By becoming extremely efficient, these companies are able to reduce production costs and sell at lower prices. For example, in the year 2013, the company Tyson Foods sold chicken at an average price of $1.57 per pound, much less than the smaller scale competition. Tyson was able to do this because it was large enough to employ a business model known as vertical integration, resulting in lower production costs. Vertical integration involves performing all steps of production as opposed to simply packaging. For instance, Tyson has its own chicken farmers and processing plants, in addition to their packaging and retail operations. Subsequently, this leads to lower prices of goods for consumers. Moreover, the average profit for individual farmers raising free-range chickens hovers around $4, leading to exponential increases in price in order to match rising production costs. Therefore, the large market share of companies such as Tyson Foods allows for lower production costs and increased food affordability for consumers all over the