public company

Kroger

Industry Food

A public grocery and pharmacy retailer operating major U.S. supermarket banners, private-label food, pharmacies, loyalty programs, and retail-media data operations. Kroger is a necessary grocery comparison point, but its opioid settlements, shopper-data monetization, and shareholder control make it a low-scoring large-chain entry.

Why this matters: Grocery comparison requires the dominant supermarket operators, especially where pharmacy, loyalty data, and household staples intersect.

Letter grade F Malignant Medium confidence (AI) Rubric gcd-rubric-v1 Last reviewed May 11, 2026

Final Score -10* F - Malignant

FMALIGNANT-10 pts

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

Base Material18

Bonus+1

Cap35Ownership <= 2 and Governance <= 2

After Cap19

Penalties-29

Private Government badge

Kroger receives the Private Government badge because it combines large-scale private rule-setting over customers, workers, users, members, or counterparties with OpenLobby-documented lobbying of about $8.2M on public policy issues.

Evidence: [13]

Policy Capture: L for Lobbying

The L badge appears when the Policy Capture penalty is severe. Here, L stands for Lobbying: the policy-capture value is -9, meaning the evidence indicates major private-interest lobbying or policy pressure against workers, customers, citizens, affected communities, democratic accountability, or ecological life.

Evidence: [11]

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Evaluation Overview

F - Malignant

The score turns mainly on Product Integrity, with the largest penalty coming from Policy Capture.

Strengths

Product Integrity3/5
Ownership2/10
Governance2/10

Penalties

Policy Capture-9
Human Harm-6
Surveillance Capture-4
Toxic Products-3

Evidence state

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)
ThoroughnessDeveloped (AI)
Linked claims13
Direct axis claims12
Coverage12/18

Scoring Axes

Axis	Score	Why this score
Ownership ? Control rights: shareholder-dominated at 0, worker cooperative control at 10.	2 / 10	Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled. Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled. That keeps Kroger low on Ownership: decisive control remains with shareholders, private owners, executives, or state insiders rather than affected people. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence context Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. [1] Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled. [2] context Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management. [3] context Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. [4] context Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. [5] context Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. [6] context Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. [7] context Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. [8]
Governance ? Binding decision authority: centralized control at 0, democratic stakeholder control at 10.	2 / 10	Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. That keeps Kroger low on Governance: ordinary users, workers, customers, or affected communities cannot change the rules that govern them. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence context Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. [1] context Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled. [2] context Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management. [3] context Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. [4] context Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. [5] context Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. [6] context Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. [7] context Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. [8]
Extraction ? Surplus allocation, wage share, CEO pay ratio, margins, and structured extraction judgment.	2 / 10	Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. That keeps Kroger low on Extraction: the business model makes extraction from workers, users, suppliers, customers, or the public central rather than incidental. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence context Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. [1] context Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled. [2] context Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management. [3] context Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. [4] context Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. [5] context Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. [6] context Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. [7] context Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. [8]
Labor Sovereignty ? Worker power: coercive conditions at 0, co-determination or ownership at 7. Employee dissatisfaction matters only when source-backed evidence shows concrete limits on worker agency, such as coercive scheduling, retaliation, wage theft, harassment, unsafe conditions, suppression of worker voice, or extreme turnover.	2 / 7	Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management. Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management. That keeps Kroger low on Labor Sovereignty: labor remains managerially controlled, replaceable, or exposed to coercive employment and contracting conditions. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence context Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. [1] context Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled. [2] Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management. [3] context Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. [4] context Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. [5] context Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. [6] context Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. [7] context Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. [8]
Solidarity with the Unemployed ? Treatment of exits and nonworkers, including severance, redeployment, and non-competes.	1 / 7	Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. That keeps Kroger low on Solidarity with the Unemployed: the model provides little protection for people who leave, are excluded, or cannot bargain from employment. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence context Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. [1] context Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled. [2] context Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management. [3] context Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. [4] context Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. [5] context Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. [6] context Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. [7] context Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. [8]
Loss-Bearing Fidelity ? Willingness to absorb costs to preserve values, workers, users, and public obligations.	2 / 7	Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. That keeps Kroger low on Loss-Bearing Fidelity: losses, hazards, or adjustment costs are routinely pushed onto workers, customers, suppliers, communities, or the public. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence context Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. [1] context Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled. [2] context Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management. [3] context Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. [4] context Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. [5] context Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. [6] context Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. [7] context Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. [8]
Market Conduct ? Pricing fairness, switching costs, lock-in, and rent extraction.	2 / 5	Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. That places Kroger in the middle of Market Conduct: the product has real value but still uses meaningful lock-in, gatekeeping, market power, or dependency. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Linked evidence context Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. [1] context Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled. [2] context Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management. [3] context Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. [4] context Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. [5] context Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. [6] context Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. [7] context Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. [8]
Product Integrity ? Preservation of quality rather than degradation for monetization.	3 / 5	Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. That places Kroger in the middle of Product Integrity: the product has real use value but is compromised by incentives, monetization, lock-in, quality degradation, or risk. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Linked evidence Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. [1] context Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled. [2] context Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management. [3] context Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. [4] context Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. [5] context Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. [6] context Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. [7] context Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. [8]
Scale Integrity ? Whether growth improves or degrades fairness and accountability.	2 / 5	Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. That places Kroger in the middle of Scale Integrity: scale brings useful reach but also weakens accountability, transparency, or local constraint. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Linked evidence context Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners. [1] context Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled. [2] context Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management. [3] context Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. [4] context Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. [5] context Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. [6] context Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. [7] context Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. [8]

