Trump Plans Executive Action Against Food Processing 'Monopoly'
Trump announces plans for a legal order to let farmers process their own food, challenging the dominance of major meatpacking companies.
US President Donald Trump has announced plans to issue a legal order that would allow farmers and ranchers to process their own food, a move aimed at dismantling what he described as a "nasty monopoly" among the country's largest food processors.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said he was "authorizing legal documents to be drawn" but did not specify which food sector or industry the order would target. The announcement follows his earlier comments this week about reviewing regulations on beef processing plants.
The White House has not yet responded to requests for further details on the proposed order. The news comes as American consumers continue to face high grocery prices ahead of the November midterm elections.
The initiative targets a meat processing sector currently experiencing its lowest supply levels in 75 years, with rising cattle costs outpacing gains from high beef prices. Four companies—Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS USA, and National Beef Packing Co.—control approximately 85% of US meat processing.
Last week, Trump also announced that more ground beef could be imported into the US without tariffs. Separately, the Justice Department is investigating whether meatpacking companies have been illegally inflating consumer beef prices.