The real reason Trump treats meatpacking workers as disposable (opinion)
4 years, 8 months ago

The real reason Trump treats meatpacking workers as disposable (opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and a member of the USA Today board of contributors. Raul A. Reyes CNN Tuesday, he used the Defense Production Act to order meat and poultry processing plants to stay open, despite the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re working very hard,” Trump said, “to make sure our food supply chain is sound and plentiful.” Given that meat processing plants are Covid-19 hotspots, this order is the height of irresponsibility and cruelty. Join us on Twitter and Facebook Trump’s order may well amount to a death sentence for workers in meatpacking plants, who have little choice but to continue to work to provide for their families. Separately, Dean Banks, the head of Tyson Foods, told CNN’s Erin Burnett that “we’re doing everything we can to make sure we take care of our team members.” Banks said that his company was “extremely early in providing as many protective measures as we could possibly imagine.” Yet if conditions were safe, employees would not be staging walkouts and protesting at meat plants over working conditions.

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History of this topic

Why do Republicans hate lab-grown meat? War on foods like cultured beef and chicken heats up as lawmakers support $1 MILLION fines for companies selling products backed by Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCa
9 months ago

Why do Republicans hate lab-grown meat? War on foods like cultured beef and chicken heats up as lawmakers support $1 MILLION fines for companies selling products backed by Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCa

Daily Mail  

They cite health concerns and have even branded the meat an 'affront to nature' Conservative lawmakers in states including Florida, Tennessee and Texas have tabled laws that would make it a crime to produce or sell lab-grown meat Cultured meat is the culture wars' newest bone of contention. Republican lawmakers across the US have tabled laws to ban the food …

Meat industry made ‘baseless’ claims of Covid shortages to press Trump to keep plants open, report says
2 years, 7 months ago

Meat industry made ‘baseless’ claims of Covid shortages to press Trump to keep plants open, report says

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy American meat producers used “baseless” claims of potential meat shortages …

Meat industry asks for compassion for workers struggling amid COVID-19 chaos
2 years, 11 months ago

Meat industry asks for compassion for workers struggling amid COVID-19 chaos

ABC  

As supermarket fridges continue to be stripped bare of meat, union officials want consumers to spare a thought for slaughterhouses where hundreds of workers have fallen ill. Key points: Hundreds of meatworkers have either had COVID or worked or lived with someone who has COVID isolation protocols have disrupted meat supply chains Union officials say kill rates at some plants …

Trump Wanted Meatpacking Plants To Run Faster. Biden Is Slowing Them Down.
3 years, 7 months ago

Trump Wanted Meatpacking Plants To Run Faster. Biden Is Slowing Them Down.

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Former President Donald Trump helped meatpacking companies speed up the production lines inside their plants to process more animals, despite worries it could lead to more injuries for workers. The pork industry suffered a setback this week when President Joe Biden’s Agriculture Department said it would comply with a court ruling invalidating key parts of a Trump-era …

US lacks mandatory safety measures to protect meat workers from COVID-19: media
4 years, 3 months ago

US lacks mandatory safety measures to protect meat workers from COVID-19: media

China Daily  

Butchers at Old Fashion Country Butcher process meat as they work to meet increased demand due to COVID-19 related shortages on May 21, 2020 in Santa Paula, California. NEW YORK -- The United States "has yet to impose any mandatory safety measures" on meat plants to protect their workers from contracting COVID-19, issuing only voluntary guidelines, Bloomberg reported Monday. The …

Smithfield Foods pork plant faces OSHA fine from outbreak
4 years, 3 months ago

Smithfield Foods pork plant faces OSHA fine from outbreak

Associated Press  

— Federal regulators said Thursday they have cited Smithfield Foods for failing to protect employees from exposure to the coronavirus at the company’s Sioux Falls plant, an early hot spot for virus infections that hobbled American meatpacking plants. She blamed coronavirus infections in Sioux Falls for causing the outbreak at the plant Employees at the plant have said Smithfield did …

Meat packing plants become the latest Covid-19 hotbeds
4 years, 6 months ago

Meat packing plants become the latest Covid-19 hotbeds

CNN  

Llangefni, Wales CNN — In the picturesque market town of Llangefni on the Welsh island of Anglesey, almost all the shops are closed and the town is empty amid the ongoing lockdown. There have been so many outbreaks in meat packing factories around the world that scientists are now examining whether the environment inside the plants could be part of …

Coronavirus: Why are there so many outbreaks at meat factories?
4 years, 6 months ago

Coronavirus: Why are there so many outbreaks at meat factories?

