10 corporations control most of what you buy

[+OverSword]

[Kowalski]

America is no longer a Republic....it is a corporation.

[Gromdor]

When I was researching buying stocks, my boss recommended these exact same companies for this very reason. These companies provide almost all of the staples of the world and as such were somewhat resilient to the recession. People are always going to need diapers, soap, and cereal.

[Keel M.]

People think the government wants to control their lives, but it's corporations that do. They just hide behind politicians and give money and take money away from campaigns to ensure the right people are in office and being compliant.

[Dark_Grey]

People think the government wants to control their lives, but it's corporations that do. They just hide behind politicians and give money and take money away from campaigns to ensure the right people are in office and being compliant.

If there was ever a global conspiracy, this would be it. No uber-rich families or secret societies, just some extremely wealthy corporations looking to expands their empires into as much of the world as possible. If that means disregarding public health, the environment, shady deals...nothing is out of the picture when you control as many goods as these guys do.

Edit -- I'm surprised General Electric isn't up there...

Edited November 4, 2013 by Dark_Grey

[lightly]

If there was ever a global conspiracy, this would be it. No uber-rich families or secret societies, just some extremely wealthy corporations looking to expands their empires into as much of the world as possible. If that means disregarding public health, the environment, shady deals...nothing is out of the picture when you control as many goods as these guys do.

Edit -- I'm surprised General Electric isn't up there...

And who are the major stock holders in these mega corporations?

[Dark_Grey]

And who are the major stock holders in these mega corporations?

Owning stocks is not a crime. Hell, I wish I could have gotten on some of the those if the time had been right. I think that because the Rothschilds and Rockefellers own big chunks massive corporations it sets them up for being the basis of conspiracy theories. It's not the facts that are fabricated, it's the way the missing information is substituted with someones fantasies and then presented as fact.

But I digress: there are some very interesting situations where those names come up.

[spartan max2]

nice graph. This sucks

[Rafterman]

So?

They provide a good or service that we want. They also employ tens of millions of people and positively impact the lives of many more than that.

I bet I would get a much better employment package from Kraft than I would if I worked at Bob's Cheese Shop.

Big doesn't mean bad.

[Dark_Grey]

So?

They provide a good or service that we want. They also employ tens of millions of people and positively impact the lives of many more than that.

I bet I would get a much better employment package from Kraft than I would if I worked at Bob's Cheese Shop.

Big doesn't mean bad.

At the end of the day, as long as we continue to consume cheap goods, we keep these players in business. We really have no one to blame but ourselves. Like Rafterman commented though, is there really anything sinister here per say?

[lightly]

So?

They provide a good or service that we want. They also employ tens of millions of people and positively impact the lives of many more than that.

I bet I would get a much better employment package from Kraft than I would if I worked at Bob's Cheese Shop.

Big doesn't mean bad.

Yes, but goods and services used to be supplied by local businesses and people. It worked quite well.

Away from the larger cities , small business has been destroyed by the Big Corps .. and the nearby Interstates, for that matter.. all that junk is BIg Name MegaVille too. Nobody drives into town off the interstate.. they hit the Chain food places and the big name 'Got it All' Store out on the edge of town.

Edited November 5, 2013 by lightly

[Agent0range]

Yes, but goods and services used to be supplied by local businesses and people. It worked quite well.

Away from the larger cities , small business has been destroyed by the Big Corps .. and the nearby Interstates, for that matter.. all that junk is BIg Name MegaVille too. Nobody drives into town off the interstate.. they hit the Chain food places and the big name 'Got it All' Store out on the edge of town.

I think you are talking about the takeover of giant retailers, not really big corporations. Even local businesses were selling the products of big corporations. Once Wal-Mart came up with one of the greatest logistical models ever, that is when small businesses became doomed.

[rashore]

It's an interesting graphic, but an incomplete one. For instance, Kellogg's also owns Keebler, Pringles, Carr's, Town House, and Famous Amos. General Mills has Bisquick and Gold Medal flour... And a few of these companies also have other international brands. But there was already so much on the graphic, probably couldn't fit everything on it, lol.

