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submitted 2 months ago by Stopthatgirl7@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

McDonald’s has some beef with today’s largest meat packers.

The fast food giant is suing the U.S. meat industry’s “Big Four” — Tyson, JBS, Cargill and National Beef Packing Company — and their subsidiaries, alleging a price fixing scheme for beef specifically. In a federal complaint, filed Friday in New York, McDonald’s accused the companies of anticompetitive measures such as collectively limiting supply to boost prices and charge “illegally inflated” amounts.

This collusion caused the beef market to become “a monopoly in which direct purchasers were forced to buy at prices dictated by (the meat packers),” McDonald’s suit reads — later noting that the injury it has sustained as one of those buyers is what “antitrust laws were designed to prevent.”

McDonald’s alleges that the meat packers’ conspiracy dates back nearly a decade, at least as early as January 2015, and continues today. Its suit argues these companies’ actions violate the Sherman Act, a federal antitrust law.

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[-] CountVon@sh.itjust.works 150 points 2 months ago
[-] PunnyName@lemmy.world 26 points 2 months ago

Exactly my thoughts

[-] lost_faith@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 month ago

Your greed is interfering with my greed, damn you!

[-] magnetosphere@fedia.io 108 points 2 months ago

McDonald’s has some beef with today’s largest meat packers.

I would have been disappointed if there wasn’t a line like this in the story somewhere. It practically writes itself.

[-] ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world 85 points 2 months ago

We'll isn't that the pot calling the kettle black. The restaurant chain famous for jacking prices up while shrinking portion sizes and generally screwing their customers in every way they can doesn't like it when they are getting taken advantage of. Cry me a fucking river. Fuck you McDogsBreath!

[-] PunnyName@lemmy.world 46 points 2 months ago

Don't forget about screwing their workers.

[-] magnetosphere@fedia.io 24 points 2 months ago

I will be thoroughly stunned if the huge settlement they may get actually results in lower prices for customers.

[-] FenrirIII@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago

To be fair, the screwing flows downriver. If the sourcers start getting greedy, the business has to make up the difference by increasing prices.

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[-] TheFriar@lemm.ee 82 points 2 months ago

“Company sues for what company does to customers because those profits are theirs

[-] Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 44 points 2 months ago

"I was talking to my colluding friends and they said you were doing a collusion on us. What the hell? We're not the poors."

[-] Maeve@midwest.social 18 points 2 months ago

The worst part is, the average citizen anywhere in the world can not afford to do this. Only some other evil megacorporations

[-] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 53 points 2 months ago

Beef, the meat kept artificially cheap in the US by subsidies?

[-] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 81 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Well it's a lot like all the ISPs taking fucktons of money over 25 years to "roll out fiber" and then just basically pocketing the money.

Corporations are the real welfare queens.

[-] recursive_recursion@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 month ago

Corporations are the real welfare queens.

not sure I'd say queens, perhaps parasites would best fit that sentence

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[-] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 8 points 1 month ago

At great expense to the health of the people and the climate

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[-] Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net 43 points 1 month ago

Capitalist system

Big four fixing prices

ShockedPikachu.png

The system is working exactly as it's designed to. I've said it before and I will say it again: captialism only encourages monopolies/cartels - that's the whole point.

[-] jaybone@lemmy.world 38 points 1 month ago

If it’s beef, they why have their chicken nuggets also doubled in price in the last couple of years? Oh, this goes back almost a decade you say? So why did you double or triple prices post pandemic?

[-] bitwaba@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago

Dude it's literally right there at the beginning of the post

The fast food giant is suing the U.S. meat industry’s “Big Four” — Tyson, JBS, Cargill and National Beef Packing Company

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

You can't honestly think McDonald's trying to blame their massive price increases solely on their meat providers is valid.

[-] Clasm@ttrpg.network 12 points 1 month ago

It might be valid, but there's no way McD's was harmed. Their customers sure got that price fixing damage passed onto them, though.

[-] GhostFaceSkrilla@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's just over 11$ for 2 large fries. McD should also get sued. I feel like they're just trying pass 100% of the blame on to their suppliers, after they've continued to post record profits year over year. They not only weren't harmed, they've thrived and have been making even more money by price gouging. McD is as much, if not more culpable for inflating prices, than the meat packers.

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[-] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 22 points 1 month ago

"This is an absurd accusation. We make money by employing children and undocumented immigrants and violating safety standards, not by colluding on prices." -US meat industry

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[-] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 22 points 1 month ago

Can we sue McDonald for all that they did to artificially decrease the cost of beef, and the immense harm that was done to the climate as a result?

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[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago

Said one quasi monopolist to the other...

[-] Ledivin@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

What? How on earth is mcdonalds a monopoly in any way?

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[-] OpenPassageways@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 month ago

I'd be OK with giant corporations as if they were actually competing with each other for consumers and labor, paying their fair share of taxes, and weren't allowed to use their revenue to subvert the will of the people by buying politicians.

The problem is that it takes a strong FTC, IRS, NLRB, FEC to ensure the above things, and we know how Republicans and billionaires feel about that.

[-] stupidcasey@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago

Thank god we have Good guy McDonald’s going after the evil natural beef guys….wait

[-] linearchaos@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago

And they'll certainly reduce their prices once they get their supply chain work down right? ... Right?

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[-] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 month ago

They fucked with McDonalds. Big mistake.

[-] MadBigote@lemmy.world 30 points 1 month ago
[-] ZeffSyde@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Only available for a Limited Time!

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[-] skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 1 month ago

Hey now, we should salute McDonalds for keeping Big Beef in check. Those prices trickle down to us! /s

[-] thefartographer@lemm.ee 15 points 2 months ago

I trust what McDonald's is saying in this case. If anyone knows what collusion to inflate prices and fuck over clients looks like, it's the place with the broken soft serve machines.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago

Wait, McDonald’s uses real beef?

[-] slurpeesoforion@startrek.website 8 points 2 months ago

They use the trade marked "Real Beef".

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago

Real Beef™

(May contain raccoon and/or armadillo harvested from American highways.)

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[-] mp3@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 months ago

No one but Ron can gouge on the meat. holding comically large baseball bat

[-] AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today 7 points 2 months ago

Someone should sue McDonald's for the same thing. All of their prices (not just for beef) have been massively inflated for their profit. A meal there shouldn't cost $12+ (I've seen as much as $15), it's trash food. I haven't been back in a long time.

[-] Desistance@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

Good. The beef packers already got slapped with a FTC suit for price fixing.

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this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2024
541 points (98.7% liked)

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