Food prices are soaring because “monopolies are driving up the price you pay for food” and “slowly killing rural America,” according to Robert Reich, author, lawyer, former U.S. secretary of labor and co-founder of Inequality Media.

Food prices are soaring because “monopolies are driving up the price you pay for food” and “slowly killing rural America.”

In a short video posted last week, Robert Reich — author, lawyer, former U.S. secretary of labor and co-founder of Inequality Media — summed up how a few industrial meat producers gained a monopolistic foothold in the U.S.

Reich also explained how monopolies hurt farmers and consumers — and how to fix the problem.

Four corporations dominate the U.S. meatpacking industry: Tyson Foods, Cargill, National Beef Packing Company and JBS Foods, reported WBUR (Boston’s National Public Radio station) in February.

In a special series about monopolies in America, WBUR reported that in 1977, the “Big Four,” as they’re commonly called, owned only 25% of the market.