US Plans Tougher Regulation To Rein In Meat Prices

The Biden administration plans to take a tougher stance toward meatpacking companies it says are causing sticker shock at grocery stores.

Four companies control much of the US meat processing market, and top aides to President Joe Biden blamed those companies for rising food prices in a blog on Wednesday, September 8.

According to Reuters, as part of a set of initiatives, the administration will funnel US$1.4 billion in COVID-19 pandemic stimulus money to small meat producers and workers, administration aides wrote in the blog post. They also promised action to “crack down on illegal price fixing,” White House aides wrote in the blog post.

Four companies slaughtered about 85% of US grain-fattened cattle that are made into steaks, beef roasts and other cuts of meat for consumers in 2018, according to the most recent data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Related: How Biden Can Rein In The Big Meat Monopoly

The big four processors in the US beef sector are: Cargill, a global commodity trader based in Minnesota; Tyson Foods, the chicken producer that is the biggest US meat company by sales; Brazil-based JBS, the world’s biggest meatpacker; and National Beef Packing, which is controlled by Brazilian beef producer Marfrig.

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