Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the meat industry in the United States

Last updated

Workers in an American hog slaughtering and processing plant Figure 7- Workers in a Hog Slaughter and Processing Plant Use Hooks and Other Tools (27007559560).jpg
Workers in an American hog slaughtering and processing plant

The meat industry has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. [1] Outbreaks of the virus took place in factories operated by the meat packing industry and the poultry processing industry. These outbreaks affected dozens of plants, leading to closures of some factories and disruption of others, and posed a significant threat to the meat supply in the United States. The damage the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the meatpacking industry was unexpected and resulted in a sharp reduction of meat processing and capacity reduction of meatpacking companies. [2]

Contents

By September 13, 2020, at least 42,534 workers at meatpacking plants had contracted the coronavirus, and at least 203 had died. COVID-19 cases had been discovered in at least 494 meatpacking plants. [3]

Background

The United States meat industry was worth $213 billion in 2020. [1] The meatpacking industry employed 474,000 workers, of whom 194,000 were categorized as frontline meatpacking workers in slaughterhouses and processing plants. 44.4% of meatpacking workers were Hispanic, and 25.2% were Black. 51.5% of the frontline meatpacking workers were immigrants, compared to 17% of the general workforce in the United States. [4] Before the pandemic, the United States pork industry was expanding, with a 12% increase in pork processing from 2017 to 2019. [5]

According to a 2016 report by the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO), illnesses among meat and poultry workers were relatively high compared with other manufacturing sector workers, even before the pandemic began; meat and poultry workers were also less likely to report illness because of fear of job loss. Employees work close together in plants, [6] making social distancing "virtually impossible" according to a Food & Water Watch spokesperson. [7]

CDC guidelines recommending routine sanitation and social distancing measures were criticized by workers and managers alike as "non-enforceable". [6] In April 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) relaxed protections at 15 poultry plants by allowing an increase in poultry production speeds, which the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union said would lead to more crowded working conditions and greater risk of transmitting COVID-19. [6]

Overall impact

An almost empty meat counter at a California supermarket during the pandemic Almost empty meat counter.jpg
An almost empty meat counter at a California supermarket during the pandemic

By April 23, 2020, there were more than 3,400 reported positive cases in meatpacking facilities in 62 plants in 23 states. [8] By May 1, a tally of meatpacking and processed food plants (including bakeries and dairy plants) counted over 99 facilities with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 6,800 workers who had tested positive, with 25 deaths. [9] As April ended, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report stating that by April 27, at least 4,913 meat and poultry plant workers had COVID-19. Cases were reported in 115 plants located in 19 states, and at least 20 people had died. [10] Sociologist Lourdes Gouveia said the outbreaks revealed longstanding dangerous conditions that meatpackers face at work. [11]

Impact on food supply

Christine McCracken, a meat analyst at worldwide agricultural financial institution Rabobank, said that U.S. meat production had declined 20% by late April 2020, and predicted that wholesale meat prices would rise. She said that especially popular items like ground beef were likely to increase in price at the retail level. [12] An investigation by USA Today and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting concluded that by April 21, "coronavirus infections had spread in at least 48 U.S. meatpacking plants, sickening more than 2,200 people and killing 17," and that "The outbreaks also have prompted the closure of at least 17 facilities." [13]

According to a report in The New York Times , the coronavirus pandemic "has revealed how these plants are becoming the weakest link in the nation's food supply chain, posing a serious challenge to meat production." [14] Julie Niederhoff, an associate professor of supply chain management at Syracuse University, said that "Slaughterhouses are a critical bottleneck in the system". [14] Speaking for the meat industry, Smithfield CEO Kenneth Sullivan said that "it is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running," adding that "These facility closures will also have severe, perhaps disastrous, repercussions for many in the supply chain, first and foremost our nation's livestock farmers." [15]

According to the Daily Livestock Report published by Steiner Consulting, slaughter of cattle in the United States declined 19% in the second and third weeks of April 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. [16] According to a report by Bloomberg News on April 23, cold-storage facilities in the country only had enough supply to cover production for another two weeks, and with most plant shutdowns lasting at least that long, shortages would be inevitable. [17]

On May 4, Tyson Foods informed its investors that U.S. pork production had declined 50%. [18] The same day, Costco announced restrictions on sales of fresh meat, limiting customers to purchasing no more than three items among poultry, beef and pork products. [18] [19] Grocery store chains Kroger and Wegmans imposed similar restrictions on customer meat purchases. [19] Other regional grocery store chains such as Price Chopper Supermarkets and Tops Friendly Markets followed suit in restricting meat purchases. [20] By May 5, Wendy's had stopped serving beef hamburgers at about 20% of its 5,500 U.S. restaurants. The company only uses fresh but not frozen ground beef, and the shortages were concentrated in states located near where major beef processing plants had closed. Some locations were posting locally printed signs encouraging customers to buy chicken sandwiches instead. [21] The production of prepared foods was also impacted. [22]

The Guardian reported on April 29 that two million farm animals had been culled as a result of the meat plant closures. [23] As of May 19, 10 million hens had been culled, and around the same number of pigs were scheduled to be culled by September. [24] [ needs update ]

In April 2020, beef and pork production was reduced by more than a third. [1] For the week ending May 30, pork production was down 6% year-on-year. [25]

Culling techniques and concern over animal welfare

Methods of culling included gassing, suffocation, drowning, shooting, anaesthetic overdose, "blunt force trauma" and ventilation shutdown (VSD), which animal welfare groups have criticized as inhumane. [24] [26] The technique of VSD was endorsed by the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), and guidelines for the method have been issued by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). [27] Evidence of substandard VSD culling was found at some farms. [24] [26]

Policy and enforcement

Two inspectors for the United States Department of Agriculture have died of COVID-19 as of April 23, 2020.[ needs update ] One of those inspectors was based in the Chicago office of the Food Safety Inspection Service and was on a "patrol assignment" visiting various meat processing facilities each day to conduct inspections. [8] At least 137 USDA meat inspectors have tested positive for coronavirus, and 704 others have stopped working due to lack of protective equipment in a high-risk environment. [28] [ needs update ]

On April 26, 2020, the United States Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines for meat packing and meat processing plants, calling for six feet of separation between workers, temperature checks, health screenings and use of cloth facemasks by workers. [29]

When slaughterhouses were being closed to stop the spread of the virus, meat companies lobbied the federal government to take steps to keep plants open. [5]

On April 28, Donald Trump issued an executive order under the Defense Production Act, to ensure meat plants stay open. [30] [31] White House General Counsel Pat Cipollone consulted with various companies for the order. [32] It was supported by companies but drew criticism from labor unions, who raised concerns about worker safety and urged the administration to prioritize enforcable safety standards and support for infected workers. [33] [34] [32] [35]

CDC advice to meatpackers

An infographic on ways to control COVID-19 hazards in meat processing facilities How to align meatpacking and meat processing workstations (English).png
An infographic on ways to control COVID-19 hazards in meat processing facilities

Meat and poultry processing facilities are considered critical infrastructure workers, and CDC advises that they may be permitted to continue work following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain asymptomatic and additional precautions are implemented to protect them and the community. However, their work environments may contribute substantially to their potential exposures, as they often work close to one another on processing lines during prolonged work shifts. [36]

For engineering controls, CDC and OSHA recommend configuring communal work environments so that workers are spaced at least six feet apart including along processing lines, using physical barriers such as strip curtains or plexiglass to separate workers from each other, and ensuring adequate ventilation that minimizes air from fans blowing from one worker directly at another worker. For administrative controls, they recommend staggering workers' arrival, break, and departure times, cohorting workers so they are always assigned to the same shifts with the same coworkers, encouraging single-file movement through the facility, avoiding carpooling to and from work, and considering a program of screening workers before entry into the workplace and setting criteria for return to work of recovered workers and for exclusion of sick workers. [36]

For personal protective equipment, they recommend face shields and considering allowing voluntary use of filtering facepiece respirators such as N95 masks. They also recommend wearing cloth face masks that should be replaced if they become wet, soiled, or otherwise visibly contaminated during the work shift, although cloth face masks are not considered to be personal protective equipment. [36]

The CDC's advice may be difficult to implement, as facilities are designed for maximum efficiency with workers working close together. Wearing a mask can be hard during the physically challenging and messy work. Installing recommended ventilation may be expensive for older plants. [25] As of late May, employees at meat plants were still "standing elbow-to-elbow" and coming to work with symptoms for fear of not being paid. Physical barriers and face shields were used, though some masks were reported to be of low quality. [37]

Cases by processor

Allen Harim

Allen Harim is a regional chicken processor based in Delaware, owned by the Harim Group of South Korea. On April 8, the company announced that it would begin "depopulating flocks in the field" due to a labor shortage caused by the pandemic. The company was unable to process its normal volume because about 50% of its employees were not reporting to work. About two million chickens were to be killed and disposed of at local farms in Delaware and Maryland and would not reach the market. [38]

