Press Releases
REPORT: Republican Blame Game on Meat Prices Ignoring Big Meatpacker’s History of Price-Fixing and Gouging
Washington, D.C. — As congressional Republicans continue to falsely blame President Biden’s yet-to-be-enacted Build Back Better Agenda for price inflation around meat prices and everyday goods, Accountable.US released a new analysis showing why American consumers should instead look at major corporations for their economic woes. A review of the big-four U.S. meat processing companies found all have been subject to serious price-fixing lawsuits, with several already agreeing to pay at least $400 million in fines and settlements in recent years for manipulating prices, and even colluding with one another.
“Only Republicans in Congress could look at big meat packers’ glaring history of illegal price gouging and still blame not-yet-enacted Biden administration policies for high meat prices. The industry’s latest poor excuses for jacking up prices on struggling consumers flies in the face of their record profits, even during a pandemic,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. “When meat packer CEOs are still living high on the hog after agreeing to pay $400 million in fines and settlements for manipulating prices in recent years, consumers know who’s really to blame for ridiculous meat prices. The question is why Republicans in Congress would rather side with the greedy corporations sticking it to everyday families to further pad their bottom line.”
The Biden Administration has rightly criticized the meat industry’s “‘pandemic profiteering,’” which has driven half of food price hikes as millions of Americans are struggling against a worsening hunger crisis. In fact, the industry has enjoyed “unprecedented profits” in 2021. Republicans in Congress that would rather play politics should pay more attention emerging bipartisan arguments that the biggest meat processing companies have abused their dominance over the market, at the expense of both consumers and ranchers.
- Smithfield Foods
- June 2021: Paid $83 million to settle price-fixing allegations
- The current and former CEOs live in million dollar homes and make tens of millions of dollars a year
- The company shut down plants due to COVID-19 outbreaks in April 2020, with one facility called “the country’s biggest coronavirus hot spot”
- Reportedly retaliated against workers for speaking out on safety problems at plants
- JBS
- October 2020: JBS and its subsidiaries agreed to pay over $110 million to settle price-fixing allegations
- Several of the company’s executives and staff face federal indictments for fixing prices
- The company’s CEO owns a $2.3 million lakefront property in Fort Collins, Colorado and made over $2.5 million in 2020
- Workers have protested poor working conditions amid COVID-19 outbreaks
- National Beef Packing Company
- The company has been named in at least two recent class-action lawsuits over price-fixing—one of which alleged “‘cartel’-like” collusion among National Beef and other meatpackers
- The company’s CEO owns a $4.7 million home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a $2.8 million property in Kansas City, Missouri, and has reported owning 12 vehicles
- Company facilities reportedly had horrific conditions during the pandemic, with COVID-19 outbreaks and deaths
- Tyson Foods
- January 2021: Tyson Foods agreed to a $221.5 million price-fixing settlement
- The company continues to face lawsuits from major food sellers like Walmart, McDonalds, and Sysco alleging price inflation
- Tyson Foods’ CEO made over $10 million in 2020 as hundreds of the company’s workers endured COVID-19 outbreaks at several Tyson plants
- Cargill
- Since 2020, Cargill has been repeatedly sued and is reportedly under federal investigation for price-fixing, with one lawsuit alleging a “‘concerted scheme’” to inflate beef prices
- 2021: Cargill is having its “most profitable year ever.”
- Record profits come on the heels of Cargill workers suffering through major COVID-19 outbreaks and being treated “like disposable parts”
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