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Meat factories and slaughterhouses are locations where people are …

Slaughterhouses have to better protect employees against coronavirus, Minister says
4 years, 7 months ago

Slaughterhouses have to better protect employees against coronavirus, Minister says

NL Times  

Slaughterhouses must take measures themselves to protect their employees against the coronavirus and make sure that they can do their work safely, Minister Carola Schouten of Agriculture and Food Quality said after consultation with the meat sector. Schouten met with the meat sector after 147 of the 657 employees at Vion slaughterhouse and meat processor in Groenlo tested positive for …

Covid Is Accelerating the Rise of Faux Meat
4 years, 7 months ago

Covid Is Accelerating the Rise of Faux Meat

Wired  

As with toilet paper and cleaning products, you probably didn’t fully appreciate meat until the coronavirus pandemic snatched it away. Companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat skip the livestock entirely: Their factories convert plant material into a striking imitation of real meat. For instance, a Beyond Meat spokesperson says that compared with a quarter-pound US beef burger, its same-sized …

Meat plant workers have a message for you (opinion)
4 years, 7 months ago

Meat plant workers have a message for you (opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Alice Driver is a freelance journalist whose work focuses on migration, human rights and gender equality. Alice Driver Luis_Garvan I’ve spent the past few months interviewing essential workers in the southern United States, primarily in Arkansas, who are instrumental to feeding this country. In an executive order signed in April, President Donald Trump deemed the workers, mostly immigrants …

Some Meatpackers Question New COVID-19 Safety Guidelines
4 years, 7 months ago

Some Meatpackers Question New COVID-19 Safety Guidelines

NPR  

Some Meatpackers Question New COVID-19 Safety Guidelines toggle caption Christina Stella/NET Radio Thousands of meatpacking workers across the country were recently ordered back to work in plants that have seen massive outbreaks of COVID-19. And while Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has promised the agency is "working round the clock" to implement OSHA's recent pandemic safety guidelines for meatpackers, many are …

Some meat plants reopen, but Trump order may not be cure-all
4 years, 8 months ago

Some meat plants reopen, but Trump order may not be cure-all

Associated Press  

— Signs Friday that several big meatpacking plants will soon reopen might appear to support President Donald Trump’s assertion that he had “solved their problems” in keeping grocery stores’ coolers stocked during the coronavirus crisis. A Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in South Dakota where more than 850 workers tested positive will partially reopen Monday after shuttering for more than …

Nearly 900 workers at Indiana meat plant test positive for coronavirus as food shortage fears grow
4 years, 8 months ago

Nearly 900 workers at Indiana meat plant test positive for coronavirus as food shortage fears grow

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The number of reported …

Despite Trump executive order, meat-processing plants struggle to stay open
4 years, 8 months ago

Despite Trump executive order, meat-processing plants struggle to stay open

CNN  

CNN — Days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at keeping meat-processing facilities open amid the coronavirus pandemic, plants across the country are scrambling to balance worker safety with pressure from the federal government to remain operational. Top Department of Labor officials said in a statement about the order that “good faith attempts” to comply with the …

Meatpackers welcome Trump order; others question virus risks
4 years, 8 months ago

Meatpackers welcome Trump order; others question virus risks

Associated Press  

— Big meatpacking companies that have struggled to keep plants running during the coronavirus crisis said Wednesday that they welcomed President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring them to stay open, but unions, some employees and Democrats questioned whether workers could be kept safe. Trump, who consulted with industry leaders before issuing the order, said it would relieve “bottlenecks” that the …

