Chicken: Gorilla or Guerrilla

There are battle lines forming between the Chicken Guerrillas and the Chicken Gorillas.  You'd better take cover before the battle starts.

I previously Blogged in March 2013 about the hidden Gorillas in Ontario chicken coops (see Blog posting Why are there Gorillas in Ontario Chicken Coops?).  Those are the super huge chicken factories in Ontario, likely owned, controlled, or aligned with the multi-billion agri-food corporations of the world.  I estimated that there are 142 gorillas in Ontario's chicken coops who hold 39% of Ontario's market share, and 69% of the HHI ( Herfindahl–Hirschman Index), a measure of the concentration of control, often used by governments to decide upon anti-trust breakups, or to stop mergers so as to protect consumers from monopolies, oligopolies, and unfair trade practices.

I had to look at the effect of Small Flockers getting relief from the choke hold of the #ChickenMafia, by gaining a 2,0000 bird/yr limit instead of the current 300 birds/yr we are currently limited to.  What impact would that change have on the competitiveness in the Ontario chicken marketplace?  Here's the answer.

Figure 1:   Market share %HHI scores for current situation (57 birds/yr for Small Flockers),
versus the proposed 2,000 birds/yr limit.  The quota-based chicken farmers are sub-divided
into 5 classes based on the size of their quota ownership.  The Small Flockers are added as
the 6th class.

Figure 1 shows the market share %HHI scores for the current situation (57 birds/yr for Small Flockers),
versus the proposed 2,000 birds/yr limit.  The quota-based chicken farmers are sub-divided
into 5 classes based on the size of their quota ownership.  The Small Flockers are added as
the 6th class.  Producing just 57 birds/yr, the Small Flockers are shown to have virtually no impact (ie. 0.01% HHI, the blue curve in Figure 1) on the chicken market in Ontario; exactly what the #ChickenMafia wants.

If you raised all Small Flockers to the current legal maximum of 300 birds/yr, it goes from 0.01% HHI to 0.25% HHI; virtually the same effect:   NONE!

If Small Flockers are allowed up to 2,000 birds per year, then the Small Flocker market impact climbs to a whopping 10.17% HHI (ie. the red coloured curve in Figure 1).  At 2,000 birds/yr, Small Flockers start to have some meaningful impact in the Ontario chicken markets, about the same as the first 5 classes of the quota-based chicken farmers.  Of course, the market share of the 142 gorillas in the Ontario chicken coup drops from 63.84% HHI to 57.34% HHI; an 11.3% drop.  They're still gorillas, and still completely control the Ontario chicken industry, but their power has been slightly reduced.

The 142 chicken coop gorillas are just 14.02% of all quota-based chicken farmers in Ontario, or 0.88% of all chicken farmers when we include Small Flockers.  However, never doubt that these 142 gorillas control the entire chicken industry in Ontario, including the Ontario Chapter of the #ChickenMafia.  I suggest that these gorillas use their power and influence to control the whole system to their personal advantage; feather-bedding their own nest by improper use of the sacred trust powers that were delegated to them by the Ontario and Federal governments.

When these governments were designing the Supply Management system, why didn't they include sufficient checks and balances to protect the public, and all the other chicken farmers, from the birth of these gorillas in Ontario chicken coops?

I suggest it's a good thing for the citizens of Ontario to reduce the strength of these 142 gorillas.  I suggest its good for the 76% of quota-based chicken farmers to put those gorillas into a cage so they can no longer boss around the majority of the quota-based chicken farmers.

I suggest that CFO be given a Directive, from either OFPMC (Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission), or the new Ontario Minister of Agriculture Jeff Leal that the concentration of market power by the gorillas, as measures by % HHI or some other similar basis, be systematically reduced by limitation on ownership of quota.  For example, when new quota is being given out, everybody by the gorillas should get some.  A new Regulation is needed to prevent another chicken farmer from becoming the next gorilla by accumulating additional quota in the marketplace.

Will the government act to allow Small Flockers to become a "wild card" in the chicken marketplace?  Will they take the necessary steps to cage the gorillas running loose in Ontario's chicken coops?

Only time will tell.

Attacking a gorilla head-on risks life and limb.  Fortunately, a Canadian, Bert "Yank" Levy (1897 – 1965) tells us how to train as a guerrilla, and be effective at limiting or removing these oppressive invaders from within our midst.  Bert wrote the book on Guerilla Warfare

, and has appeared on the cover of LIFE Magazine (see pages 40 - 45 for his story).

If the government is unwilling or unable to protect the public from these gorillas in Ontario chicken coop, does the public need to learn and apply Bert's methods as Chicken Guerrillas?








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