Who’s Really Behind America’s Obscene Grocery Prices? The Hidden Grocery Cartel Exposed

Hello, Earnest Mann here. Let’s set the record straight — food prices in this country aren’t just high, they’re obscene. And that difference isn’t just semantics. It’s the difference between being ripped off and being robbed blind. In this episode, I unpack a manipulative pricing scheme hiding in plain sight, engineered not by your friendly neighborhood farmer, but by the mega grocery store chains who have no interest in “razor-thin margins,” no matter how many press releases say otherwise.

The Lie of High Supplier Costs – And the Truth They Won’t Tell You

You’ve been told that rising prices at the grocery store are just passed down from struggling suppliers, right? Wrong. Most of these large supermarket chains buy food at nearly identical prices — because there are only about six supply chain companies in the U.S. But unlike what they’d have you believe, these corporations dictate prices down to suppliers, not the other way around. The reason you’re paying more for the same bottle of ketchup at Whole Foods isn’t about ambiance or overhead — it’s corporate greed wrapped in marketing manipulation, pioneered by none other than Edward Bernays back in the 1930s.

Marketing Isn’t Harmless – It’s Legalized Theft

“Marketing” sounds innocent. But what it really means is psychological manipulation. It convinces you that paying more is reasonable — even necessary — when in truth, it’s a tool for profit maximization at your expense. Grocery chains aren't reacting to prices — they're setting them, and using a well-oiled machine of consumer perception to keep you docile while they hike your bill.

The Illusion of Thin Margins and the Profit Truth

They’ll claim razor-thin margins while raking in billions. Don't buy the story. I know the numbers. I’ve seen the wholesale costs and I’ve tracked the sky-high markup percentages. These corporations aren’t victims of inflation — they’re engineers of it.

What Needs to Change — And Why Price Controls Might Be the Only Way Out

Unless the government does what it did in the 1970s and institutes price controls, this runaway freight train will keep barreling down the tracks — crushing households under a mountain of manufactured scarcity and inflated prices. Right now, we’re letting the fox guard the henhouse. And not only is he still hungry, he’s also running the damn store.

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© 2020 - 26 The Earnest Mann Show

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I constantly hear about high food

0:02

prices, but I don't agree with it. I

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don't believe food prices are high. I

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think they're obscene.

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And you know what the difference is? One

0:13

is a statement of fact. The other

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disregards the obvious and goes right

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for the throat. Now, what the hell are

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you going to do about it? Hello, my name

0:24

is Ernest and today that's what we're

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going to talk about. No, not what's

0:31

obvious, but what isn't. So, stick

The Obscene Reality of Food Prices

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around. You might even have a good laugh

0:37

or cry. I'd like to tell you something

0:40

that many people don't stop to consider,

0:44

but really should.

0:46

Your ideas, your preconceived notions,

0:49

if you will, are largely based on your

0:52

life experience, and that affects every

0:55

interaction in your daytoday life.

0:59

And of course that even includes

1:01

something as ordinary and mundane as

Life Experience Shapes Grocery Perception

1:05

grocery shopping.

1:07

Now consider this.

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For most of us when we go grocery

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shopping, we know that there are

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different stores that can have very

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different price points even for

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identical items.

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You might, for example, know that a

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bottle of ketchup, same brand, same

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size, everything the same, can cost much

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more at, say, a Whole Foods than at a

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Walmart or some similar warehouse style

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grocery. But the question remains, why?

Why the Same Ketchup Costs More at Whole Foods

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Briefly before I continue, if you're

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enjoying this episode and you haven't

1:49

already done so, please consider

1:51

subscribing and hit that notification

1:54

bell. By subscribing, you really do help

1:58

the Earnest Man Show continue to grow.

2:01

And if you leave a comment or question,

2:05

I actually read and respond to them all.

2:08

And I really do appreciate you reaching

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out. Now, back to the episode.

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Well, what might seem to be the obvious

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answer, the same item costing more at

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Whole Foods is because Whole Foods is a

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much nicer shopping environment with

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much more overhead and hence a higher

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price. And on the surface, I can see how

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that totally makes sense. And therefore,

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a person really doesn't have to pursue

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the question any further.

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But what if I told you that's really not

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the true reason at all?

Marketing = Manipulation = Theft

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The truth is it is completely about one

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of the cleverest theft manipulations

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ever invented, principally by a fellow

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named Edward Bernay going all the way

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3:09

What Bernay understood about human

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psychology was that selling something is

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not so much an issue of price but of

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perceived value. And ultimately what all

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of this boils down to and unfortunately

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what many people simply don't know is

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that the simple non-threatening term

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marketing is in reality a deceptive term

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for manipulation and theft.

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Now with that in mind, consider this.

The "Crooks Groceries" Thought Experiment

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if a new grocery store was opened near

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you and they were named Crooks Groceries

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and they had a tagline like always

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higher food prices because hey, we're

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crooks,

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would you go shopping there? I seriously

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doubt most people would.

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The simple truth is this. There are only

The Grocery Cartel Monopoly

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around six grocery supply chain

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companies currently in America. And all

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the big major players in the grocery

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store supermarket business pay the same

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amount for the same product with very

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little exception. But here's where the

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huge marketing deception takes place.

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And it may very much surprise you

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because the entire con rest on you

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believing that they are subject to

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increased cost from suppliers and

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consequently are forced to pass any food

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cost price increases from suppliers to

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you. But in actual truth, it's the exact

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opposite. The incredibly large and

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powerful supermarket and grocery chain

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cartel dictates the price of any and all

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groceries they are willing to pay to the

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suppliers because they are obsessed with

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increasing profit ratios.

The Price Dictatorship You’ve Never Heard About

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Now, I totally understand how anyone in

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the business would deny what I'm saying

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is true. more than likely laughing and

5:28

being very dismissive that I have no

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clue of what I'm talking about or that

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I'm crazy or both. But I'm here to tell

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you what I'm saying is true. And it is

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imperative for them to keep the con

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going by blaming anything and everything

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for increasing food prices, which we've

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all heard a million times before.

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But in the simplest possible terms, the

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primary reason for runaway food cost are

The Thin Margin Myth

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the major grocery market chains

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themselves.

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So how can I make such a bold claim, you

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might ask?

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I'll tell you this because I am well

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acquainted with how that system works. I

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understand food commodities and perhaps

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most importantly I not only have

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knowledge of wholesale grocery commodity

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cost but corresponding profit ratios

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which is completely contradictory to the

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supermarket grocery chain mega stores

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propaganda claim that they run on razor

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thin profit margins which is complete

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nonsense.

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Just think about this. If that were the

6:51

case, suppliers could charge whatever

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they want and the grocery stores would

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be forced to pay that amount. But it

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doesn't work that way

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because grocery items due to their

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perishable nature must be sold

7:09

relatively quickly. So the suppliers are

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forced to sell their products at the

7:15

price the mega grocery chains are

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willing to pay. And that hierarchy was

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Why Price Controls Are the Only Solution

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So what does all this mean?

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It means unless price controls are put

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into place quickly, as they were in the

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1970s under Nixon and the mega grocery

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chains hated, you can expect grocery

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prices and food cost in general to keep

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spiraling upward because there's nothing

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in place to stop their neverending

7:55

increasing profit ratios.

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To finish this in the shortest possible

Final Thoughts – The Fox Guards the Henhouse

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terms, we have allowed the fox to guard

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the hen house. Now we are suffering the

8:08

consequence of the fox suffering no

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consequences.

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Until next time, this is Ernest and

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that's all I've got for today.