The buzz about beef: sourcing your next burger

TLDR: a meat CSA is a great idea!

We try to stay apolitical over here, but are unsettled by the recent executive order bringing 300,000 tons of tariff-free beef into the US, particularly after this year’s food contamination outbreaks. Here are the details that worry us.

There are four companies that control 85% of United States beef production. JBS, the largest, is a Brazillian (and now American) meatpacking and processing company. In the past 10 years, they’ve:

• shipped salmonella-tainted beef to Italy

• falsified sanitation records

• masked the flavor of rotten beef with carcinogenic additives, and sold it to public schools

• bribed close to 2000 government officials in Brazil

• illegally deforested millions of acres in the Amazon

• hired 13-year olds to clean their slaughterhouses in 5 states in the US

• served time in prison

• rolled back their emissions goals (they have a larger carbon footprint than Italy).

In 2020, the SEC charged them with violating the Federal Corrupt Policy Act, for which they paid a $256 million fine. However, in 2025, JBS was the single largest donor for Trump’s 2nd inauguration (the ex-CEO is friends with Melania), and in April of 2025 the SEC gave the greenlight for an IPO; they are now traded on the NYSE. 

In the past, the US has turned to Canada for imported beef; the tariff tit-for-tat makes that untenable. Two weeks ago, Trump addressed escalating beef prices with an executive order to import lean beef trimmings - i.e. what goes into ground beef – duty free. The beef will be coming from Brazil.

The US cattle market is having a rough year. It’s at its smallest size in the last 75 years, even as demand for beef has strengthened. Prices for raising cattle have soared as diesel, fertilizer, and machine parts have gotten more expensive; drought and wildfire have increased risk. 

JBS is currently the largest beef supplier and processor in the US. Sysco is a distributor, so you could find their products in schools and hospitals. They supply all the major fast food chains. You will also find their brands at Safeway, Kroger, WinCo, Walmart, and all the big box stores. 

There are many local options for sourcing clean beef. You can find many of them on our website: use the “product” field to filter for meat.