Exactly. That is what is missing in this discussion. If you want to cut down the trees, fine, but those people who profited should pay for it.

I always wonder where consumer surplus fits into arguments about profit.

Although in this particular situation clearly the consumer surplus wasn't enough to keep consumers buying Del Monte products.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_surplus

If we measure consumer surplus as a percentage, how would it compare to business profits as a percentage?

Edit:

  Nobel laureate William Nordhaus studied the historical data of the U.S. economy and concluded that innovators and corporations capture only a tiny fraction of the total social value they create. Consumers capture ~98% of the value in the form of surplus. Producers capture ~2%.