President Joe Biden’s administration announced a new initiative on Monday to address the high prices Americans are paying for meat. The steady rise in the cost of food nationally over the past year has been driven by sharp increases in meats and poultry. Over the past 12 months leading up to November, the cost of beef has gone up 20.9 percent while the cost of all food at home has risen 6.4 percent, according to the Department of Labor (DOL). In November, the cost of pork jumped by 2.2 percent compared to a 0.8 percent increase for all food at home. The administration says it will steer $1 billion from the American Rescue Plan towards expanding the capacity of independent food processors. According to the White House, a small number of companies in control of the meatpacking and processing industry are creating a bottleneck in the food supply chain and …