What Company Supplies Taco Bell's Beef?

Many questions have been raised about what's really in Taco Bell's famous beef, but such discussions may be missing a better question: Where does its beef come from? Like many other businesses, from Sysco to Canadian McDonald's franchises, Taco Bell gets it from Cargill.

As one of the largest beef processors in North America, Cargill is an absolute juggernaut in agribusiness. Maintaining beef supplies is no easy task, between herd size fluctuation, juggling the quality standards of different countries, and managing the sheer scale of its transportation network. However, the company has had 160 years to perfect its operations and adapt with the times — not only processing beef but also chickens, pork, eggs, and dairy. Still, its other business interests don't come close to the 11 billion pounds of beef products it produces every year.

Taco Bell remains so affordable because it can purchase many of its ingredients in bulk quantities. Given the sheer scale of Taco Bell's beef demand and Cargill's supply, it only makes sense the two would partner to enable one of America's favorite cheap dining options. And while Taco Bell might be an enormous chain, it has nothing on the sheer size of Cargill's operations.

Interestingly, America produces more beef than any other country — so what does it mean for Cargill to be one of the largest beef processors in North America? It means 160,000 employees, more than 500 cargo ships, and $177 billion in revenue in 2023 (per Statista), making it the largest privately owned company in the world.

Cargill employees work in 70 countries across the globe, securing dry goods like soybeans in Brazil and ready-to-eat foods like chocolate in France. While it primarily deals in food and beverage products, it also sources textiles like cotton in China and beauty ingredients like palm oil from 10 different countries. If it can be grown or raised, there's a good chance you can find Cargill somewhere in the supply chain.

Its beef market alone stretches to dozens of customers that are enormous in their own right, like Burger King. However, Cargill also provides meats and other ingredients to hundreds of thousands of people through its grocery clients like Walmart. Even though it's a business-to-business organization, if you look in your fridge right now, chances are that at least some of what's in there was provided by, handled, or shipped from Cargill.