American Foods Group

American Foods Group is the 5th largest beef processor in the United States. On April 21, health officials announced that 39 coronavirus cases were associated with an American Foods Group plant in Green Bay, Wisconsin. [39] By May 1, 203 workers had tested positive at the Green Bay plant. [40]

Details of another major COVID-19 outbreak were announced on May 28, 2020, at another American Foods Group meat packing facility in Long Prairie, Minnesota, doing business as Long Prairie Packing. As of that date, 227 of the 296 confirmed cases in Todd County, Minnesota, were employees of that facility, accounting for 76.7% of all cases in the county. [41] These 227 cases represent 36% of the facility's workforce. As of May 28, the facility planned to continue operation. [42] As of May 28, this was the third largest COVID-19 outbreak at a meat packing or processing facility in Minnesota. [41]

Bell and Evans

Bell & Evans, founded in 1894, is the oldest poultry brand in the United States. The company employs 1,700 workers at its modern chicken processing plant in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania, and is one of the biggest employers in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. The company processes organic, antibiotic-free chicken products which are sold through Whole Foods markets. [43]

One worker and the spouse of another worker employed at the plant have died of COVID-19. Indications are that there is an outbreak at the plant, but the company has not released any statistics. 30 cars conducted a mock funeral procession outside the plant on May 1, 2020. Patty Torres, an activist with Make the Road Pennsylvania, said "We're calling on Bell & Evans to shut down the plant immediately and clean their plant completely and pay their employees fully … before (COVID-19) claims more lives and devastates more families". [44] An investigation by The Philadelphia Inquirer concluded that eight workers who carpooled together contracted COVID-19, including one who died. [43]

Cargill Meat Solutions

Cargill Meat Solutions is a division of Cargill, the largest privately owned company in the United States, and a major food producer. The meat division processes beef and turkey for the North American market. In April 2020, 130 workers at a Cargill meatpacking plant in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, were diagnosed with coronavirus, and the plant closed. [45] On April 16, Cargill announced that a plant in Fort Morgan, Colorado, was reducing operations after 18 workers were confirmed positive and one worker died. [46] By May 18, local public health officials confirmed that 68 workers at the Cargill plant in Fort Morgan had COVID-19, and three workers had died. [47] By June 18, nearly 100 workers at the Fort Morgan plant had tested positive for coronavirus, and four had died. [48]

Central Valley Meat Company

The Central Valley Meat Company operates a beef packing plant in Hanford, California that processes 1,500 cattle per day. As of May 13, local public health officials reported that 182 workers at the plant tested positive for coronavirus. [49]

Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands is an American company that manufactures packaged foods. On April 17, Conagra closed a plant in Marshall, Missouri, after about 20 employees tested positive for coronavirus. The plant, which employed about 700 workers, manufactured frozen meals including chicken and turkey pot pies sold under the Banquet Foods brand name. [50]

Empire Kosher

Empire Kosher is the largest producer of kosher poultry in the United States. On April 2, an Empire Kosher chicken processing plant in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, that employed 550 workers closed after two employees tested positive for the coronavirus. [51] This is the company's main facility. The plant was originally scheduled to reopen on April 13 [52] but that was delayed for at least a week. [53]

Foster Farms

Foster Farms is a California-based chicken and turkey processing company operating mainly on the west coast. By April 20, four workers were diagnosed with COVID-19 at a Foster Farms plant in Kelso, Washington. Health officials in Cowlitz County, Washington, described the cases as a "cluster". [54] On April 22, Foster Farms reported that an employee at one of its two plants in Fresno, California, had tested positive for coronavirus. Those two plants employ about 3,000 workers. [55] On August 13, Gurpal Samra, the mayor of Livingston, California, announced that Merced County officials had informed him that 217 workers at the local Foster Farms chicken processing plant had COVID-19, and that two workers had died. According to Samra, "There are no guidelines, no books, no manuals, on how to deal with this anywhere at the state level. Even the federal government is in disarray. So Merced County Health, who's never had to deal with this either, is trying to find the best way to work with it." [56]

On August 18, the Merced County Public Health Department confirmed that over 300 workers were infected and that seven workers had died. The plant employs over 3,700 people. [57] On August 26, the Merced County Health Department ordered the plant in Livingston closed. By that time, 358 workers were confirmed to have the coronavirus, and eight had died. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra stated "Foster Farms' poultry operation in Livingston, California, has experienced an alarming spread of COVID-19 among its workers. Nobody can ignore the facts: It's time to hit the reset button on Foster Farms' Livingston plant." [58] The following day, the California Department of Public Health released a letter stating that Foster Farms has a "legal obligation to comply with public health orders and guidance, as well as an obligation to its workers and to the people of Merced County and surrounding counties and that these obligations compel Foster Farms to immediately comply with the order issued yesterday by the County". [58] The agency reported that "other Foster Farms facilities in multiple counties also are experiencing outbreaks". [58]

Golden State Foods

Golden State Foods, the largest supplier to McDonald's and other restaurants was ordered to temporarily shut down its City of Industry, California facility in July 2020 by the health department after failing to report an outbreak of 43 cases of COVID-19 to the health department as required. It was shut down for several days. [59]

Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods, well known for its canned pork SPAM product, also processes other pork products as well as beef, lamb and chicken. On April 18, local health officials shut down a Hormel Foods plant in Rochelle, Illinois, that employed 800 people after at least 24 workers tested positive for coronavirus. [60] On April 21, Hormel announced the closure of three meat processing plants, including its Alma Foods plant in Alma, Kansas. That plant employs about 100 workers and at least one worker tested positive for the coronavirus. [61] Hormel also closed its Don Miguel Foods factory in Dallas, Texas, which is a joint venture with a Mexico City company, Herdez Del Fuerte. The plant made pork, beef and chicken burritos and tacos, and employed about 700 workers. [62] On April 24, Hormel announced the closure of two plants in Willmar, Minnesota, after 14 workers tested positive for coronavirus. These Jennie-O turkey plants employed over 1,200 workers. [63]

Indiana Packers

Indiana Packers is a pork processing company that is a joint venture between Japanese companies Mitsubishi Corporation and Itoham Foods. The company's main plant is located in Delphi, Indiana and it also operates a ham plant in Holland Charter Township, Michigan. [64] After a coronavirus outbreak, the company closed its Delphi plant on April 24. During the closure, 301 workers tested positive for coronavirus in a plant that employs about 2300 people. At full capacity, this plant can slaughter and process 17,000 hogs a day. The Dephi plant reopened on May 7. [65]

JBS USA

JBS USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS S.A., a Brazilian company that is the world's largest processor of pork and beef. At least 277 JBS USA workers at a plant in Greeley, Colorado, were infected with coronavirus in April 2020, leading to the closure of this large meat processing operation with over 3,000 employees. [66] By April 15, four of the workers had died. [67] The Weld County, Colorado, Department of Public Health, where Greeley is located, reported that the JBS plant had a "work while sick" culture. The company denied that. [68] On April 22, JBS announced that the Greeley plant would reopen on April 24, after a nine-day closure. [69] When local ABC News reporters approached the plant while investigating working conditions, security guards working for JBS responded aggressively, threatening to break their camera even though they were on public property. Union president Kim Cordova of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 said "I think the workers are being sacrificed," adding, "I think that this could potentially be a death sentence." [70] The ABC News team confirmed that JBS had promised to test all of the plant's employees but did not keep their promise, after the first day of testing revealed that a significant percentage of plant managers and supervisors were positive for coronavirus. [71]

On June 24, JBS sent a cease and desist letter to United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, which represents the workers at the Greeley plant, saying that the union "has adopted a strategy of generating negative media attention and public opinion". [72] Cordova, the union local's president, replied, "Unfortunately your cease and desist letter, threatening to stifle our voice, and those of our members, as well as pursuing claims for unfounded, speculative, and unrecoverable damages is rife with numerous inaccuracies, suppositions, and erroneous conclusions I won't spend time rebutting in their entirety" adding that her statements were "nothing more than the exercise of our Constitutional and legal rights, regardless of how you improperly characterize them." [72] According to Colorado public health officials, as of May 18, 321 workers at the Greeley plant have tested positive for COVID-19, and eight of those workers have died. [47] On June 28, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 organized a memorial event in Greeley to commemorate the six union members at the JBS plant who had died of COVID-19. U.S. Senator Michael Bennet was among those who gave speeches outside the union hall. Afterwards, a car caravan of family members, plant workers and supporters drove around the city, passing two billboards with photos of the workers who died. [73]

