Blumenthal & Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Stop Monopoly of Meat-Packing Industry & Promote Opportunity for Local Ranchers
Only four companies control 85% of the entire market in the beef industry
[Hartford, CT] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) joined U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in introducing bipartisan legislation to lower skyrocketing grocery bills, particularly for meat and eggs, by cracking down on America’s Big Four meatpackers that are undercutting local ranchers.
The Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act would specifically strengthen the enforcement of existing price-fixing laws to ensure America’s Big Four meatpackers comply, which would allow more opportunities for ranchers and drive down meat prices for shoppers.
“Small ranchers are struggling to compete with major meat and poultry corporations, meanwhile these giants rake in record profits and dominate the industry through anticompetitive means,” said Blumenthal. “Local ranchers and consumers alike deserve a fair and free market and strong enforcement against illegal practices like price fixing. That’s why I’m proud to support the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act which would crack down on these megacorporations and lower grocery store bills for Connecticut families.”
Today, just four companies control 85% of the beef market and 67% of the pork market, which is up from 36% and 34% in 1980. The Big Four meatpackers are profiteering middlemen that have created a system allowing them to accumulate billions of dollars on the backs of ranchers struggling to make ends meet and shoppers suffering expensive meat and egg prices.
The Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act would create and empower a team of investigators at the United States Department of Agriculture to prevent anticompetitive practices in the meat and poultry industry by enforcing existing antitrust laws, in coordination with the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Cindy Hyde-Smith, (R-MS), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) also co-sponsored the legislation.
The Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act is endorsed by the National Farmers Union and the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association.
The full text of the bill is available here.
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