DOJ expands beef price probe to eight retailers, including Walmart and Amazon, with inflation a key issue ahead of midterm elections

This year’s been a rough one for meat lovers. There’s the New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite from Mexico that led to dozens of confirmed livestock infestations. There’s drought affecting 75% of all livestock in the country, leading to a 75-year low for cow herds. That, coupled with tariffs on Brazil, the largest exporter of beef, helped make the average price of a pound of ground beef hit $6.89 in July, up 10% from a year earlier.

The Department of Justice now wants to know whether eight of the country’s largest grocery retailers can be blamed for it. 

Federal investigators are scrutinizing Walmart, Costco, Amazon, Kroger, Publix, Albertsons, Aldi and Ahold Delhaize USA for beef affordability, with the DOJ calling beef prices a “priority” for the agency in a Sept. 1 X post announcing the probe.  The retailers and the DOJ did not respond to Fortune’s requests for comment.

The Trump administration has zeroed in on tamping down beef prices, as the cost of staples like ground beef shape how consumers judge inflation, a key issue for voters........

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