Trump Moves to Break ‘Powerful’ Meat-Processing Monopoly, Gives US Farmers Right to Process Own Food

• US President Donald Trump says his administration is preparing legal measures to allow American farmers and ranchers to process their own food.

• Trump accused the country’s dominant meat processors of operating a “nasty monopoly” that has made life difficult for farmers and ranchers.

• The proposed move is aimed at increasing competition in the meat-processing sector and giving producers greater control over how their livestock and agricultural products are processed.

• Trump said the legal documents should be prepared and implemented quickly, although he did not provide details on the specific regulatory or legislative steps involved.

August 28, () — US President Donald Trump has announced plans to take steps aimed at breaking what he described as a “powerful monopoly” in America’s meat-processing industry, promising to give farmers and ranchers greater control over the processing of their own food.

Trump made the declaration in a statement posted on Friday on his social media account, saying farmers and ranchers had “always been a number one priority” for his administration.

According to Trump, American agricultural producers have for years faced serious difficulties dealing with a highly concentrated meat-processing industry dominated by a small number of major companies.

“There are, essentially, 4 of them, a very non-competitive number, and they make life miserable for our wonderful Farmers and Ranchers,” Trump said.

He said the concentration of processing capacity had created an imbalance in the agricultural supply chain, leaving producers with limited alternatives when seeking to have livestock and other farm products processed.

Trump said his administration would therefore begin preparing legal documents to enable farmers and ranchers to process their own food rather than remain entirely dependent on the major processors.

“So, to break this powerful monopoly, with much of its ownership based outside of the U.S., I am authorizing legal documents to be drawn to allow Farmers and Ranchers to be given the right to PROCESS THEIR OWN FOOD. This should move quickly,” he said.