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DOJ’s beef-price probe gets much bigger — Walmart, Costco and Amazon now in the mix

The Department of Justice has expanded its antitrust probe of beef prices to the retail level, meaning beef retailers like Walmart and Costco.

The probe started in May, with the DOJ’s Antitrust Division initially focusing on the “Big Four” meatpackers: JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef.

The probe began six months after President Donald Trump published a post to Truth Social accusing “meat packing companies” of “driving up the price of beef through illicit collusion, price fixing, and price manipulation.”

During a May press conference, Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that his office was reviewing more than 3 million documents.

“He also urged whistleblowers to report possible price-fixing, bid-rigging, market allocation or procurement fraud with the prospect of receiving money in return,” according to The Independent.

“If the information you provide helps us secure a criminal penalty in excess of $1 million, you can be entitled to recover and receive 15-30 percent of the money that we recover,” he said at the press conference.

Months later, the probe has now expanded to cover eight retailers: Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Albertsons, Aldi, Ahold Delhaize, Costco and Amazon.

It’s not clear why Walmart is a target when it’s already lowered beef prices.

“This summer, we’re making even more investments in price, with thousands of Rollbacks across the products customers are shopping for most including beef, fresh produce and beverages, grills, pools, toys and summer fashion apparel,” Walmart executive vice president and chief merchant Julie Barber announced in a July press release.

“Whether they’re stocking up for a backyard barbecue, heading out on vacation or simply shopping for the week ahead, we’re helping everyone save more for every occasion,” she added.

Walmart has also experienced extremely slow sales growth.

“Walmart shares sank 9% Thursday after the retailer reported its slowest sales growth in more than six years as cash-strapped customers cut back on spending amid higher gasoline prices,” the New York Post reported on Aug. 20.

Critics nevertheless responded to the DOJ’s announcement by harping on Walmart and other retailers over their alleged “price gouging”:

Meanwhile, in reality, the demand for beef is souring while America’s cattle herd has hit a 75-year low.

“Agricultural experts believe the prolonged decline in the size of America’s cattle herd—and few indications of any imminent recovery—will continue to put upward pressure on the prices American households are paying for beef for the foreseeable future,” Newsweek reported last month.

“Data from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that the country started the year with 86.2 million cattle, down more than 8 million compared to 2019 and marking the lowest level since the early 1950s,” the report continued.

Sylvain Charlebois, a professor of food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Canada, told the paper that the shortage “will likely keep beef prices elevated well into 2027.”

But many feel that neither the president nor the public cares about these facts. It appears they’d rather continue to perpetrate a witch hunt against beef producers and retailers instead of looking at things logically.

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