President Biden announces an investment of $1 billion for small meat processors to reduce high costs

Courtesy: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A new initiative to lower meat prices was announced on Monday by President Biden's administration.

Over the past year, sharp price increases in meat and poultry have driven up the cost of food nationwide.

Based on data from the Department of Labor (DOL), the price of beef has increased by 20.9 percent over the past 12 months leading up to November, while the price of all food at home has increased by 6.4 percent.

One billion dollars from the American Rescue Plan will be earmarked for expanding the capacities of independent food processors, the administration reports.

There are a few large companies in the meat industry that have created a bottleneck of supply and are boosting their profits at ranchers' and farmers' expense as outlined by the White House.

“Our farmers and ranchers have to pay whatever these four big companies say they have to pay,” Biden said at a meeting on Monday with leaders in the farming and ranching industry.

4 Jan 2022