McDonald's Is Suing Major Meat Suppliers Over Some Pretty Shady Tactics

In an ironic twist considering the ubiquitous and ongoing corporate price gouging of the American consumer, and these corporations' successive record profits, one corporation is going after a collection of others over their shady and allegedly illegal practices. This would be McDonald's suing four meatpackers (Cargill, JBS, National Beef, and Tyson) for allegedly colluding with each other to artificially lower beef supplies, raising beef prices, and insulating the defendants against having to compete with each other on the market.

McDonald's alleges that these practices began in 2015, costing the company untold riches in that time. Through its lawsuit, the corporation hopes to receive monetary damages of an unspecified amount, and a court order to shut the alleged conspiracy down.

It's difficult to say just how much McDonald's has been affected by this alleged conspiracy. But we can guesstimate considering this isn't even the first lawsuit brought against these meatpackers, nor is it the only lawsuit making its way through the courts. Previously consolidated suits have been brought by other corporate plaintiffs such as Aldi, BJ's Wholesale, and Target, with one settlement from JBS in 2022 paying out $52.5 million.

Then, there's a coalition of U.S. consumers, cattle producers, and others attempting to form a class-action suit of their own. Of this potential class-action suit, the cattle producers who sold cattle to these meatpackers alone claim losses in the billions. Considering these two amounts, McDonald's (and cattle producers and consumers) could be in for a massive payday.