JBS closed its plant in Souderton, Pennsylvania, on April 10 after a 70-year-old union shop steward for the United Food and Commercial Workers died of COVID-19. [74] On April 20, JBS closed a pork processing plant employing over 2,000 people in Worthington, Minnesota, after at least 20 workers tested positive. [75] [76] By April 20, 60 workers had tested positive at a JBS plant in Plainwell, Michigan, and one had died. The plant continued operating. [77] By April 21, 237 cases of coronavirus were associated with a JBS plant in Grand Island, Nebraska, according to local health officials. [78] On April 21, local health officials reported that they were investigating a coronavirus outbreak at a JBS plant in Cactus, Texas, in rural Moore County, Texas. The factory is described as a "massive meatpacking plant, which processes a significant portion of the nation's beef". Moore County has one of the highest rates of coronavirus cases in Texas. [79] Public health officials announced on April 22 that 147 cases of coronavirus were associated with a JBS meatpacking plant in Green Bay, Wisconsin. [39] On April 26, JBS announced that the Green Bay plant, which employed 1,200 workers, was being closed. [80] In April, 34 workers at a JBS plant in Marshalltown, Iowa tested positive for COVID-19, and then the company stopped reporting new cases. The plant employs 2,400 workers. On May 15, a 62-year-old worker at the plant died of COVID-19, one week before his scheduled retirement date. [81]

Pilgrim's Pride is a subsidiary of JBS-USA that operates chicken processing plants. In late April, an outbreak began at the Pilgrim's Pride plant in Lufkin, Texas. [82] On May 8, a worker at the Lufkin plant was found dead in her home after being diagnosed with COVID-19. [83] After the West Virginia National Guard conducted coronavirus tests of part of the workforce at the Pilgrim's Pride plant in Moorefield, West Virginia, it was announced that 18 workers had tested positive. The plant employs 940 workers and 520 of them were tested. [84] By May 11, 194 COVID-19 cases had been diagnosed among workers at the Pilgrim's Pride plant in Cold Spring, Minnesota, which employs about 1,100 workers. That same day, 75 to 85 cars filled with workers drove around the plant, honking horns and demanding over a loudspeaker that it be closed for two weeks. [85] At least one worker has tested positive at the Pilgrim's Pride plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and other workers have tested positive at the company's plant in Timberville, Virginia, where dozens of workers protested in early April, although the company has declined to release the number of cases there. [86]

In mid-May 2020, CEO Andre Nogueira said that the pandemic would probably reduce U.S. meat production for months. Nogueira said JBS USA would "not be able to go to full capacity anytime soon", with facilities being modified to allow physical distancing and 10% of employees asked not to come to work due to the risk of COVID-19. [34] On June 8, the local health department reported that 287 workers at a JBS plant in Hyrum, Utah had tested positive for coronavirus. The facility employs about 1,400 workers. [87]

Koch Foods

Koch Foods is a major U S. chicken processor, specializing in "small birds". On Friday, May 15, Koch Foods confirmed that 11 of the workers at its Chattanooga, Tennessee plant had been diagnosed with COVID-19. [88]

Long Prairie Packing Company

The Long Prairie Packing Company operates a beef processing plant in Long Prairie, Minnesota that employs 500 to 600 workers. The company is owned by American Foods Group. On June 9, the Minnesota Department of Health announced that 249 workers at the plant had tested positive for the coronavirus. [89]

National Beef

National Beef is a large beef packing company which is controlled by Marfrig, Brazil's second largest food processing company. A plant owned by National Beef in Tama, Iowa, closed for a week after 177 workers were diagnosed with coronavirus at a facility that employed over 500 workers. The plant reopened on April 20. [90] By mid-June, more than 250 workers at the Tama plant had tested positive for the coronavirus. [91]

Kansas Health Secretary Lee Norman reported on April 24 that 250 workers at the state's six meatpacking plants had COVID-19. Over an 11-day period in mid-April, Ford County, Kansas, where both National Beef and Cargill operate plants in Dodge City, went from 16 coronavirus cases to 288 diagnosed cases and Seward County, Kansas, which has a National Beef plant in Liberal, went from six cases to 125. [92]

OSI Group

OSI Group is an American multinational meat processing company that operates 65 plants in 17 countries. On April 20, OSI Group closed a plant in Chicago, Illinois. Thirty workers tested positive at the 500-employee plant, which makes beef, pork, chicken and turkey products. The company announced their intention to install body temperature monitoring systems for workers. [93] Amick Farms is a subsidiary of OSI Group that operates a chicken processing plant in Hurlock, Maryland that employs 1,362 workers. On June 12, Maryland health officials reported that 150 workers had tested positive for coronavirus and that three workers had died. [94]

Perdue Farms

Perdue Farms is the third largest producer of chickens in the United States. In June, the company reported that 58 workers at its plant in Salisbury, Maryland had tested positive for coronavirus and that two workers had died. The plant employs 593 workers. [94]

Quality Pork Processors

Quality Pork Processors operates a hog slaughterhouse in Austin, Minnesota that supplies the Hormel factory in that city. The plant employs 1,300 workers. On June 5, the company reported that about 170 of its workers had tested positive for coronavirus. [95]

Rantoul Foods

Rantoul Foods operates a pork processing plant in Rantoul, Illinois, and is one of the largest meat processing plants in central Illinois. [96] The plant's first case of COVID-19 was reported on April 25, 2020. Two days later, health inspectors visited the plant and found that it was not following appropriate infection control measures. [96] Although, those measures were not issued by the CDC until April 26, 2020. [97] Rantoul Foods adopted the safety protocols outlined in the CDC guidance and were in compliance as of April 28, 2020, and facilitated onsite testing for its employees on May 8 and 9. [98]

By May 22, at least 87 Rantoul workers had tested positive for COVID-19. [99] The number grew to 91 by June 2. [96] However, there was no work contact among the new employees who tested positive after May 9, and the timing of those tests would indicate that they are not related to the initial outbreak and likely the result of community spread. On May 29, 2020, an environmental virus survey conducted by departments at the University of Illinois found no evidence of SARS-CoV2 in any of the samples taken throughout the plant.[ citation needed ]

Ruiz Foods

Ruiz Foods is a manufacturer of frozen Mexican food items, including chicken burritos and beef burritos, sold under the Old Monterey brand name. It is the largest manufacturer of frozen burritos in the United States. As of May 13, 174 workers at the company's plants in Dinuba, California and Tulare, California had tested positive for coronavirus. [100]

Seaboard Foods

Seaboard Foods is a major American vertically integrated pork producer. On May 4, the company announced that 116 workers at its plant in Guymon, Oklahoma had tested positive for COVID-19. The company has about 2,700 workers in Texas County, Oklahoma, where the Guymon plant is located. [101]

Seaboard Triumph Foods

Seaboard Triumph Foods is a joint venture between Seaboard Foods and Triumph Foods, that has operated a new pork processing plant in Sioux City, Iowa since 2017. [102] Five large pig fams in Midwestern states are also part of the venture. The plant, almost a million square feet in size, processed three million pigs in its first year. A second shift started working in 2018, doubling production to six million pigs a year. [103] The facility is reported to be the world's second largest fresh pork plant, and it employs approximately 2,400 workers. On May 11, the company confirmed that 59 workers have tested positive for the coronavirus. [102] As of June 3, 121 employees at the Sioux City plant had tested positive for the coronavirus. [104] On November 23 a group of judges ruled that conditions at the plant were unsafe and reversed a prior order that had denied unemployment benefits to several workers, and instead granted each of the workers unemployment benefits. Further she noted in a terse ruling, "I find the working conditions were unsafe." [105]

Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a wholly owned subsidiary of WH Group of China, the world's largest pork processor. [106] In mid March, Kenneth Sullivan, the CEO of Smithfield Foods, wrote to Pete Ricketts, the governor of Nebraska, expressing "grave concerns" that calling for social distancing was a threat to the reliability of the food production workforce, adding that "Social distancing is a nicety that makes sense only for people with laptops." [91]

In mid-April 2020 the Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, became a "hotspot" for the pandemic, with 300 of the plant's 3,700 employees testing positive for the disease. [107] On April 12 the company announced the indefinite closure of the plant, which processes 4 to 5 percent of the pork production in the United States. Kenneth Sullivan, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods, said the closure of this and other meat processing plants "is pushing our country perilously close to the edge in terms of our meat supply." [108] By April 14, 438 workers in Smithfield's Sioux Falls plant were confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus, [109] with Sullivan stating, "We have to operate these processing plants even when we have COVID." By April 17, the Sioux Falls outbreak had grown to 777 cases, of whom 634 were Smithfield employees and 143 were other people who got infected after contact with a Smithfield employee. [110] A Smithfield spokesperson blamed the "large immigrant population" at the Sioux Falls plant for the outbreak, commenting that "living circumstances in certain cultures are different than they are with your traditional American family", and rejecting charges that the company had failed to properly protect its workers against the pandemic. [15]

On April 23, 2020, a 15-page report was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that concluded that language barriers exacerbated the spread of the virus in the Sioux Falls plant where about 40 languages are spoken. In addition to English, the top ten languages spoken by workers include "Spanish, Kunama, Swahili, Nepali, Tigrinya, Amharic, French, Oromo and Vietnamese." [111] When workers showed symptoms of illness, they were sent home with information packets in English only. The CDC also reported that workers were offered a $500.00 "responsibility bonus" if they missed no work during the month of April. [111]

