February 6, 2024 — McDonald’s, Walmart, and Cargill are among the hundreds of U.S. food brands whose production processes have been tied to prison labor by a recent Associated Press investigation.
The AP report, published 29 January, traced at least USD 200 million (EUR 215 million) worth of sales of farmed goods and livestock to products grown by U.S. prisoners over the past six years. The products include soy, corn, and wheat bought by aquafeed producers and suppliers Cargill, Bunge, Louis Dreyfus, Archer Daniels Midland, and Consolidated Grain and Barge directly from U.S. prisons. Products made from those raw materials are frequently exported, including to China, according to the AP.