Cargill, JBS, Top Meatpackers Accused of Driving Up Prices (1)

Cargill Inc., JBS USA, National Beef Packing Co., and Tyson Foods were accused in Minneapolis federal court of conspiring to inflate the price of beef through an industrywide scheme that’s coming to light thanks to federal investigations prompted in part by shortages during the coronavirus pandemic.

“While these investigations apparently were triggered most immediately by a spike in beef prices since the Covid-19 outbreak in the U.S., this spike is only one manifestation of defendants’ conspiracy,” the complaint says.

The antitrust suit is part of a wave of price-fixing cases involving livestock and protein—including chicken, pork, ...