On April 15, the company announced the closure of a plant in Cudahy, Wisconsin, that makes bacon and sausage, and a plant in Martin City, Missouri, that makes hams. A small number of employees in both facilities had tested positive for coronavirus [112] Both plants were dependent on input from the Sioux Falls slaughterhouse. By April 15, 28 workers at the plant in Cudahy had tested positive. [113] On April 24, Smithfield announced the closure of its plant in Monmouth, Illinois, after a coronavirus outbreak. The factory employed 1,700 workers and produced 3% of the fresh pork for the U. S. market. [114] The same day, April 24, Smithfield announced that their plant in St. Charles, Illinois, was closing. [115] After Nebraska National Guard troops increased testing in Crete, Nebraska, local health officials and the mayor announced that the local Smithfield pork processing plant would close on April 29. There were at least 47 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among workers at the plant, which employed about 2,000 workers. [116]

The largest pork processing plant in the world is the Smithfield facility in Tar Heel, North Carolina. The plant employs 4,500 workers. [117] On May 1, 2020, local health officials announced that 53 of the workers at the plant has tested positive for coronavirus. [118] By May 7, that number had grown to 76 workers infected. [117]

Smithfield owns the Farmer John plant in Vernon, California, which makes bacon, sausage and Dodger Dogs, mostly for the Southern California market. On May 22, a local health official reported that at least 140 workers at the plant had tested positive for coronavirus. [119]

S&S Foods

In the last week of July, S&S Foods in Azusa, California was shut down by the Los Angeles County health department for failing to notify the department about 58 confirmed cases at its meat plant. [120] The same company recalled 153,630 lbs of frozen ground meat for e.coli outbreak in 2008. [120]

Stampede Meat

Stampede Meat is a company that operates four meat processing plants in the Chicago area, and one in New Mexico. On May 5, local health authorities reported that five workers at the Stampede Meat plant in Sunland Park, New Mexico had tested positive for the coronavirus. [121] By May 21, at least 57 workers at the Sunland Park plant had tested positive for COVID-19. [122]

Triumph Foods

In one Triumph Foods pork processing plant in Saint Joseph, Missouri, 373 workers who tested positive for coronavirus —17% of over 1500, in ongoing tests— all were asymptomatic; they will be furloughed using benefits under that company's COVID-19 wage continuation policy. [123] By May 5, the case tally was at 412 workers infected. [124] By May 16, at least 490 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed at the plant in Saint Joseph. [125]

Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods is the world's second largest processor of chicken, beef, and pork. On April 6, 2020, a Tyson pork processing plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa, closed down after 148 workers tested positive for coronavirus, and two workers died. [126] Officials including the sheriff in Black Hawk County, Iowa, were critical of Tyson Foods on April 17, after an outbreak began at a company plant in Waterloo, Iowa. [127] [128] Tyson finally closed the Waterloo plant on April 22. About 180 workers had tested positive for coronavirus out of a workforce of 2,800. According to an Associated Press report, the company said the shutdown "would deny a vital market to hog farmers and further disrupt the nation's meat supply". [129] Tyson eventually re-opened its Waterloo plant after a closure of about two weeks. By then, over 1000 workers at the Waterloo plant had tested positive for the coronavirus. On May 17, an auto rally was held outside the plant, to support its workers. Signs in many languages spoken by immigrant workers were displayed. [130] Five of the Waterloo plant workers have died of COVID-19. [131]

On April 20, it was reported that 90 workers had tested positive at a Tyson beef and pork packing plant in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. The plant employs 1,600 workers. [132] On April 17, Tyson announced that four poultry workers died who were associated with a Tyson chicken processing plant in Camilla, Georgia. Three worked inside the plant and another worked outside. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents 2,000 workers at the plant, said that the three plant workers who died were women who had worked for Tyson for 13 to 35 years, and that many plant workers are "sick or in quarantine." [133]

Steve Stouffer, president of the fresh meats division at Tyson Foods, expressed some resistance to universal testing of their workers. "Everybody wants to test meatpacking employees, but nobody is testing the communities around them to show what's the baseline," Stouffer said, adding "And until we know the baselines, my question has always been: Are we the cause or are we just the victim of our surroundings?" [14] At least eight workers at a Tyson plant in Madison, Nebraska, had tested positive for coronavirus by April 20, according to local public health officials. [78] By May 12, Tyson and local public health officials reported that 212 workers at the Madison plant had tested positive for coronavirus. [134] Workers have also tested positive at other Tyson plants in Lexington, Nebraska, and Dakota City, Nebraska. [78]

On April 21, Tyson announced the closure of a plant in Center, Texas, which is located in Shelby County, a rural county with a rate of coronavirus infection about four times higher than the state average. A local physician reported that over half of the county's cases were associated with the Tyson facility. [135] On April 22, Tyson announced the closure of a pork processing plant in Logansport, Indiana, that employed more than 2,200 workers after 146 workers tested positive. The president of the Indiana Farm Bureau said that the organization is "extremely concerned about the closure of the Tyson pork processing facility. This is a devastating blow to the pork producers who sell hogs to Tyson." [136] By May 1, the count of workers who have tested positive for coronavirus at the Logansport plant stood at 890. [137]

On April 23, Tyson announced that a beef processing plant in Wallula, Washington, was closing. The plant employed 1,400 workers. Local public health officials announced that over 90 workers had tested positive for coronavirus, and one had died. Tyson executive Steve Stouffer said, "Unfortunately, the closure will mean reduced food supplies and presents problems to farmers who have no place to take their livestock. It's a complicated situation across the supply chain. [138] By May 16, at least 277 workers at the Wallula plant has been infected with the coronavirus, and three had died. [139]

On April 27, public health officials in Dakota County, Nebraska, which has a population of about 20,000 people, announced that 608 residents had tested positive for coronavirus, a rate about 40 times higher than the Omaha area. The county's biggest employer by far is the Tyson beef packing plant in Dakota City, Nebraska, which employs about 4,300 people. One worker at that plant has died of Covid-19, and local officials believe that the outbreak is centered in the Tyson plant. [140] Eight workers at a Tyson chicken processing plant in Portland, Maine, have tested positive for coronavirus, and on April 28, state health officials called for all 400 workers to be tested for the virus. Tyson agreed, and said that it is considering closing the plant. [141]

In early May, economist Steve Meyer, with agricultural risk management company Kerns and Associates, estimated that Tyson's pork production had declined 74%. [18] By May 11, 4,585 cases of Covid-19 and 18 deaths were linked to Tyson plants in 15 states. [142] At the Tyson plant in Amarillo, Texas, the Texas National Guard assisted in coronavirus testing of the 3,587 workers. When 1,380 test results were available on May 14, 410 workers had tested positive, which High Plains Public Radio called an "alarmingly high number". [143] By May 14, a Tyson plant in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, has closed and reopened twice due to outbreaks of the coronavirus. [144] On May 20, it was reported that 570 workers at the Wilkesboro plant had tested positive for COVID-19. [145] On May 20, multiple employees informed reporters that 270 workers at a Tyson plant in Sherman, Texas had tested positive for COVID-19. The company confirmed that one worker at the plant had died. [146]

On April 11, a complaint was filed with the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration about conditions at the Tyson Foods plant in Perry, Iowa. It was claimed that employees worked "elbow to elbow" and that coronavirus was spreading. It took Iowa OSHA nine days to ask Tyson to respond and eight days until the company replied. On April 28, Iowa OSHA said that the company's voluntary efforts were "satisfactory", and the case was closed without inspecting the plant. One week later, public health officials announced that 730 workers at the Perry plant had tested positive for coronavirus, and that represented 58% of the workforce of 1,250 people. [147] The local newspaper called the 58% positive infection rate "jaw-dropping". [148] On June 26, Tyson Foods announced that 371 workers at their chicken processing plant in Noel, Missouri had tested positive for the coronavirus. The company tested 1,142 employees at the plant and 291 tested positive. A further 80 Noel workers tested positive in separate tests conducted outside the plant. [149]

On June 21, the government of China announced that it was suspending imports of chicken from a Tyson factory. The company confirmed that the affected facility was its Berry Street plant in Springdale, Arkansas. Earlier in June, 227 workers tested positive for the coronavirus at that plant. Tyson announced that 481 workers had tested positive at its various facilities in northwest Arkansas. That represented 13% of its 3,748 workers in that region. [150] On June 1, Tyson announced that 815 workers have tested positive for coronavirus at its pork plant in Storm Lake, Iowa among approximately 2,300 workers employed there. The company also reported that day that 224 workers tested positive at a beef and pork plant in Council Bluffs, Iowa. That factory employs about 1,500 people workers. [151]

