Beef cattle on a farm near Clinton, Mo. (Clayton Steward/Bloomberg)
March 5, 2026 3:00 PM, EST
The U.S. meatpacking industry faces a fresh wave of scrutiny, this time from Senate Democrats seeking to allow companies to process only one type of meat and set stricter limits on the beef market.
The bill, introduced March 5 by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), comes at a time when record consumer beef prices have become a flashpoint of voter anger over food inflation heading into November’s midterm elections. President Donald Trump also last fall asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the industry.
“It’s not right for a single company to have the power to dominate beef, pork, chicken all at once,” Schumer said at a news conference unveiling the legislation.
The meatpacking industry has long faced bipartisan scrutiny due to high levels of concentration. The country’s top four beef packers buy more than 80% of cattle, while a separate group of pork processors accounts for about two-thirds of hog purchases, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those levels of concentration are higher than when the U.S. first took action against the meatpacking industry in the 1920s, Schumer noted.
The pricing surge is linked to shifts far earlier in the supply chain with the U.S. cattle herd at a 75-year low as high interest rates and droughts discouraged ranchers from raising more animals.
That has hit both consumers and meatpackers alike. Beef and veal prices in the consumer price index were up 15% over the past year as of January, with ground beef prices in particular at a record. Meanwhile, margins for processing beef in February touched a record low in data going back to 2013, according to HedgersEdge, leaving meat companies more reliant on other proteins like chicken to offset losses in their beef segments.
“It’s not right for a single company to have the power to dominate beef, pork, chicken all at once,” Schumer said. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)
The legislation has backing from 12 Senate Democrats, who are currently in the minority without the ability to advance the measure. But Schumer’s championship of the legislation elevates its chances should Democrats gain control of the chamber after the November elections.
The bill would limit major meatpacking conglomerates to one major type of meat, such as beef, pork or poultry, and impose limits on beef market concentration at both regional and national levels.
The legislation also limits sales arrangements between a single feedlot and a packer, which critics argue can be the functional equivalent of ownership.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission also would regain authority over meatpacking and agricultural markets, which Congress stripped from the agency in the 1930s, leaving only the Justice Department to provide federal antitrust oversight of those markets.
The lawmakers also said foreign-owned companies like Brazil’s JBS NV will be required to divest U.S. assets while also ordering a “comprehensive study” of other foreign-controlled firms like Smithfield Foods and its recent acquisitions. The Virginia-based pork processor, which is owned by Hong Kong’s WH Group, earlier this year bought hot dog brand Nathan’s Famous.
JBS shares in the U.S. fell as much as 3.9%, the lowest price in a month, while Smithfield dropped as much as 2.9%. JBS USA ranks No. 86 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America.
Julie Anna Potts, CEO of industry group The Meat Institute, called the proposal “absurd” in a statement.
“This proposal assumes there are well capitalized and capable buyers lining up to enter the meat and poultry business and that with the flip of a switch production would simply continue,” Potts said. “This is a dangerous fantasy — these facilities are expensive, hard to run efficiently and safely, and are part of a complex value chain.”
