Senate Democrats Introduce Bill to Break Up Major Meatpacking Companies

The Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act would ban meatpackers from controlling more than one type of meat. Some in the industry call it ‘absurd.’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 14, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and 12 Senate Democrats introduced legislation on March 5 that would force the nation’s largest meatpackers to break up their operations across beef, pork, and poultry, in the latest push in the Democratic affordability agenda heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

The Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act would make it illegal for a major meatpacking company to control more than one type of meat, impose concentration caps on beef markets, and give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority to order divestitures of plants and facilities.