Trump vows legal order to break up food processing 'nasty monopoly'

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he was preparing a legal order to allow farmers and ranchers to be given the right to process their own food aimed at breaking what he called "a nasty monopoly" among the nation's top processors.

Trump did not name a particular food or industry in his post on Truth Social but said he was "authorizing legal documents to be drawn" quickly. Earlier this week, Trump said he would see whether there are too many beef processing plant regulations.

Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for more details on the order, which comes as consumers continue to grapple with rising grocery prices ahead of November's midterm election.

Trump's move comes as the nation's meat processing sector grapples with a 75-year trough in supply as rising cattle costs outpace gains from soaring prices. Four companies control about 85% of U.S. meat processing: Cargill; Tyson Foods, JBS USA and National Beef Packing Co.

Trump also announced last week that more ground beef could be imported into the United States without tariffs. The Justice Department has also said it is investigating whether meatpacking companies were illegally driving up consumer beef prices.