Cargill

State and local governments provided over $500 million in tax subsidies to meat processing companies since 2006, with eight companies dominating U.S. meat production. Subsidies aimed to create 69,037 jobs across 805 deals, but employment in the industry declined from 118,000 to 71,000 between 2006 and 2023.

Low U.S. cattle herd numbers, driven by drought, have led to concerns about beef packing plant closures. Tyson Foods recently shut down a Nebraska plant, causing job losses, and industry experts warn of further shutdowns due to declining cattle supplies and consolidated market control by four major companies.

Cargill is opposing the construction of townhomes and an apartment complex in Sarnia, an Ontario border city, by leveraging the province's Minister's Zoning Order in a manner contrary to its intended purpose. The dispute highlights a divide between urban housing needs and rural interests in the region.

Cargill's closure of its Menomonee Valley plant in Milwaukee, resulting in 221 job losses, marks the end of over 150 years of meatpacking in the area. The article attributes this decline to anti-union corporate policies and inadequate enforcement of anti-monopoly regulations, which allowed industry consolidation to harm workers and regional businesses.

The U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division is investigating Cargill, JBS, National Beef, and Tyson Foods for potential criminal anti-competitive conduct, following allegations of price manipulation. The investigation, reported by Bloomberg, focuses on whether these major meatpacking companies engaged in practices that distorted market competition.

Cargill's Head of World Trading has left the company after three decades of service. The article references a Cargill plant located in Chambly, Quebec.