Economics of Food Processing in the United States aims to provide an economic overview of the food processing industries in the United States; to explore the firm-level implications of social, economic, technological, and institutional forces for selected food processing industries; and to uncover some of the implications for consumers, raw product producers, and the national economy of the major trends observed in food industries. The book begins by evaluating the major forces shaping demand, supply, prices, and trade in processed foods. It then considers major trends in technical processes; major forces in marketing, distribution, and structure; and major trends in regulation. The next few chapters explore these trends for five specific food processing industries, which represent major types of products processed: fruits and vegetables, meat, milk, grain and soybeans, and wine. After the specific industries have been examined, the final two chapters treat these industries in the context of the national and international economy. Students preparing for careers, researchers, and industry participants who study these firms and industries and the various approaches to solving their economic and management problems will benefit from the information in this volume and from its approach to presenting the dynamics of the food processing industries.

Abstract: A report of a US congressional subcommittee focuses on the assessment of food industry cost data price factors for evaluating the issue of rapidly rising consumer food prices. The report includes a series of federal questionnaires that were developed for this assessment, which, due to the reluctance of the largest food industry firms to provide a variety of fiscal data (e.g., direct and indirect costs, income, taxes) are largely published without the requested data. The report also provides information concerning: a preliminary assessment of USDA's farm-to-retail price spreads for a variety of foods (beef, pork, bread, dairy products); an assessment of price margins in the beef industry; and the economic organization of the milling and bread industry. The legal and public justifications for conducting these studies are detailed. Extensive tabular data are presented on the fiscal and quantitative dimensions of the food industry, including acquisition and production activities, processing, wholesaling, and retailing.