Target Joins Antitrust Lawsuit Against Cargill and Others Over High Beef Costs
February 29, 2024 | 1 min to read
In an escalating antitrust lawsuit, Target and other plaintiffs, including Subway and Kroger, accuse major beef producers—Cargill, JBS, National Beef, and Tyson—of price gouging. The lawsuit alleges these companies coordinated to cut cattle slaughter volumes since 2015, artificially inflating beef prices and profits, particularly highlighted by a production slowdown after a fire at a Tyson plant in 2019.
Two Minnesota titans — hometown retailer Target and commodities giant Cargill — are squaring off in an ever-expanding antitrust lawsuit alleging price gouging by the nation’s “Big 4″ beef producers.
Last week, Target joined dozens of plaintiffs, including Subway and Kroger, in an ongoing class-action lawsuit against Cargill, JBS, National Beef and Tyson. The meatpackers allegedly coordinated to reduce cattle slaughter volumes beginning in 2015 and continued reductions through the COVID-19 pandemic, generating “suspiciously high” beef prices and plenty of profits, according to the federal lawsuit.
In one instance, following a fire at a Tyson-owned beef plant in Kansas in 2019, competitors all slowed production, according to the lawsuit.
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