Not exactly grocery store faire, but Mars owns Seeds of Change, a seed supplier.

If there had been room on that graphic, I wonder if the person that created it would have included ConAgra. They round out a lot more of the general fill of the store. Among ConAgra's brands are Hunts, La Choy, Banquet, Beritolli, Butterball, Parkay, Blue Bonnet, and Fleischmans, Act 2, Jiffy Pop, and Orville Redenbacher. It's also the largest supplier of food service, and is a major meat producer.

[Rafterman]

At the end of the day, as long as we continue to consume cheap goods, we keep these players in business. We really have no one to blame but ourselves. Like Rafterman commented though, is there really anything sinister here per say?

I wouldn't classify those brands as "cheap goods" - for the most part those are staples of American life.

[Rafterman]

Yes, but goods and services used to be supplied by local businesses and people. It worked quite well.

Away from the larger cities , small business has been destroyed by the Big Corps .. and the nearby Interstates, for that matter.. all that junk is BIg Name MegaVille too. Nobody drives into town off the interstate.. they hit the Chain food places and the big name 'Got it All' Store out on the edge of town.

Times change. At one time those "local businesses" also put someone else out of business.

Remember when B&N and Borders were putting all of the local book stores out of business? Well guess what, a handful of years later, Borders is now gone and B&N will probably be gone in a few more years as well. And local book stores are still around.

[+OverSword]

So?

They provide a good or service that we want. They also employ tens of millions of people and positively impact the lives of many more than that.

I bet I would get a much better employment package from Kraft than I would if I worked at Bob's Cheese Shop.

Big doesn't mean bad.

Yeah, I'm sure you would, Just move to india or some other country they've exported all of thier jobs to and get that package.

[+OverSword]

It's an interesting graphic, but an incomplete one. For instance, Kellogg's also owns Keebler, Pringles, Carr's, Town House, and Famous Amos. General Mills has Bisquick and Gold Medal flour... And a few of these companies also have other international brands. But there was already so much on the graphic, probably couldn't fit everything on it, lol.

Not exactly grocery store faire, but Mars owns Seeds of Change, a seed supplier.

If there had been room on that graphic, I wonder if the person that created it would have included ConAgra. They round out a lot more of the general fill of the store. Among ConAgra's brands are Hunts, La Choy, Banquet, Beritolli, Butterball, Parkay, Blue Bonnet, and Fleischmans, Act 2, Jiffy Pop, and Orville Redenbacher. It's also the largest supplier of food service, and is a major meat producer.

They were just doing the top ten I believe.

[Rafterman]

Yeah, I'm sure you would, Just move to india or some other country they've exported all of thier jobs to and get that package.

The vast majority of the products listed in the chart are made in North America.

[regeneratia]

I have tried like Hades to give up Kraft, and Johnson and Johnson (who cannot keep their facilities clean and are riddled with recalls left and right).

Where did you get this jpg. I would love to have it for another site.

This is a good case for trying to buy local goods and having locally-owned health food stores like Mercantiles.

Edited November 5, 2013 by regeneratia

[regeneratia]

I have given up Kraft due to BPA issues. I asked if they would stop using the chemical. No response. So they no longer sell to me. And they have been told that.

So?

They provide a good or service that we want. They also employ tens of millions of people and positively impact the lives of many more than that.

I bet I would get a much better employment package from Kraft than I would if I worked at Bob's Cheese Shop.

Big doesn't mean bad.

[little_dreamer]

I wonder where store brands and generic brands reside on this chart.

[Michelle]

It's funny people applaud small businesses and wish them well until they get well established and expand, then they become a villain.

[Gromdor]

Just like flowers in your garden. They are nice when small and neat, but once they take over your whole yard- you hate em.

[rashore]

I wonder where store brands and generic brands reside on this chart.

It kind of depends on the store and product of course. Some brands come from major label manufacturers, some run their own processing. Currently the largest manufacturer of store brand and private label is Ralcorp, which is owned by ConAgra.

[Gromdor]

Many of the generic brands come from the same assembly lines of these very same major corporations. They just switch labels and use a lower grade stock of material.