Trump order keeping meat packing plants open worries unions
4 years, 8 months ago

Trump order keeping meat packing plants open worries unions

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump took executive action to order meat processing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing coronavirus cases and the impact on the nation’s food supply. Trump on Tuesday said the order would address what he described as a “legal roadblock.” It will “solve any liability problems where they had certain liability problems and we’ll be …

US records more than 1 million cases of coronavirus as Donald Trump orders meat plants to stay open
4 years, 8 months ago

US records more than 1 million cases of coronavirus as Donald Trump orders meat plants to stay open

ABC  

The number of confirmed US coronavirus cases has topped 1 million, representing almost a third of the global total. Key points: Modelling suggests more than 74,000 people will die in the US by August 4 Modelling suggests more than 74,000 people will die in the US by August 4 New York state has the most coronavirus cases in the country …

Workers Scared As Trump Orders Meat Plants To Open During Coronavirus Crisis
4 years, 8 months ago

Workers Scared As Trump Orders Meat Plants To Open During Coronavirus Crisis

NPR  

Workers Scared As Trump Orders Meat Plants To Open During Coronavirus Crisis Enlarge this image toggle caption David Zalubowski/AP David Zalubowski/AP President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to keep meatpacking plants in the U.S. open during the coronavirus pandemic. The president's executive order to keep the plants open notes that some of the plant closures "may be inconsistent with" …

Meat plant workers to Trump: Employees aren’t going to show up
4 years, 8 months ago

Meat plant workers to Trump: Employees aren’t going to show up

CNN  

New York CNN Business — Meat-processing plant workers are concerned about President Donald Trump’s executive order that compels plants to remain open during the coronavirus pandemic. “All I know is, this is crazy to me, because I can’t see all these people going back into work,” said Donald, who works at Tyson’s Waterloo, Iowa, facility. “We’re going to sign an …

How giant Tyson Foods helped create the meat shortage it now warns against
4 years, 8 months ago

How giant Tyson Foods helped create the meat shortage it now warns against

LA Times  

In an April photo provided by Tyson Foods, workers wear protective masks and stand between plastic dividers at the company’s Camilla, Ga., poultry processing plant. John Tyson, the billionaire whose family business reigns as the largest meat processor in the U.S., took out ads in national newspapers to complain about a “breaking” food supply chain. “It’s also affected thousands of …

Trump Orders Meatpacking Plants To Stay Open
4 years, 8 months ago

Trump Orders Meatpacking Plants To Stay Open

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to force meat processing plants operated by Tyson Foods and other major suppliers to stay open even as the coronavirus spreads among workers. The president’s executive order, signed Tuesday evening, hands oversight powers to the Department of Agriculture “to determine the proper nationwide priorities and allocation of all …

Coronavirus US: Meat shortages possible 'by end of the WEEK'
4 years, 8 months ago

Coronavirus US: Meat shortages possible 'by end of the WEEK'

Daily Mail  

Grocery stores could see meat shortages by the end of this week, according to experts, after least 13 plant staff died from COVID-19 and 5,000 called out sick. Grocery stores could see meat shortages by the end of this week after least 13 plant staff died from COVID-19 and 5,000 called out sick. The chairman of Tyson Foods warned that …

Trump orders meat processing plants to stay open
4 years, 8 months ago

Trump orders meat processing plants to stay open

CNN  

Washington CNN — President Donald Trump signed an executive order under the Defense Production Act to compel meat processing plants to remain open amid the coronavirus pandemic. Tyson Foods spokesman Gary Mickelson wouldn’t comment on the order because the company had not seen it, but said: “We can tell you our top priority remains the safety our team members and …

Meat shortages may be coming at grocery stores soon. Here’s why
4 years, 8 months ago

