Cargill Ltd, which operates the High River, Alberta slaughterhouse that is Canada’s single largest COVID-19 outbreak, has another dirty secret: it channels most of the profits from its Canadian operations to its American billionaire owners through holding companies based in the tax haven of Luxembourg.

Cargill is not only the largest food company in the world, it is also the largest privately held company in the world.  It is 90% owned by the extended Cargill and MacMillan family. With more than 14 billionaires , they are the largest billionaire family in the world, with more than US$50 billion in net wealth among all of them.  

The conglomerate has at least 48 companies registered in Canada, including 2,000 workers at their High River Alberta slaughterhouse and 950 workers at their slaughterhouse in Guelph. Together, these two plants slaughter 6,000 cattle a day, providing 55% of Canadian beef.  Cargill has been the exclusive supplier of not only beef, but also chicken and eggs to McDonald’s restaurants in Canada.