New Trump Executive Order Targets Food Companies | Civil Eats
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The executive order follows an earlier announcement that targeted meat companies, but the administration has also rolled back Biden-era efforts to address the same issue.
By Lisa Held
December 8, 2025
December 8, 2025 – President Donald Trump [issued an executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential…
New Trump Executive Order Targets Food Companies | Civil Eats
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The executive order follows an earlier announcement that targeted meat companies, but the administration has also rolled back Biden-era efforts to address the same issue.
By Lisa Held
December 8, 2025
December 8, 2025 – President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Saturday directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate anticompetitive behavior in “food-related industries.”
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“My administration will act to determine whether anti-competitive behavior, especially by foreign-controlled companies, increases the cost of living for Americans and address any associated national security threat to food supply chains,” he said in the order.
In November, Trump announced the DOJ would investigate meat companies for price fixing and manipulation. It’s unclear how the two efforts might overlap.
Saturday’s order refers to sectors including “meat processing, seed, fertilizer, and equipment” and says the DOJ and FTC will each establish a “Food Supply Chain Security Task Force.” The order requires the task forces to brief leaders in Congress on their progress in 180 days and says the investigation could result in criminal charges.
Since Trump took office, he has rolled back several Biden-era initiatives aimed at tackling consolidation in the food system, including a Biden executive order that included similar language. Farm groups focused on the issue have reacted with cautious optimism to the most recent announcements.
“We look forward to working with these task forces and fully expect they will quickly reach the conclusion farmers and ranchers have known for years: strong antitrust enforcement is essential to protect producers and bring down food prices,” Angela Huffman, president of Farm Action, said in a statement. “The task forces must now act with urgency. If the administration wants people to feel real relief at the checkout line, these efforts must translate into swift enforcement and meaningful accountability.”
The focus on whether increasingly large, consolidated food companies are driving up food prices comes as the administration faces continued scrutiny over high prices for consumer goods. While food inflation was at all-time highs in 2022 and 2023, it cooled in 2024. Food prices then increased by 3.2 percent in August 2025 compared to August 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Trump also recently rolled back some tariffs that had raised prices of imported foods. (Link to this post.)
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Lisa Held is Civil Eats’ senior staff reporter and contributing editor. Read more >