This Fight Is Our Fight

By the 2000s, the number of major U.S. airlines dropped from nine to four. The four left standing—American, Delta, United, and Southwest—now have over 80 percent of all domestic airline seats in the country. • Two beer companies sell more than 70 percent of all the beer in the United States. • Five giant health insurance companies now own more than 83 percent of the country’s health insurance market. • Three drugstore chains—CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid—now manage 99 percent of all pharmacies in America. • Monsanto holds the patents for about 93 percent of all the soybeans and 80 percent of all the corn planted in the United States each year. • Four large companies now run nearly 85 percent of the U.S. beef market. • Three big companies now produce almost half of all chickens. The list goes on and on and on.