Consolidation and Crisis in the Meatpacking Industry

During the pandemic, the price of beef shot up. Wholesale beef prices increased more than 40 percent — more than 70 percent for certain cuts of steak. 

The conventional wisdom was that price increases simply reflected the chaos that the coronavirus had caused in the supply chain. But there’s evidence that they were in fact a reflection of a more fundamental change in the meatpacking business.

We speak to ranchers about the consolidation of the industry and explore what it can show us about a transformation in the American economy — one much bigger than beef. 

Guest: Peter S. Goodman, a global economics correspondent for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Despite record beef prices, ranchers aren’t cashing in — the result of years of consolidation. 

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