Penalties

Penalty	Applied	Why this penalty
Human Harm ? Severity, scale, culpability, vulnerable targets, willful reoffense, reputation laundering, pattern escalation, and time decay. Range: -20 to 0.	-6	Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. That warrants a limited Human Harm penalty because ordinary operation, documented misconduct, or institutional power creates serious injury, deprivation, abuse, or foreseeable human damage. The value is limited because the linked record shows a real problem but not one that dominates the profile on this axis. Linked evidence Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures. [4]
Ecological Harm ? Footprint, trajectory, irreversibility, culpability, and scale, including whether ecological harm is central to the model and continued after credible notice. Range: -30 to 0.	-2	Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. That warrants a limited Ecological Harm penalty because the institution causes or defends ecological damage that is more than incidental to the model. The value is limited because the linked record shows a real problem but not one that dominates the profile on this axis. Linked evidence Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return. [8]
Policy Capture ? Private-interest attempts to bend law, regulation, subsidies, taxes, enforcement, trade, labor, safety, competition, environmental, healthcare, housing, surveillance, civil-liberties, or consumer policy against workers, customers, citizens, affected communities, or ecological life. Public-interest advocacy is not penalized merely because it is lobbying. Range: -15 to 0.	-9	OpenLobby records KROGER CO lobbying on finance, tax, agriculture, healthcare, budget, food, and other issues with about $8.2M in spending across 33 filings; the reviewed filings document… OpenLobby records KROGER CO lobbying on finance, tax, agriculture, healthcare, budget, food, and other issues with about $8.2M in spending across 33 filings; the reviewed filings document private institutional lobbying over public rules rather than a public-interest advocacy role. That warrants a substantial Policy Capture penalty because private institutional pressure is being applied to public rules while affected people cannot democratically govern that agenda. The value is substantial but not at the floor because the linked record shows serious conduct without the strongest aggravating factors on this axis. Linked evidence OpenLobby records KROGER CO lobbying on finance, tax, agriculture, healthcare, budget, food, and other issues with about $8.2M in spending across 33 filings; the reviewed filings document private institutional lobbying over public rules rather than a public-interest advocacy role. [11]
High-Carbon Products ? Core products, services, financing, or supply chains that materially depend on fossil-fuel combustion, high-emissions transport, industrial animal agriculture, meat, dairy, or other unusually carbon-intensive activity. This is scored separately from general ecological harm so ordinary consumers can see carbon-intensive product exposure directly. Range: -10 to 0.	-2	The company sells mixed grocery, restaurant, or packaged-food products where meat, dairy, refrigerated logistics, or high-carbon ingredients are material but not necessarily the entire business model. Linked evidence Kroger has mixed food exposure high-carbon product exposure based on its listed business model and current profile description: A public grocery and pharmacy retailer operating major U.S. supermarket banners, private-label food, pharmacies, loyalty programs, and retail-media data operations. Kroger is a necessary grocery comparison point, but it… [12]
Toxic Products ? Current sale of products whose ordinary use, exposure, ingredients, residues, packaging, or formulation creates toxic, addictive, or consumer-safety risk. Food products receive at least light scrutiny for artificial colors, artificial flavors, petro-derived additives, pesticide residues, contaminants, endocrine-disrupting packaging, and ultra-processed formulation. Ordinary adult nightlife or alcohol service is not penalized by itself without evidence of predatory marketing, youth targeting, addiction-extractive design, or unusual product-safety misconduct. Range: -5 to 0.	-3	Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. That warrants a substantial Toxic Products penalty because ordinary use, exposure, ingredients, residues, packaging, or formulation creates material toxic, addictive, or consumer-safety risk. The value is substantial but not at the floor because the linked record shows serious conduct without the strongest aggravating factors on this axis. Linked evidence Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business. [5]
Accountability Opacity ? Material opacity, reputation laundering, or hidden accountability structures that prevent public accountability. Range: -2 to 0.	-2	Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. That warrants a severe Accountability Opacity penalty because material facts, risks, conflicts, ownership, or accountability information are obscured from the public. The value is near the floor because the conduct appears central, large-scale, repeated, or institutionally powerful rather than incidental. Linked evidence Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets. [7]
Surveillance Capture ? Invasive surveillance, unreasonably non-optional tracking, facial recognition, biometric identification, or AI behavior scanning of customers, workers, bystanders, or the public. Range: -5 to 0.	-4	Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. That warrants a severe Surveillance Capture penalty because customers, workers, users, bystanders, or the public are exposed to invasive tracking, biometrics, or behavior scanning. The value is near the floor because the conduct appears central, large-scale, repeated, or institutionally powerful rather than incidental. Linked evidence Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets. [6]
Ideological Disavowal ? Concealed ideology presented as neutrality, expertise, professional necessity, public-service administration, market inevitability, or non-ideological common sense while exercising power. Range: -3 to 0.	-1	The competitor-coverage pass applies an Ideological Disavowal penalty because the entity presents ordinary investor-centered market governance, surveillance, or risk-pricing choices as… The competitor-coverage pass applies an Ideological Disavowal penalty because the entity presents ordinary investor-centered market governance, surveillance, or risk-pricing choices as neutral service administration rather than as contested institutional choices. That warrants a limited Ideological Disavowal penalty because the institution presents situated, contested choices as neutrality, expertise, inevitability, safety, or common sense. The value is limited because the linked record shows a real problem but not one that dominates the profile on this axis. Linked evidence The competitor-coverage pass applies an Ideological Disavowal penalty because the entity presents ordinary investor-centered market governance, surveillance, or risk-pricing choices as neutral service administration rather than as contested institutional choices. [10]

