Senate Democrats to propose meat industry breakup, WSJ reports

Democratic lawmakers are preparing legislation that would break up U.S. meatpacking companies, escalating government efforts to curb record-high beef prices, The Wall Street Journal’s Patrick Thomas reports. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to introduce in the coming days a bill that would prevent companies from processing more than one type of meat, and could require major processors to spin off beef plants, according to a summary circulated among lawmakers. The legislation would also call for a review of foreign-owned meat companies. That could include meatpacking powerhouse JBS (JBS) and pork processing giant Smithfield Foods (SFD), which is majority owned by Hong Kong-based company WH Group.