At an event in North Carolina Friday, the Harris-Walz campaign is set to announce a first-ever federal ban on food and grocery price-gouging, directing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to impose “harsh penalties” on firms that break new price gouging limits.

In response, Food & Water Action Executive Director Wenonah Hauter issued the following statement:

“Decades of failure by federal leaders to tackle food monopolies have sent grocery prices skyrocketing. President Biden finally turned the corner with real action against ill-advised corporate mergers, and the Harris campaign’s signals of intent to work even harder against food profiteering are encouraging. We look forward to seeing robust antitrust policy that will make a difference in our wallets, and send the food monopolies packing.”

Just yesterday, Mars announced plans to acquire Kellanova, in a bid to dominate snack market sales at consumers’ expense. From January 2020-2024, the cost to feed a family ballooned, as corporate profits soared. Over this period:

• The monthly food cost for a family of four on a “thrifty food plan” increased 50%.
• The top four grocery retailers in the U.S. saw revenue increases of up to 36%.
• The cost of a whole chicken rose 41%, while poultry giants Tysons Foods and Perdue saw revenue increases of 22.5% and 54.9%, respectively.

Food & Water Action is among a coalition of groups that urged the Harris-Walz campaign to stand with FTC Chair Lina Khan and support bold antitrust regulation.