Bonus Credits

Bonus	Credit	Why this credit
Good Deal ? Credit for unusually fair value: durable quality, fair pricing, low lock-in, and clear customer surplus.	1 / 3	The competitor-coverage pass gives limited Good Deal credit because the entity provides broadly useful, price-competitive, or practically necessary service compared with adjacent competitors, while still lacking stakeholder control. The competitor-coverage pass gives limited Good Deal credit because the entity provides broadly useful, price-competitive, or practically necessary service compared with adjacent competitors, while still lacking stakeholder control. That supports partial Good Deal credit because ordinary users receive unusually fair value, durability, access, or surplus. The value remains partial because the linked record does not show the practice as comprehensive, durable, or central enough for full credit. Linked evidence The competitor-coverage pass gives limited Good Deal credit because the entity provides broadly useful, price-competitive, or practically necessary service compared with adjacent competitors, while still lacking stakeholder control. [9]

Confidence Basis

Confidence is computed from the evidence trail and review state, not typed into the profile by hand.

Medium 76/100

12 verified linked claims 12 direct axis claims 0 disputed claims 12/18 components covered

This confidence label measures the source-backed evidence trail. AI-scaffolded scores remain tentative until human review.

Claim confidence 16/20

12 verified linked claims

Source quality 15/18

Best source per verified claim, weighted by institutional reliability

Direct axis-specific claims 9/18

12 direct claims across 18 active components

Dispute load 12/12

0 disputed claims on this entity

Recency 10/10

Newest accepted timestamp: May 13, 2026

Reviewer status 7/12

Human-reviewed components score higher than AI scaffolding

Component coverage 7/10

12/18 evidence-bearing components have direct support

Evidence State

Profile stateAI draft / human-pending

VerificationUnverified

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)

ThoroughnessDeveloped (AI)

Correction routeUse “Challenge this rating” for factual errors, missing counterevidence, source problems, or calculation mistakes.

