The fast-food giant is claiming that meat packers have colluded to artificially raise the price of beef. But the US is actually dealing with a cattle shortage.
by J. Edward Moreno
Sherwood News
McDonald’s didn’t want to raise the price of a Big Mac beyond recognition and turn their back on their value-focused consumer base. It was the meat packing companies that made them do it!
That’s what the fast food giant is alleging in a lawsuit filed Friday, accusing nine major American meat packers – among them Tyson, JBS, and Cargill – of artificially inflating the price of beef.
The legal spat comes at a turning point for McDonald’s.
The average price of a McDonald’s menu item is up 40% since 2019. That has caused its customer base, which has come to rely on it for a cheap meal, to pull back. The Golden Arches have tried to lure them back through value meals.