Trump vows legal order to break up food processing 'nasty monopoly'
Trump said the order would target four companies that control about 85% of U.S. cattle processing, as officials plan more steps to cut beef prices.
- On Friday, President Donald Trump advanced efforts to roll back regulations for meat processors, seeking to allow farmers and ranchers to process their own food without relying on USDA-inspected facilities.
- These moves follow backlash over Trump's plan announced last week to import 300,000 metric tons of ground beef at 25% below market price, a decision that frustrated American cattle ranchers.
- Trump claims the industry is a 'nasty Monopoly' dominated by four 'Big Processors,' arguing their control makes life miserable for producers while much ownership is based outside the United States.
- Urging Trump to 'break the back' of processing plants, radio host Glenn Beck prompted the policy shift during a Wednesday conversation, cutting regulations requiring Agriculture Department oversight.
- While the White House has not clarified which regulations will be waived, the administration faces pressure to balance consumer demands for lower meat prices with concerns of domestic producers facing cattle shortages.
103 Articles
103 Articles
Trump Moves to Let Farmers Process Their Own Food as Four Firms Control 85%
Trump Moves to Let Farmers Process Their Own Food as Four Firms Control 85% President Donald Trump is taking aim at the meatpacking system that has frustrated American farmers and ranchers for years. In a Friday Truth Social post, Trump said he is authorizing legal documents that would allow farmers and ranchers to process their own food. The move could give smaller producers another way to reach customers without relying entirely on the largest…
Trump Targets Meatpacking ‘Monopoly’ with Push for Ranchers to Process Their Own Beef
President Donald Trump’s Friday push to let farmers and ranchers process their own meat received mixed reviews from cattle producers who said expanding independent processing could help ranchers but would not address all of the economic problems that have squeezed them.
Publisher's Platform: Hamburger E. coli was 95 percent of my practice until federal inspection ended it. On-farm slaughter would bring it back.
On Aug. 28, 2026, President Trump said he would give farmers and ranchers the right to process their own food, in a Truth Social post calling the four largest meat processors a monopoly. Here it is in full: “Ranchers and Farmers have always been a number one priority for me.
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