A company that owns more than 300 Wendy’s restaurants across 15 states recently filed for bankruptcy, citing rising beef costs as a major contributing factor.
Meritage Hospitality Group filed for Chapter 11 on September 17, saying that sales had been significantly impacted by reduced access to beef thanks to reduced imports from Mexico, low herd levels of cattle, and President Donald Trump’s tariffs on beef imports. Meritage said Trump’s tariffs caused their beef costs to increase 18.9% from last year.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released data showing that the price of ground beef hit $7.16 per pound in August, an increase of 7.9% from 2025.
The Agriculture Secretary’s Response
In an appearance with far-right podcaster Benny Johnson on Monday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins was dismissive of the problems facing consumers and businesses.
“We have more people eating beef than ever before, but if it is too expensive—unlike fuel, Benny—you can eat chicken, pork, salmon, eggs,” Rollins said. “There are other sources of really good protein, and all of those prices are coming down as well.”
She also claimed that cheaper beef is “coming to you soon,” but declined to explain how that would happen. Her remarks were quickly ridiculed by the Democratic Party.
“Trump’s reckless tariffs and war with Iran have pushed working families and farmers to the brink, as costs for everything from fuel to fertilizer skyrocket, as farmers start fall harvest, and it becomes nearly impossible to make ends meet,” DNC Deputy Executive Director Libby Schneider said in a statement. “But what is the Trump administration doing to fix their mess? Nothing—except telling Americans to suck it up.”
The Import Proclamation
Trump previously claimed he was addressing beef costs by signing a proclamation in August allowing 660 million pounds of beef to be imported.
But Eric Schlosser, author of the food safety classic “Fast Food Nation,” wrote for The New York Times that Trump’s order was not bringing quality meat into the country.
“The cuts of meat covered by Mr. Trump’s proclamation aren’t fresh sirloins, rib-eyes and filets. They’re lean beef trimmings that will be added to fattier American cuts to make ground beef,” he wrote. “They’re small chunks of frozen meat that could have been kept in cold storage overseas for years.”
Schlosser added: “They are the quintessence of generic industrial meat, imported here to be subsequently processed in massive grinders that combine pieces of tens of thousands of cattle from multiple countries, mainly into fast food hamburgers.” He also noted that the meat offered by Trump has an extremely troubling safety record, causing food safety scares in other countries.
The Political Fallout
The Trump administration is increasingly being viewed as out of touch on economic basics by a majority of voters, including conservatives and even pro-MAGA Republicans. A recent Fox News poll showed double-digit advantages for Democrats on the economy and food prices.
The Bottom Line
Meritage Hospitality Group, which owns more than 300 Wendy’s restaurants, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing beef costs that rose 18.9% due to Trump’s tariffs. Ground beef prices hit $7.16 per pound in August, up 7.9% from last year. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Americans to eat chicken instead. Trump’s August proclamation allowing beef imports covers low-quality trimmings for fast food hamburgers, not quality cuts. Polls show Democrats with double-digit advantages on the economy and food prices.
My Opinion
The Agriculture Secretary’s advice to eat chicken instead of beef is not a policy. It is a punchline. And the families who are struggling to afford groceries are not laughing.
Trump’s tariffs have consequences. Meritage Hospitality Group owns more than 300 Wendy’s restaurants. It just filed for bankruptcy because its beef costs rose 18.9% in a single year. That is not a market fluctuation. That is a policy outcome. And when the administration’s response is to tell Americans to eat pork or salmon or eggs, it reveals a fundamental disconnect from the reality of working families who cannot simply swap their dinner plans to accommodate the president’s trade war.
The import proclamation Trump signed in August does not fix the problem. It allows low-quality beef trimmings — frozen chunks that could have been in cold storage for years — to be ground into fast food hamburgers. That is not a solution. It is a workaround that benefits no one except the industrial meat processors who profit from cheap, low-grade beef.
The polls already show Democrats with double-digit advantages on the economy and food prices. Telling voters to eat chicken while their grocery bills climb is not a winning message. It is a concession that the administration has no plan. And a Wendy’s bankruptcy is just the latest evidence that Trump’s beef policies are not working for anyone except the people who wrote them.