Company responseCompany representatives can submit source-backed corrections; payment never changes scores or reviewer authority.

Claims and Sources

Claims are the evidence record. Each claim needs a source link, axis category, status, confidence level, and timestamp before it can support a score.

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

1Kroger operates supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, private-label manufacturing, and digital grocery channels across many U.S. banners.

Product Integrity Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kroger annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%

2Kroger is a shareholder-governed public corporation, so formal control is investor-centered rather than worker-, customer-, or community-controlled.

Ownership Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kroger annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%

3Kroger has significant union presence in parts of its grocery workforce, but final governance, capital allocation, and pricing strategy remain controlled through conventional public-company management.

Labor Sovereignty Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kroger annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%

4Kroger finalized a $1.37 billion nationwide opioid settlement with state attorneys general over claims that its pharmacies contributed to the opioid crisis through dispensing oversight failures.

Human Harm Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Colorado Attorney General Kroger opioid settlementPrimary public record · 100%
AP Kentucky Kroger opioid lawsuitIndependent reporting · 82%

5Kroger's pharmacy operations were central to opioid-settlement claims, making toxic-product risk material even though groceries remain the main customer-facing business.

Toxic Products Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Colorado Attorney General Kroger opioid settlementPrimary public record · 100%

6Consumer Reports reported that Kroger's 84.51° data unit uses shopper data and loyalty profiles for advertising and marketing products, including persistent household identifiers across large transaction datasets.

Surveillance Capture Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Consumer Reports on Kroger shopper profilesGeneral web source · 58%

7Kroger's retail-media and loyalty-data business creates material consumer-information asymmetry: ordinary grocery shoppers may not understand how extensively their purchases become advertising and analytics assets.

Accountability Opacity Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Consumer Reports on Kroger shopper profilesGeneral web source · 58%

8Kroger's grocery, pharmacy, fuel, logistics, and food-manufacturing scale create ordinary large-retail ecological burdens without a governance structure that locks ecological priorities above shareholder return.

Ecological Harm Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kroger annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%

9The competitor-coverage pass gives limited Good Deal credit because the entity provides broadly useful, price-competitive, or practically necessary service compared with adjacent competitors, while still lacking stakeholder control.

Good Deal Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kroger annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%

10The competitor-coverage pass applies an Ideological Disavowal penalty because the entity presents ordinary investor-centered market governance, surveillance, or risk-pricing choices as neutral service administration rather than as contested institutional choices.

Ideological Disavowal Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kroger annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%

11OpenLobby records KROGER CO lobbying on finance, tax, agriculture, healthcare, budget, food, and other issues with about $8.2M in spending across 33 filings; the reviewed filings document private institutional lobbying over public rules rather than a public-interest advocacy role.

Policy Capture Verified High confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

OpenLobby — KROGER CO lobbying profileGeneral web source · 58%

12Kroger has mixed food exposure high-carbon product exposure based on its listed business model and current profile description: A public grocery and pharmacy retailer operating major U.S. supermarket banners, private-label food, pharmacies, loyalty programs, and retail-media data operations. Kroger is a necessary grocery comparison point, but it…

High Carbon Products Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed May 11, 2026

Kroger public siteGeneral web source · 58%
Our World in Data: Environmental Impacts of Food ProductionGeneral web source · 58%

13Kroger receives the Private Government badge because it combines large-scale private rule-setting over customers, workers, users, members, or counterparties with OpenLobby-documented lobbying of about $8.2M on public policy issues.

Private Government Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

OpenLobby — KROGER CO lobbying profileGeneral web source · 58%

Alternatives

Competitors

AGOOD61 Three Stone Hearth worker-owned community-supported kitchen · same market AGOOD60 Cheese Board Collective worker cooperative · same market AGOOD60 ChiFresh Kitchen worker-owned prepared-meal cooperative · same market AGOOD59 Alvarado Street Bakery worker-owned bakery · same market AGOOD59 Arizmendi Bakery worker cooperative bakery · same market AGOOD59 Rainbow Grocery Cooperative worker cooperative grocer · same market AGOOD58 Equal Exchange worker cooperative · same market AGOOD58 Niles Pie Company worker-owned pie shop and bakery · same market

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