Meat shortages may be coming at grocery stores soon. Here’s why

CNN  

New York CNN Business — The coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc on the supply chain, hitting everyone from farmers to automakers to retailers. “We definitely can see shortage of products in the grocery stores,” said Jeff Sindelar, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences with an expertise in meat processing. There’s “no question” …

One of America’s biggest meat processors warns ‘the food supply chain is breaking’ in open letter
4 years, 8 months ago

One of America’s biggest meat processors warns ‘the food supply chain is breaking’ in open letter

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. John Tyson, the chairman of Tyson Food, says …

U.S. meat processing plants face huge challenge in curbing coronavirus spread
4 years, 8 months ago

U.S. meat processing plants face huge challenge in curbing coronavirus spread

LA Times  

Workers wear protective masks and stand between plastic dividers at Tyson Foods’ Camilla, Ga., poultry processing plant. The closures shouldn’t cause any immediate meat shortages or big price jumps at supermarkets, but as Purdue University economist Jason Lusk noted, “It’s a very fluid and volatile situation to keep an eye out for in the days to come.” Food Coronavirus puts …

Stopping virus a huge challenge at crowded US meat plants
4 years, 8 months ago

Stopping virus a huge challenge at crowded US meat plants

Associated Press  

— Daily reports of giant meat-processing plants closing because workers tested positive for the coronavirus have called into question whether slaughterhouses can remain virus-free. Kim Reynolds, whose state leads the nation in pork production, acknowledged the likelihood of “clusters of positive cases” at meat-processing plants but said the operations must remain open. “The scary thing is you know if it …

COVID-19 Is Taking A Brutal Toll On The People Who Process Our Meat
4 years, 8 months ago

COVID-19 Is Taking A Brutal Toll On The People Who Process Our Meat

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING The essential workers supplying housebound Americans with beef, pork and poultry during the coronavirus pandemic are getting sick and even dying as the virus spreads through plants and communities. Laborers at poultry and meat processing plants tend to work right alongside one another, at a time when public health experts advise everyone to stay at least six …

Virus closes some meat plants, raising fears of shortages
4 years, 8 months ago

Virus closes some meat plants, raising fears of shortages

Associated Press  

— Some massive meat processing plants have closed at least temporarily because their workers were sickened by the new coronavirus, raising concerns that there could soon be shortages of beef, pork and poultry in supermarkets. Tyson, Cargill and other major meat processing companies say they are adopting several measures: taking the temperature of everyone entering plants, adding clear plastic shields …

U.S. Meat Supply Is 'Perilously Close' To A Shortage, CEO Warns
4 years, 8 months ago

U.S. Meat Supply Is 'Perilously Close' To A Shortage, CEO Warns

NPR  

U.S. Meat Supply Is 'Perilously Close' To A Shortage, CEO Warns Enlarge this image toggle caption Stephen Groves/AP Stephen Groves/AP Updated at 2:25 p.m. And the company's CEO warned that the coronavirus pandemic is pushing the nation's meat supply "perilously close" to the edge. Sponsor Message "The closure of this facility, combined with a growing list of other protein plants …

Meat Processing Plants Suspend Operations After Workers Fall Ill
4 years, 9 months ago

Meat Processing Plants Suspend Operations After Workers Fall Ill

NPR  

Meat Processing Plants Suspend Operations After Workers Fall Ill Enlarge this image toggle caption Ryan J. Foley/AP Ryan J. Foley/AP Several meat processing plants around the U.S. are sitting idle this week because workers have been infected with the coronavirus. Tyson Foods, one of the country's biggest meat processors, says it suspended operations at its pork plant in Columbus Junction, …

Coronavirus | World could face a food crisis: UN, WTO
4 years, 9 months ago

Coronavirus | World could face a food crisis: UN, WTO

The Hindu  

The heads of three global agencies warned on Wednesday of the risk of a worldwide “food shortage” if authorities fail to manage the ongoing COVID-19 crisis properly. “Uncertainty about food availability can spark a wave of export restrictions, creating a shortage on the global market,” said the joint text signed by Qu Dongyu, head of the UN’s Food and Agriculture …

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