By June 12, over 25 Tyson workers had died of COVID-19. [91] On June 25, a lawsuit was filed in Black Hawk County, Iowa district court against Tyson Foods and senior company executives, including chairman John H. Tyson and CEO Noel White. The suit was filed on behalf of the families of three workers at Tyson's Waterloo, Iowa plant who died of COVID-19. The lawsuit accuses Tyson of lying to its workers in the early days of the pandemic. The lawsuit states "Tyson intended by these false representations to deceive workers in the Waterloo facility ... and to induce them to continue working despite the uncontrolled COVID-19 outbreak at the plant and the health risks associated with working", and describes the company's behavior as an "incorrigible, willful and wanton disregard for workplace safety". [152]

Tyson's Chief Executive Noel White said that the company's investment in automation would likely increase in light of the pandemic. [1] In July 2020, Tyson Foods said it would hire 200 nurses and administrative personnel, and begin administering coronavirus tests at all of its U.S. production facilities, as part of the company's response to the pandemic. [153] [154]

Wayne Farms

Wayne Farms is a chicken processing company and a subsidiary of ContiGroup Companies of Belgium. A Wayne Farms plant in Albertville, Alabama continued production at reduced rates after the company disclosed that 75 workers had tested positive and one worker had died. [13] On May 14, it was reported that "a small number" of COVID-19 cases were associated with a Wayne Farms plant in Dobson, North Carolina. Over 500 workers were employed at the plant. [144]

Impact on meat alternatives

The meat shortage increased sales and investor interest in plant-based meat replacement products from companies such as Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, and Novameat. [155] U.S. sales of meat alternatives were up 280% over 2019 for the week ending March 14, 2020; [156] the following week, sales of fresh meat alternatives were up 454% over 2019. [157] Black Enterprise reported in May 2020 that vegan food sales had soared during the pandemic. [158]

Factories that produce meat alternatives may be less vulnerable to disease outbreaks than meat processing plants, as meat alternatives rely more on machines and less on tightly packed employees. [159]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hormel Foods</span> American food processing company

Hormel Foods Corporation, doing business as Hormel Foods or simply Hormel, is an American multinational food processing company founded in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota, by George A. Hormel as George A. Hormel & Company. The company originally focused on the packaging and selling of ham, sausage and other pork, chicken, beef and lamb products to consumers, adding Spam in 1937. By the 1980s, Hormel began offering a wider range of packaged and refrigerated foods. The company changed its name to Hormel Foods Corporation in 1993 and uses the Hormel brand on many of its products; the company's other brands include Planters, Columbus Craft Meats, Dinty Moore, Jennie-O, and Skippy. The company's products are available in over 80 countries worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilgrim's Pride</span> U.S.-based food company

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is an American, multi-national food company, currently one of the largest chicken producers in the United States and Puerto Rico and the second-largest chicken producer in Mexico. It exited bankruptcy in December 2009 and relocated its U.S. headquarters to Greeley, Colorado, in 2011. It is majority-owned by JBS S.A. Pilgrim's Pride purchased Gold'n Plump for $350 million in late November 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyson Foods</span> American food company

Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork after JBS S.A. It annually exports the largest percentage of beef out of the United States. Together with its subsidiaries, it operates major food brands, including Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Wright Brand, Aidells, and State Fair. Tyson Foods ranked No. 79 in the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meat-packing industry</span> Industrial production of food and by-products from animals

The meat-packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally not included. This greater part of the entire meat industry is primarily focused on producing meat for human consumption, but it also yields a variety of by-products including hides, dried blood, protein meals such as meat & bone meal, and, through the process of rendering, fats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JBS USA</span> American meat processor

JBS USA Holdings, Inc. is a meat processing company and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian multinational JBS S.A. The subsidiary was created when JBS entered the U.S. market in 2007 with its purchase of Swift & Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBP, Inc.</span> American meat packing company

Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., formerly IBP, Inc. and Iowa Beef Processors, Inc., is an American meat packing company based in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, United States. IBP was the United States' biggest beef packer and its number two pork processor.

Smithfield Foods, Inc., is a Chinese-owned American pork producer and food-processing company based in Smithfield, Virginia. It operates as an independent subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate WH Group. Founded in 1936 as the Smithfield Packing Company by Joseph W. Luter and his son, the company is the largest pig and pork producer in the world. In addition to owning over 500 farms in the US, Smithfield contracts with another 2,000 independent farms around the country to raise Smithfield's pigs. Outside the US, the company has facilities in Mexico, Poland, Romania, Germany, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. Globally the company employed 50,200 in 2016 and reported an annual revenue of $14 billion. Its 973,000-square-foot meat-processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, was said in 2000 to be the world's largest, slaughtering 32,000 pigs a day.

Foster Farms is an American poultry company. The company has been privately owned since 1939. It was operated by the Foster family since 1939 until recently, now operated and owned by private equity firm Atlas Holdings, after their purchase of the company in 2022. The company is based in Livingston, California. Operations are concentrated on the West Coast, but the company also maintains a small number of locations on the East Coast. The company specializes in a variety of chicken and turkey products advertised as fresh and naturally locally grown.

Cargill Meat Solutions is a subsidiary of the Minneapolis-based multinational agribusiness giant Cargill Inc, that comprises Cargill's North American beef, turkey, food service and food distribution businesses. Cargill Meat Solutions' corporate office is located in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Jody Horner is the division's president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JBS S.A.</span> Brazilian meat processing company

JBS S.A. is a Brazilian company that is the largest meat processing enterprise in the world, producing factory processed beef, chicken, salmon, pork, and also selling by-products from the processing of these meats. It is headquartered in São Paulo. It was founded in 1953 in Anápolis, Goiás.

XL Foods Inc. is a Canadian meat packing company. The company is a subsidiary of Nilsson Brothers Inc. based in Edmonton, Alberta. From 2009 until 2013, XL Foods' Lakeside Packers Division was located just west of Brooks, Alberta, in Newell County. This facility was the second largest beef-processing operation in Canada. During this period the company was by far the largest employer in Brooks, employing more than 2,200 people in 2012.

National Beef is a beef processor headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, that produces fresh, chilled and further processed beef and beef by-products for customers worldwide. The company is owned by the Brazilian multinational Marfrig. Its main focuses include branded box beef, consumer ready beef, portion control beef and wet blue leather. The company is considered one of the modern "big four" beef packers in the United States.

Labor rights in the American meatpacking industry are largely regulated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which regulates union organization. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulates the safety and health conditions applicable to workers in the American meat packing industry. According to scholars of the American meat packing industry, despite federal regulation through OSHA and industry oversight, workers in meat production plants have little agency and inadequate protections. Workers in the industry perform difficult jobs in dangerous conditions, and are at significant risk for physical and psychological harm. In addition to high rates of injury, workers are at risk of losing their jobs when they are injured or for attempting to organize and bargain collectively. Several studies of the industry have found immigrant workers—"an increasing percentage of the workforce in the industry."

Mountaire Farms is the fourth-largest producer of chicken in the United States, with headquarters in Millsboro, Delaware. The company operates internationally, serving the United States and foreign markets as far away as Asia. Mountaire Farms has facilities in the states of Arkansas, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. The company has about 7,000 employees and plays a major part in the economy of Delaware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado</span>

The COVID-19 pandemic reached Colorado on March 5, 2020, when the state's first two cases were confirmed. Many of the early COVID-19 cases in Colorado occurred in mountain resort towns such as Crested Butte, Aspen, and Vail, apparently brought in, and sometimes taken home, by international ski tourists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in Iowa</span>

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Iowa in March 2020. The first known cases were three individuals who had traveled on a cruise in Egypt before returning home to Johnson County on March 3. Initially, case clusters were focused at meatpacking plants and congregate care facilities. By late October, community spread had become a concern, and some areas of the state had reported over 20% test positivity. A headline stated that "Iowa hospitals fear overwhelming patient surge if coronavirus cases continue to climb."

The Tönnies Group is a German family business in the meat industry that operates internationally. Its core business is meat processing of pork and beef. For pork, Tönnies is the German market leader. With a revenue of over €6 billion, the company is one of the largest meat groups in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the meat industry in Canada</span> Impact of COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, outbreaks of the virus took place in factories operated by the meat packing industry and the poultry processing industry. These outbreaks affected multiple plants, leading to closures of some factories and disruption of others, and posing a threat to the food supply in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States</span>

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has been widely disruptive, adversely affecting travel, financial markets, employment, shipping, and other industries. The impacts can be attributed not just to government intervention to contain the virus, but also to consumer and business behavior to reduce exposure to and spread of the virus.

