What’s the beef? Rising meat prices at Walmart, Costco, Aldi, Publix, and more prompt Department of Justice probe

The U.S. government is expanding its investigation into the rising price of beef to eight major grocery chains and big box retailers. The current average price for ground beef was $6.88 per pound, as of July, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED). That number is up from $3.88 per pound in January 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In a post on X, The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr.] had sent letters to Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Albertsons, Aldi, Ahold Delhaize USA, Costco, Amazon, explaining: “Beef prices are a critical concern to Americans, and a priority for this Justice Department.” Those letters, which Woodward Jr. sent in July, requested detailed information about how the companies were pricing beef, including wholesale purchases and prices, plus costs and margins, per Newsweek. These requests expand upon the DOJ’s original investigation into the meatpacking industry and beef prices, announced in May, which began with a probe into three companies that control a majority of meat processing market: Cargill, Tyson Foods, and the primarily Brazilian-owned JBS and National Beef, Forbes reported…