Grocers Accuse Potato Growers Of Hiking Up Potato Prices

Potatoes are undoubtedly at the top of the list of America's favorite foods. Mash them, fill them with cheese and sour cream, or make them into french fries. Whichever way you do it, it involves potatoes, and we buy a lot of them. But grocers believe we may be paying more for them than we should be. Associated Wholesale Grocers has filed a lawsuit accusing potato growers of illegally hiking up potato prices and restricting the number of tubers that farmers can grow, according to The Associated Press.

The grocery cooperative, a business that supplies over 2,000 grocery stores, alleges potato growers have been spying on farmers with satellites and aircraft fly-overs to monitor how many tubers are grown.

The lawsuit against United Potato Growers of America and two dozen other potato growers recently moved to America's top potato-producing state, Idaho, often called the "potato state."

According to The Associated Press, potatoes are worth billions in sales each year. Since we as buyers don't get to see the process of getting the potato from the farm to the grocery store, let's hope we aren't being gypped.