On May 30, 2021, JBS S.A., a Brazil-based meat processing company, suffered a cyberattack, disabling its beef and pork slaughterhouses. The attack impacted facilities in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bunge, Jacob; Newman, Jesse (July 9, 2020). "Tyson Turns to Robot Butchers, Spurred by Coronavirus Outbreaks". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  2. Ijaz, Muawuz; Yar, Muhammad Kashif; Badar, Iftikhar Hussain; Ali, Sher; Islam, Md. Shafiqul; Jaspal, Muhammad Hayat; Hayat, Zafar; Sardar, Aneeqa; Ullah, Sana; Guevara-Ruiz, Denise (2021). "Meat Production and Supply Chain Under COVID-19 Scenario: Current Trends and Future Prospects". Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 8: 660736. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.660736 . ISSN   2297-1769. PMC   8137951 . PMID   34026895.
  3. Kindy, Kimberly (September 13, 2020). "More than 200 meat plant workers in the U.S. have died of covid-19. Federal regulators just issued two modest fines". The Washington Post . Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  4. Fremstad, Shawn; Rho, Hye Jin; Brown, Hayley (April 29, 2020). "Meatpacking Workers are a Diverse Group Who Need Better Protections". Center for Economic and Policy Research . Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Corkery, Michael; Yaffe-Bellany, David (June 16, 2020). "As Meat Plants Stayed Open to Feed Americans, Exports to China Surged". The New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 "Coronavirus at meatpacking plants worse than first thought, USA TODAY investigation finds". USA Today. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  7. "3 USDA meat inspectors dead, about 145 diagnosed with COVID-19". CBS News. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  8. 1 2 Bagenstose, Kyle; Chadde, Sky; Wynn, Matt. "USDA inspector dies as coronavirus spreads in meat packing plants". USA Today . Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  9. "Mapping COVID-19 in meat and food processing plants". Food and Environment Reporting Network. April 22, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  10. Galvin, Gaby (May 1, 2020). "CDC: Nearly 5,000 Meat Processing Workers Infected by COVID-19". U.S. News & World Report . Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  11. Laughland, Oliver; Holpuch, Amanda (May 2, 2020). "'We're modern slaves': How meat plant workers became the new frontline in COVID-19 war". The Guardian. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  12. Elejalde-Ruiz, Alexia (April 24, 2020). "Higher meat prices, fewer choices at supermarkets as slaughterhouses close over COVID-19 cases. For farmers, 'some tough choices' ahead". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Bagenstose, Kyle; Chadde, Sky; Wynn, Matt (April 22, 2020). "Coronavirus at meatpacking plants worse than first thought, USA TODAY investigation finds". USA Today . Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 Corkery, Michael; Yaffe-Bellany, David (April 18, 2020). "The Food Chain's Weakest Link: Slaughterhouses – A relatively small number of plants process much of the beef and pork in the United States, and some of them have closed because workers are getting sick". The New York Times . Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  15. 1 2 Samaha, Albert; Baker, Katie J.M. (April 20, 2020). "Smithfield Foods Is Blaming "Living Circumstances In Certain Cultures" For One Of America's Largest COVID-19 Clusters: New details show how Smithfield Foods failed to take action in the crucial days before the plant turned into one of the nation's largest coronavirus clusters". BuzzFeed News . Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  16. Condon, Jon (April 22, 2020). "North America continues to struggle under COVID-19 processing plant closures". Beef Central. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  17. Munshi, Millie (April 23, 2020). "Another Big Meat Plant Shutters With U.S. on Brink of Shortages". Bloomberg News . Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  18. 1 2 3 Reiley, Laura (May 4, 2020). "Tyson says nation's pork production is down 50%, despite Trump's order to keep meat plants open: Numbers raise doubts about effectiveness of recent executive order". The Washington Post . Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  19. 1 2 Murphy, Coral (May 4, 2020). "Costco to temporarily limit meat purchases to 3 items per person". USA Today . Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  20. Watertown Daily Times (May 4, 2020). "Price Chopper, Tops announce limits on meat". The Post-Star . Glens Falls, New York . Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  21. Farzan, Antonia. "'Where's the beef'? Hamburgers vanish from Wendy's menus amid shortages of fresh beef". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  22. Phillips, Matt (June 22, 2020). "What's Gotten Into the Price of Cheese?". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  23. Kevany, Sophie (April 29, 2020). "Millions of farm animals culled as US food supply chain chokes up". The Guardian. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  24. 1 2 3 Kevany, Sophie (May 19, 2020). "Millions of US farm animals to be culled by suffocation, drowning and shooting". The Guardian. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  25. 1 2 Parshina-Kottas, Yuliya; Buchanan, Larry; Aufrichtig, Aliza; Corkery, Michael (June 8, 2020). "Why It's Hard to Keep Workers Safe as Meatpacking Plants Reopen". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  26. 1 2 Greenwald, Glenn (May 29, 2020). "Hidden Video and Whistleblower Reveal Gruesome Mass-Extermination Method for Iowa Pigs Amid Pandemic". The Intercept . Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  27. Leary, Steven (2019). "AVMA Guidelines for the Depopulation of Animals: 2019 Edition" (PDF). avma.org. American Veterinary Medical Association . Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  28. Fernandez, Bob (April 24, 2020). "A U.S meat inspector asks "Is this the day I contract COVID-19?" Meat inspectors lack basic protective equipment and have to scrounge from the plants they cover". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  29. "U.S. Labor Department Issues New Guidance for Meatpacking Workers". The New York Times . Reuters. April 26, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  30. "Executive Order on Delegating Authority Under the DPA with Respect to Food Supply Chain Resources During the National Emergency Caused by the Outbreak of COVID-19". White House . Retrieved June 9, 2020 via National Archives.
  31. "Trump orders meat plants to remain open despite outbreaks". Food Dive. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  32. 1 2 Jacobs, Jennifer (April 28, 2020). "Trump to Order U.S. Meat Plants to Stay Open Amid Pandemic". Bloomberg News . Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  33. "Why Trump's executive order to keep meat plants open is seen as 'risky'". Food Dive. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  34. 1 2 "Pandemic will hinder meat production for months, JBS US head warns". Food Dive. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  35. "UFCW releases a response to president's executive order on meat processing plants". Lafayette, Indiana: WLFI-TV. April 29, 2020. Archived from the original on May 15, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  36. 1 2 3 4 "Meat and Poultry Processing Workers and Employers". U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. April 26, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  37. "Scared and Sick, U.S. Meat Workers Crowd Into Reopened Plants". May 21, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  38. Lauria, Maddy (April 14, 2020). "Coronavirus staffing shortages mean chickens will be slaughtered but not make it to market". USA Today . Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  39. 1 2 Bemiller, Haley. "JBS plant in Green Bay linked to 147 coronavirus cases as meatpacking outbreaks continue to spread". Green Bay Press Gazette . Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  40. "Brown County's COVID-19 death total increases to 5; mass testing continues". WBAY-TV. May 1, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  41. 1 2 Hughlett, Mike. "Long Prairie Packing latest Minnesota meatpacking plant to have COVID-19 outbreak". Minneapolis Star Tribune. StarTribune Media Companies, LLC. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  42. Brainerd Dispatch (May 22, 2020). "Long Prairie Packing Co. site of coronavirus outbreak". Brainerd Dispatch. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  43. 1 2 Calefati, Jessica; Fernandez, Bob; Moreno, Jose F. (April 28, 2020). "Deadly ride: How coronavirus struck down Bell & Evans poultry workers going to work in a crowded van". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  44. Evans, Kim (May 1, 2020). "In mock funeral procession at Bell & Evans, protesters demand shutdown of the plant". Lebanon Daily News . Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  45. Luciew, John (April 13, 2020). "With Pa. meat-packing workers getting COVID-19, is the food supply safe?". The Patriot-News . Harrisburg, Pennsylvania . Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  46. Tabachnik, Sam (April 16, 2020). "Cargill meatpacking plant in Fort Morgan scales back operations after 1 coronavirus death, as many as 18 cases". The Denver Post . Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  47. 1 2 "Eighth JBS Greeley worker dies amid coronavirus outbreak at meat plant: Tin Aye, 60, died on Saturday of COVID-19, union officials say". The Denver Post . May 18, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  48. Paul, Jesse (June 18, 2020). "A Salvadoran immigrant worked at a Fort Morgan slaughterhouse for 24 years. Coronavirus killed him in 10 days: Juan Marin loved his life on Colorado's Eastern Plains, where he worked alongside his two adult children. But he feared contracting COVID-19 at his job". Colorado Sun . Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  49. Rodriguez, Robert (May 14, 2020). "Hanford meat processor has nearly 200 workers infected with coronavirus". Fresno Bee . Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  50. Schroeder, Eric (April 20, 2020). "Conagra temporarily halts production at frozen meals plant". Food Business News. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  51. Yonkunas, Rachel (April 16, 2020). "What's being done to prevent a meat shortage after hundreds of meat processing plant workers test positive for COVID-19: Four meat processing plants in Pennsylvania have temporarily closed, raising concerns that a shortage of beef, pork and poultry in supermarkets is on the horizon". Fox 43 . Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  52. Oster, Marcy (April 3, 2020). "Empire Kosher closes processing plant after employees contract coronavirus". The Jerusalem Post . Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  53. Elstein, Aaron (April 14, 2020). "Empire Kosher delays reopening for one week". Crain's New York Business . Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  54. Bruell, Alex. "Four COVID-19 cases now confirmed at Foster Farms". The Daily News . Longview, Washington . Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  55. Miller, Thaddeus (April 22, 2020). "Foster Farms employee in Fresno has coronavirus, company confirms". Fresno Bee . Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  56. Hall, Alexandra (August 14, 2020). "2 Deaths, More Than 200 Infections in Virus Outbreak at San Joaquin Valley Poultry Plant". San Francisco: KQED . Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  57. Sandrik, Sara (August 18, 2020). "300 Coronavirus Cases and 7 Deaths Linked to Foster Farms Facility in Livingston". Fresno, California: KFSN . Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  58. 1 2 3 Tobias, Manuela (August 27, 2020). "Foster Farms processing plant in California ordered to shut down over COVID-19 outbreak". Fresno Bee . Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  59. COSGROVE, JACLYN; LAU, MAYA (July 29, 2020). "L.A. County shuts down three food businesses over unreported COVID-19 outbreaks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  60. "Rochelle Food Plant Shut Down by Ogle County Health Department After Covid-19 Outbreak". ABC 7 Chicago . Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  61. Mannette, Alice (April 21, 2020). "Hormel Foods in Alma halts production due to coronavirus". Leavenworth Times . Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  62. Hughlett, Mike (April 21, 2020). "Hormel Mexican food joint venture closes Texas plant because of COVID-19". Star Tribune . Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  63. Hughlett, Mike (April 24, 2020). "Jennie-O closes two turkey plants in Willmar after 14 workers test positive for COVID-19". Minneapolis Star Tribune . Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  64. "Pork Processor Buys Michigan Private Label Ham Firm". National Hog Farmer. July 2, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  65. Wilkins, Ron (May 8, 2020). "Coronavirus: Indiana Packers resumes limited operations on Friday after two-week closure". Journal & Courier . Lafayette, Indiana . Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  66. Bradbury, Shelly (April 13, 2020). "Coronavirus outbreak at Greeley plant forces two-week closure, burdens local health facilities". The Denver Post . Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  67. "Coronavirus Death Toll Among Colorado Meatpacking Workers Rises To 5". CPR News . April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  68. Gliha, Lori Jane (April 16, 2020). "Weld County health department letter: Meat plant workers felt a culture of 'work while sick'". Denver, Colorado: KDVR . Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  69. "Fifth local JBS employee dies from coronavirus as union, company trade shots". The Denver Post. April 27, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  70. Kovaleski, Tony (April 23, 2020). "'This could potentially be a death sentence': JBS union president responds to plans to reopen plant: JBS meatpacking plant announces plans for 6k to return to work on Friday". The Denver Channel . Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  71. Kovaleski, Tony (April 21, 2020). "Promises to test JBS employees in Greeley for COVID-19 from White House, management not kept: JBS meatpacking plant scheduled to reopen Friday". The Denver Channel . Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  72. 1 2 Sylte, Allison (April 28, 2020). "JBS sends cease-and-desist letter to union citing negative media attention: More than 100 employees at the Greeley meatpacking plant have tested positive for COVID-19, and the union says five have died". KUSA-TV . Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  73. Campbell-Hicks, Jennifer (June 28, 2020). "6 JBS workers who died from COVID-19 commemorated in Greeley: The Local 7 union that represents JBS workers is holding a memorial event for the workers at 11:30 a.m. Sunday". KUSA-TV . Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  74. Keeler, Bob (April 10, 2020). "JBS Souderton meat packing plant closed by coronavirus; union shop steward dies". Souderton Independent. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  75. Uren, Adam (April 20, 2020). "JBS USA announces indefinite closure of coronavirus-hit Worthington plant: The pork processing plant has seen a growing number of cases". Bring Me The News. Edina, Minnesota . Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  76. "JBS closes Worthington pork plant indefinitely". Saint Paul, Minnesota: KSTP-TV. April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  77. Edwards, Lauren (April 20, 2020). "Allegan Co. Health Dept. says 60 workers at JBS in Plainwell tested positive for COVID-19: Dept. says 10 of the workers are from the county, officials ready to begin 'aggressive case-tracing' investigation". Fox 17 West Michigan . Grand Rapids, Michigan . Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  78. 1 2 3 Duffy, Erin (April 21, 2020). "Meatpacking plants are Nebraska's newest battleground in war against coronavirus". Omaha World-Herald . Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  79. Ura, Alexa (April 21, 2020). "Texas investigating meat processing plants over coronavirus outbreaks: The Department of State Health Services is looking into outbreaks at JBS Beef in Moore County and Tyson Foods in Shelby County". Texas Tribune . Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  80. "JBS facility to temporarily close in Green Bay". WBAY-TV. Associated Press. April 26, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  81. Nelson, Thomas (May 19, 2020). "JBS worker dies, his family says, of COVID-19". Times-Republican. Marshalltown, Iowa . Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  82. Huff, Jess (April 29, 2020). "Majority of new cases on Monday from Pilgrim's Pride, officials say: County judge says testing in Angelina County will increase 'almost immediately'". Lufkin Daily News . Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  83. "Coronavirus In Texas: Pilgrim's Pride Plant Worker Found Dead In Home". May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  84. "COVID-19 testing finds 18 positive cases at Pilgrim's Pride Moorefield". WHSV-TV. May 15, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  85. Walsh, James; Hughlett, Mike (May 12, 2020). "COVID-19 cases hit 194 at Minnesota meat processing plant". Minneapolis Star Tribune.
  86. Flessner, Dave (May 11, 2020). "Worker at Pilgrim's Pride poultry plant tests positive for COVID-19". Chattanooga Times Free Press . Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  87. Carlisle, Nate; Stephenson, Kathy (June 9, 2020). "287 workers test positive for COVID-19 at meatpacking plant as impact ripples through northern Utah". Salt Lake Tribune . Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  88. "UPDATE: Koch Foods responds after 11 COVID-19 cases confirmed at Chattanooga chicken plant". WTVC. May 14, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  89. Marohn, Kirsti (June 10, 2020). "Long Prairie beef processor among latest swept by COVID-19, despite significant prevention" . Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  90. "Iowa packing plant reopens after 177 workers test positive for COVID-19". Des Moines Register . Associated Press. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  91. 1 2 3 Grabell, Michael; Perlman, Claire; Yeung, Bernice (June 12, 2020). "Emails Reveal Chaos as Meatpacking Companies Fought Health Agencies Over COVID-19 Outbreaks in Their Plants". ProPublica . Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  92. Boyer, Corinne (April 24, 2020). "Update: Coronavirus Clusters Grow Rapidly In Three Western Kansas Meatpacking Counties". High Plains Public Radio . Garden City, Kansas . Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  93. Graber, Roy (April 20, 2020). "30 workers at OSI's Rose Packing plant COVID-19-positive: Operations have been ceased until temperature monitoring can be put in place for all workers". WATT AgNet.com. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  94. 1 2 Dance, Scott (June 12, 2020). "Coronavirus has killed 5 poultry plant workers and infected more than 200 other employees on Maryland's Eastern Shore". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  95. Hughlett, Mike (June 5, 2020). "More than 200 at Quality Pork, Hormel in Austin test positive for COVID-19". Minneapolis Star-Tribune . Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  96. 1 2 3 "Three new virus cases reported at Rantoul Foods". Rantoul Press. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  97. Telford, Taylor (April 27, 2020). "OSHA releases guidance to keep meatpacking workers safe amid surging cases, food supply fears". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  98. WICS/WCCU Staff (May 10, 2020). "79 Rantoul Foods workers test positive for COVID-19". News Channel 20. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  99. Chadde, Sky; Bagenstose, Kyle; Jacobo, Veronica Martinez; Axon, Rachel (May 22, 2020). "Cheap chicken, beef came at a cost. How American meat plants bred coronavirus hot spots". USA Today . Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  100. "174 workers at Ruiz Foods test positive for COVID-19: Nation's top frozen burrito manufacturer scales back operations for the safety of its workers". Foothills Sun-Gazette. Exeter, California. May 13, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  101. Kemp, Adam (May 4, 2020). "116 COVID-19 infections found in pork processing plant in Guymon". The Oklahoman . Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  102. 1 2 Butz, Dolly A. (May 12, 2020). "Seaboard Triumph Foods says 59 employees have tested positive for COVID-19". Sioux City Journal . Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  103. Corkery, Michael; Yaffe-Bellany, David (June 16, 2020). "As Meat Plants Stayed Open to Feed Americans, Exports to China Surged: While lobbying to keep operating during the pandemic, the U.S. industry sent a record amount of pork to a country vital to its growth". The New York Times . Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  104. "Seaboard Triumph Foods says over 120 employees tested positive for COVID-19". KMEG-TV. June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  105. Hytrek, Nick (November 23, 2020). "Judges rule Seaboard Triumph workers not safe from COVID-19". Sioux City Journal.
