Via Beef News,

A 300,000-square-foot plant. 600 new jobs. Cuts packed, labeled, and shipped straight to Walmart shelves. And all of it fed by one source: Sustainable Beef LLC, the North Platte processor Walmart bought into back in 2022.

What the press release calls "supply chain transparency" is really supply chain capture.

"We're delivering more of what our customers want—affordable food and quality they can trust."
— John Laney, EVP Food, Walmart U.S.

Trust, sure. Just don't ask who sets the prices for the people raising the cattle.

One Chain. One Gatekeeper.

Walmart now owns a piece of the processor (Sustainable Beef), owns the packaging plant (Olathe), and controls the retail outlet (Walmart stores). That's vertical integration—top to bottom.

Total investment? Nearly $700 million.

This isn't a backup plan. It's a power play.

• Walmart decides what cattle are worth

• Walmart decides how it's cut and wrapped

• Walmart decides what consumers pay

The middle? Gone.