this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2024
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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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[–] [email protected] 149 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 weeks ago

Exactly my thoughts

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago

Your greed is interfering with my greed, damn you!

[–] [email protected] 107 points 3 weeks 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.

[–] [email protected] 85 points 3 weeks ago (8 children)

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!

[–] [email protected] 46 points 3 weeks ago

Don't forget about screwing their workers.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 weeks ago

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

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 weeks 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.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, I dunno how I missed this article. Makes me laugh that McD's is going to try something like this.

https://www.newsweek.com/mcdonalds-inflation-economy-price-increase-joe-biden-1905209

TheStreet reported that Medium French Fries went from $1.79 in 2019 to $4.19 in 2024, a 134.1 percent increase. A McChicken went from $1.29 to $3.89, a 201.6 percent hike.

The price of the beloved Big Mac increased 87.7 percent, from $3.99 to $7.49. An order of 10 McNuggets rose by 68.8 percent, from $4.49 to $7.58. Of the five popular products examined, cheeseburgers saw the largest price increase—going from $1 to $3.15, a 215 percent spike.

These increases exceed the general average for inflation calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which shows that prices went up by about 21.5 percent between the end of 2019 and March 2024.

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[–] [email protected] 82 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 44 points 3 weeks 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."

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 weeks ago

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

[–] [email protected] 53 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 81 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago

Corporations are the real welfare queens.

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

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago

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

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 3 weeks 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.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

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?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 weeks ago (8 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

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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[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago (9 children)

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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[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

"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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[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago

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

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

They fucked with McDonalds. Big mistake.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)
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[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Said one quasi monopolist to the other...

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

Maybe not a real monopoly, but a sufficiently big player that usually has no problems of using their buying power to squeeze the blood out of their suppliers.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks 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.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 weeks ago

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

[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 weeks 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.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Wait, McDonald’s uses real beef?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

They use the trade marked "Real Beef".

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago

Real Beef™

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

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 weeks ago

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

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks 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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago

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

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