  106. Einhorn, Bruce (April 24, 2020). "The World's Top Pork Processor Is Battling Two Epidemics at Once". BloombergQuint . Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  107. "Smithfield Foods closes Sioux Falls plant amid COVID-19 outbreak". KSFY-TV. April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  108. Lardieri, Alexa (April 13, 2020). "Smithfield Foods Closes Plant After Nearly 300 Employees Test Positive for Coronavirus". U.S. News. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  109. Matzen, Morgan (April 14, 2020). "State sees 121 new COVID-19 cases; 88 more at Smithfield Foods". Rapid City Journal . Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  110. "What we know about the coronavirus outbreak at Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls". Argus Leader . Sioux Falls, South Dakota. April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  111. 1 2 "Language barriers helped turn Smithfield Foods meat plant into COVID-19 hotspot: The CDC found 40 languages are spoken at the South Dakota plant where 783 workers tested positive and two died but workers were only given informational packets in English". NBC News. April 23, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  112. Attwood, James (April 26, 2020). "World's Top Pork Company Closes Plants in Domino Effect". Bloomberg News . Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  113. Polcyn, Bryan; DeLong, Katie (April 15, 2020). "28 positive cases: Patrick Cudahy plant closing for 2 weeks 'to protect our team from COVID-19". Milwaukee, Wisconsin: WITI . Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  114. "Smithfield to Close Illinois Pork Facility After Workers Test Positive for Virus". The New York Times . Reuters. April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  115. "Two Smithfield meat processing plants in Illinois closed due to coronavirus concerns". Fox 32 Chicago . Associated Press. April 25, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  116. Gaarder, Nancy; Duffy, Erin (April 28, 2020). "Smithfield Foods pork plant in Crete will close Wednesday, officials say". Omaha World-Herald . Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  117. 1 2 Fisher, Joe (May 7, 2020). "Nearly 1,000 meat plant workers test positive for COVID-19". WRAL-TV . Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  118. "Dozens of coronavirus cases now reported at Smithfield Foods". WECT-TV. May 1, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  119. Holmes, Mona (May 22, 2020). "Dodger Dog Meatpacking Plant Has a Coronavirus Outbreak". Eater . Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  120. 1 2 Cosgrove, Jaclyn; Lau, Maya (July 29, 2020). "L.A. County shuts down three food businesses over unreported COVID-19 outbreaks". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  121. Resendiz, Julian. "NM meatpacking plant discusses safety measures after 5 employees test positive for coronavirus". WWLP . Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  122. D'Ammassa, Algernon (May 21, 2020). "Health department confirms 57 Stampede Meat workers have COVID-19". Las Cruces Sun News . Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  123. Hollie Silverman (May 4, 2020). "More than 370 workers at a pork plant in Missouri tested positive for coronavirus. All were asymptomatic". CNN.
  124. Nozicka, Luke (May 5, 2020). "Dozens of KC, WyCo residents among 412 asymptomatic workers at St. Joseph food plant". The Kansas City Star . Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  125. Bernard, Katie (May 16, 2020). "Triumph Foods in St. Joseph reports nearly 80 new COVID-19 cases since last week". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  126. Pitt, David; Foley, Ryan J. (April 15, 2020). "Tyson Foods says 2 dead from COVID-19 outbreak at Columbus Junction plant". Cedar Rapids, Iowa: KCRG-TV . Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  127. Birch, Tommy (April 17, 2020). "As coronavirus spikes in Black Hawk County, local officials blast Tyson Foods for not closing its Waterloo plant". Des Moines Register . Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  128. Cox Media Group, Associated Press (April 19, 2020). "Nearly 100 employees at a Tyson chicken plant in Tennessee have tested positive for the coronavirus". KIRO. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  129. "Tyson Foods idling its largest pork plant amid Iowa outbreak". Las Vegas Sun . Associated Press. April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.[ dead link ]
  130. "WATCH NOW: Rally held to support Tyson workers". The Courier . Waterloo, Iowa. May 17, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  131. Foley, Ryan J. (June 24, 2020). "Iowa finds no violations at Tyson plant with deadly outbreak". Associated Press . Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  132. Taylor Hayes, Kelly. "90 workers test positive for COVID-19 at Tyson Foods plant in Tennessee". Fox 10 Phoenix . Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  133. "4 Georgia poultry workers dead from coronavirus, company says: American workers who process the nation's meat have proven especially susceptible to the new virus, as they work shoulder-to-shoulder on production lines". NBC News. Associated Press. April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  134. Whoriskey, Pete (May 12, 2020). "Infection rates were climbing at Nebraska meatpacking plants. Then health officials stopped reporting the numbers.: More than a thousand have been infected at meatpacking plants, but state officials won't say which ones. Workers and families say they have a right to know". The Washington Post . Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  135. Collins, Christopher; Novack, Sophie (April 22, 2020). "COVID-19 Cases Now Tied to Meat Plants in Rural Texas Counties Wracked with Coronavirus: The outbreaks, which are being investigated by the state health agency, represent the first reported cases of the virus inside Texas meatpacking plants, and are in rural areas where medical resources are already stretched thin". The Texas Observer . Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  136. "Tyson closes Logansport pork processing plant in response to rising COVID-19 cases". WXIN-TV. April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  137. Griffith, Janelle (May 1, 2020). "Nearly 900 workers at a Tyson Foods plant in Indiana test positive for coronavirus: The 890 employees who have tested positive so far represent 40 percent of the workforce at the pork-processing plant". NBC News.
  138. "Tyson Foods' Wash. beef plant suspends operations after 90 workers infected with COVID-19". KOMO-TV. April 23, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  139. Yazwinski, Thomas (May 16, 2020). "3 workers killed, 277 infected in coronavirus outbreak at E. Wash. beef plant". KOMO-TV . Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  140. Duffy, Erin; Gaarder, Nancy (April 27, 2020). "Dakota County, pop. 20,000, now has more coronavirus cases than Douglas County". Omaha World-Herald . Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  141. Overton, Penelope (April 30, 2020). "Eight workers at Tyson Foods plant in Portland test positive; state says all 400 should be tested: The outbreak at the poultry processing plant, believed to be Maine's first workplace outbreak outside a health care facility, prompts talk of idling production". Portland Press Herald . Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  142. Taylor, Kate (May 11, 2020). "At least 4,500 Tyson workers have caught COVID-19, with 18 deaths. The meat giant still doesn't offer paid sick leave, as the industry blames workers for outbreaks". Business Insider . Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  143. Haflich, Angie (May 14, 2020). "Over 400 COVID-19 Cases Identified At Amarillo Tyson Plant ... So Far". High Plains Public Radio . Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  144. 1 2 Craver, Richard (May 14, 2020). "Increased COVID-19 cases lead to second temporary shutdown of Wilkesboro Tyson plant". Winston-Salem Journal . Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  145. "570 employees at Tyson plant in Wilkesboro test positive for COVID-19, the company says". Winston-Salem, North Carolina: WXII. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  146. "270 Texas food plant workers have COVID-19, one has died". KWTX-TV. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  147. Foley, Ryan J. (May 18, 2020). "Regulators sat on complaint as outbreak at Iowa plant grew". Associated Press . Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  148. Caufield, Jim (May 5, 2020). "Jaw-dropping 58% of Perry Tyson workers test positive". Perry News. Perry, Iowa . Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  149. Associated Press (June 26, 2020). "Tyson Foods: 371 positive COVID-19 tests at Missouri plant". KMOV-TV . Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  150. Slotkin, Jason (June 21, 2020). "China Suspends Poultry Imports From Tyson Foods Plant In Arkansas". NPR . Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  151. Elder, Donnelle (June 2, 2020). "Tyson: 815 workers at Iowa plants — 591 in Storm Lake and 224 in Council Bluffs — tested positive for COVID-19". Des Moines Register . Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  152. Associated Press; Mathur, Monika; Groves, Stephen (June 25, 2020). "Families of 3 Deceased Workers Sue Tyson Over Iowa Outbreak". The New York Times . Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  153. Sebastian, Dave (July 30, 2020). "Tyson Foods Creates Chief Medical Officer Position as Part of Covid-19 Monitoring Program". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  154. "Tyson Foods will test employees at all US plants for coronavirus weekly". TODAY.com. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  155. "Impossible Foods eyes Chinese funding as Covid-19 spurs fake meat demand". South China Morning Post. May 5, 2020.
  156. Domonoske, Camila (March 20, 2020). "America's Shopping List: Here's What We're Buying The Most". NPR.org.
  157. "Meat Alternatives grow in sales and consumer scrutiny during the coronavirus pandemic". cargill.com. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  158. Givens, Dana (May 14, 2020). "Vegan Product Sales Soar Amid The COVID-19 Pandemic". Black Enterprise. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  159. "Covid Is Accelerating the Rise of Faux Meat". Wired. Retrieved June 9, 2020.

Further reading