The Department of Justice is throwing hot charcoal on the meatpacking industry’s grill, as the agency has reportedly opened an antitrust investigation that could have wide-ranging implications for the beef market. The probe, which comes following repeated pressure from President Donald Trump, is happening as beef prices continue to rise, causing consumers to have a negative view of the economy.

What’s the investigation about?
The DOJ is looking into whether “large meatpackers that supply American consumers engaged in criminal anticompetitive conduct,” said The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the investigation. The probe is “looking at all of the major companies that sell beef” in the U.S. Four companies currently control 85% of the country’s beef market share: Cargill and Tyson Foods in the U.S. and the Brazilian-owned JBS and National Beef.

The crux of the investigation is whether these companies “reached illegal agreements over how they purchase cattle from ranchers,” said Bloomberg. The Justice Department reportedly believes beef companies could be doing this to cut costs, as beef processors have been “losing money for the last 20 months as they pay producers higher prices for cattle.”

The investigation appears to come at Trump’s behest. As of now, the probe remains a noncriminal investigation. None of the companies or their employees have been “accused of any wrongdoing, and probes don’t always lead to charges or lawsuits being filed,” said Bloomberg. 

What’s the bigger picture?
Questions about the beef industry aren’t new, as ranchers have “long complained about anticompetitive conduct by the four companies,” said Bloomberg. But a criminal investigation “raises the stakes considerably for the companies and their executives.”

The prospect of Trump becoming directly involved due to rising prices remains on the table, as the president’s approval rating on the cost of living has been consistently falling throughout 2026. When Trump called for the DOJ to investigate meatpackers in November 2025, the average price of ground beef was $6.54 per pound, up 91 cents year-to-year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. It has continued rising since then and is currently $6.70 per pound.

After shoe brand Allbirds announced its pivot to AI last week, many are skeptical it will succeed in making such a big switch. But it’s just the latest in a long list of companies that started out in one industry, then changed to something quite different.

Nokia
While known today for its industrial-strength cellphones, Nokia began in the 1860s as a wood pulp mill in Finland. This mill was the first step in the mass production of paper. 

The modern company was eventually formed as a “merger between the Nokia Company (paper), Finnish Rubber Works and Finnish Cable Works in 1867,” said the Crypto Museum. Prior to its eventual focus on cellphones, Nokia was “involved in the production of rubber, electricity, car and bicycle tires, footwear, communication cables, television sets, robotics, capacitors, plastics, chemicals,” and even “military communications equipment.”

Volkswagen
Volkswagen has always sold cars. But in this case, it’s the company’s history that represents a major redirection, as the brand is well-known for its associations with the Nazis during World War II. 

In 1937, Adolf Hitler’s party “founded a state-owned company that was later named Volkswagen, or The People's Car Company,” said NPR. Volkswagen leadership later disavowed its Nazi ties.

Since then, the carmaker has shifted from supporting antisemitic Nazi Germany to negotiating weapons deals with the state of Israel. In a tinge of irony, Volkswagen, which “produced parts using forced labor for V-1 cruise missiles used by the Wehrmacht during World War II, may soon be manufacturing parts for an Israeli-designed missile defense system,” said Haaretz.

YouTube
The company was originally started in 2004 by three PayPal employees who had an “idea for a website for users to upload video dating profiles,” said Business Insider. As a dating site, YouTube “attracted little interest, forcing the co-founder to take out ads paying women $20 to upload dating videos.” 

Down the line, people began “uploading videos of all kinds to YouTube,” and the website took off as a general platform, said Business Insider. Today, over “20 million videos are uploaded daily,” with an estimated 20 billion total videos on the site, said the company.

A woman sits on a bench in Pardisan Park overlooking Tehran. Trump has extended the ceasefire with Iran to allow more time for talks, claiming the Islamic Republic is “collapsing financially” because of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP / Getty Images

Those who live in climates with cold and rainy winters know that being stuck indoors can have a negative effect on moods. Journalist Richard Louv coined the nonmedical term “nature-deficit disorder” to describe the “human costs of alienation from nature.” With spring now in full swing, it’s time to get back outside in the warming sun and touch grass. 

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
It’s not only wildlife like herons, beavers and bald eagles that return to this park — humans flock here too. Its “patchwork of plunging waterfalls, weather-pocked gorges and forested trails” draws visitors, as does the “scenic” Ledges Trail that passes through “some of the region’s most dramatic scenery,” said Travel and Leisure.

Forest Bathing Trail at Silverwood Park, St. Anthony, Minnesota
This trail near Minneapolis is certified by the Association of Nature & Forest Therapy, and guideposts along the quarter-mile path encourage walkers to take their time and experience sensations like feeling the sun on their skin. All the senses will awaken as they “engage with nature” in ways that boost health and “foster deeper exploration,” said National Geographic.

Watch Hill, Rhode Island
You can find “truly excellent” beach towns along Rhode Island’s 400 miles of coastline, and one of the “quietest” and “most idyllic” is Watch Hill, said Forbes. This tiny village is less than one square mile, so it’s “easy to explore” and hit all the highlights, like the Watch Hill Lighthouse Museum and Watch Hill Carousel.