Trump issues executive order forcing US meat factories to operate amid pandemic

29 Apr 2020 --- Amid escalating fears of a potential meat shortage, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is implementing an Executive Order issued by US President Trump to make sure meat and poultry factories around the country stay open, despite widespread concerns over the spread of coronavirus within the meat processing sector.

US meat producers have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic as several plants have been temporarily closed amid the outbreak of COVID-19 among their workforces. This is leading to fears that the US is on the brink of a meat shortage as the meat sector grapples with the difficulties of operating plants within social distancing parameters and dealing with large-scale testing and worker absenteeism.

This has got to the stage where so many factories were indefinitely closing their doors, which in turn puts the country’s meat supply at risk, that the US government has stepped in. 

Yesterday, President Trump signed the Executive Order, a move welcomed by US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “Our nation’s meat and poultry processing facilities play an integral role in the continuity of our food supply chain,” he said. “Maintaining the health and safety of these heroic employees to ensure that these critical facilities can continue operating is paramount. I also want to thank the companies who are doing their best to keep their workforce safe as well as keeping our food supply sustained. USDA will continue to work with its partners across the federal government to ensure employee safety to maintain this essential industry.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the Department of Labor have put out guidance for plants to implement to help ensure employee safety to reopen plants or to continue to operate those still open. 

Under the Executive Order, USDA will work with meat processing to affirm they will operate in accordance with the CDC and OSHA guidance, and then work with state and local officials to ensure that these plants are allowed to operate to produce meat. 

Over the last few days, Tyson Foods provided tours of two production plants in Northwest Arkansas to state and federal health officials to outline the safety measures and social distancing efforts in place at its facilities. This follows the world’s second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork in the US indefinitely closing some meat plants. 

Tyson Foods was working with health officials to test more than 1,400 team members as soon as possible. The Washington facility produces enough beef in one day to feed four million people. Operations at Tyson Fresh Meats’ Waterloo, Iowa, pork plant were indefinitely suspended last week and the company also closed its pork facility in Logansport, Indiana, while more than 2,200 employees were tested. 

Some of the company’s other meat and poultry plants are running at reduced levels of production either due to the planned implementation of additional worker safety precautions or worker absenteeism.

On April 26, JBS USA – an American food processing company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of JBS SA, a Brazilian company that is the world's largest processor of fresh beef and pork – announced the temporary closure of Green Bay beef facility. The facility is the fourth JBS USA plant to temporarily close to help slow community spread, joining other company production facilities in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Minnesota. 

Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, also closed its Sioux Falls pork processing plant. 

Meanwhile, last week’s estimates from America’s national meatpacking union, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), showed 10 meatpacking workers and three food processing workers have died. In addition, at least 5,000 meatpacking workers and 1,500 food processing workers have been directly impacted by the virus. 

By Gaynor Selby