requires the dairy group to pay $52 million, while not admitting to any guilt or being found in violation of antitrust laws. Because we wouldn’t want them to have to admit they did anything wrong. When will these violations of law result in anything but a minor, monetary slap on the wrist.