Tyson Foods, one of America’s largest meat producers, has warned “the food supply chain is breaking” amid the pandemic. The company cautioned “there will be limited supply of products” until it can reopen closed facilities. Tyson has closed or reduced production at several facilities throughout the US, including a pork-processing plant in Iowa, where several workers tested positive for the virus. Tyson plants in Texas and Indiana also closed. Other facilities, including a Smithfield Foods pork plant in South Dakota, and a JBS beef plant in Wisconsin, have announced temporary shutdowns.
“As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain,” John Tyson, Tyson’s board chairman, wrote. Tyson warned that “farmers across the nation simply will not have anywhere to sell their livestock to be processed”, further sounding the alarm on the threat to the nation’s food supply chain.
The USDA had been criticized for the millions of pounds of food rotting while the country’s food banks became increasingly depleted due to high demand amid the economic dive. USDA waited more than a month to “make its first significant move to buy up surplus fruits and vegetables,” Politico reported. The agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, drew fire for the lag in response to the pandemic compared with other federal agencies.
According to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Unions at least 10 meatpacking workers and three food processing workers have died from the coronavirus and at least 5,000 meatpacking workers and 1,500 food processing workers have been directly affected. Tyson, among others, faced growing criticism for subpar standards in protecting workers, including a lack of adequate gear. The company had faced backlash for slow response to worker safety, including only requiring employees to wear company-supplied masks since mid-April.
Experts have warned it could be a matter of weeks before consumers feel the effect of shutdowns with meat shortages at grocery stores.
“As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain,” John Tyson, Tyson’s board chairman, wrote. Tyson warned that “farmers across the nation simply will not have anywhere to sell their livestock to be processed”, further sounding the alarm on the threat to the nation’s food supply chain.
The USDA had been criticized for the millions of pounds of food rotting while the country’s food banks became increasingly depleted due to high demand amid the economic dive. USDA waited more than a month to “make its first significant move to buy up surplus fruits and vegetables,” Politico reported. The agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, drew fire for the lag in response to the pandemic compared with other federal agencies.
According to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Unions at least 10 meatpacking workers and three food processing workers have died from the coronavirus and at least 5,000 meatpacking workers and 1,500 food processing workers have been directly affected. Tyson, among others, faced growing criticism for subpar standards in protecting workers, including a lack of adequate gear. The company had faced backlash for slow response to worker safety, including only requiring employees to wear company-supplied masks since mid-April.
Experts have warned it could be a matter of weeks before consumers feel the effect of shutdowns with meat shortages at grocery stores.
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