‘Who Do You Want Controlling Your Food?’

<p>During the pandemic, the price of beef shot up. Wholesale beef prices increased more than 40 percent — more than 70 percent for certain cuts of steak. </p><p>The conventional wisdom was that price increases simply reflected the chaos that the coronavirus had caused in the supply chain. But there’s evidence that they were in fact a reflection of a more fundamental change in the meatpacking business.</p><p>We speak to ranchers about the consolidation of the industry and explore what it can show us about a transformation in the American economy — one much bigger than beef. </p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/peter-s-goodman?smid=pc-thedaily">Peter S. Goodman</a>, a global economics correspondent for The New York Times.</p><p>Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Despite record beef prices, ranchers aren’t cashing in — the result of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/27/business/beef-prices-cattle-ranchers.html?smid=pc-thedaily">years of consolidation</a>. </li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit </p><p><a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a></p><p>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>