January 27, 2025

Cargill agrees to settlement of lawsuit alleging artificial increase of turkey prices

Cargill has agreed to pay US$32.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accuses the meatpacking giant of conspiring with other companies to artificially raise the price of turkeys.

The deal was filed in the Northern Illinois US District Court and still needs to be approved by the court.

The lawsuit accused Cargill and Tyson, along with other major producers like Butterball and Perdue Farms, of coordinating to intentionally reduce the US turkey supply to raise consumer prices.

A class action lawsuit was filed in 2019 that claims for years, the United States' largest turkey producers illegally increased prices in a scheme that cost consumers millions of dollars and forced grocery stores to pay higher prices for deli meat and other products.

- NAFB