Trump to Order U.S. Meat Plants to Stay Open Amid Pandemic-14,259 workers infected-59 dead-22 plants closed

[Treyfish]

FOOD SHORTAGES?

BY ERIK LOOMIS
ON APRIL 12, 2020
AT 4:25 PM
With the collapse of the entire world economy overnight, exports have plummeted, which means that at least for now, there is lots of meat in the United States. But that is not necessarily stable, especially as COVID-19 rips through meatpacking plants. Conditions for meatpackers are horrible at the best of the times, with The Jungle replicated in Kansas and Iowa with undocumented Central Americans instead of in Chicago with Lithuanians and Poles. These workers are forced to work very close together in often cold conditions with sharp knives and fast-moving machines. Working together in cold conditions is perfect for the spread of the coronavirus. And we are now seeing meatpacking plants start to close as their workers get sick... https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com...food-shortages

 

[Treyfish]

APRIL 13, 2020 / 7:13 AM
'Elbow to elbow:' North America meat plant workers fall ill, walk off jobs


CHICAGO/WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the new coronavirus, according to a meat inspector.

In Colorado, nearly a third of the workers at a JBS USA beef plant stayed home amid safety concerns for the last two weeks as a 30-year employee of the facility died following complications from the virus.

And since an Olymel pork plant in Quebec shut on March 29, the number of workers who tested positive for the coronavirus quintupled to more than 50, according to their union. The facility and at least 10 others in North America have temporarily closed or reduced production in about the last two weeks because of the pandemic, disrupting food supply chains that have struggled to keep pace with surging demand at grocery stores.

According to more than a dozen interviews with U.S and Canadian plant workers, union leaders and industry analysts, a lack of protective equipment and the nature of “elbow to elbow” work required to debone chickens, chop beef and slice hams are highlighting risks for employees and limiting output as some forego the low-paying work. Companies that added protections, such as enhanced cleaning or spacing out workers, say the moves are further slowing meat production.

Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, on Sunday said it is shutting a pork plant indefinitely and warned that plant shutdowns are pushing the United States “perilously close to the edge” in meat supplies for grocers.

Lockdowns that aim to stop the spread of the coronavirus have prevented farmers across the globe from delivering produce to consumers. Millions of laborers also cannot get to the fields for harvesting and planting, and there are too few truckers to keep goods moving.

The United States and Canada are among the world’s biggest shippers of beef and pork. Food production has continued as governments try to ensure adequate supplies, even as they close broad swathes of the economy.

The closures and increased absenteeism among workers have contributed to drops in the price of livestock, as farmers find fewer places for slaughter. Since March 25, nearby lean hog futures LHc1 have plunged 35%, and live cattle prices LCc1 shed 15%, straining the U.S. farm economy.

North American meat demand has dropped some 30% in the past month as declining sales of restaurant meats like steaks and chicken wings outweighed a spike in retail demand for ground beef, said Christine McCracken, Rabobank’s animal protein analyst.

Frozen meats in U.S. cold storage facilities remain plentiful, but supply could be whittled down as exports to protein-hungry China increase after a trade agreement removed obstacles for American meat purchases.

“There’s a huge risk of additional plant closures,” McCracken said... https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-he...-idUKKCN21V0WM

 

[Treyfish]

Here are some facilities that have shut or reduced production: 11 plants

* JBS USA [JBS.UL] shut a beef plant in Souderton, Pennsylvania, until April 16, after previously cutting production.

* JBS reduced production a beef plant in Greeley, Colorado, due to high absences among workers, according to the local United Food and Commercial Workers union. The company said high absenteeism led slaughter rates to outpace the process of cutting carcasses into pieces.

* National Beef Packing Co [NBEEF.UL] suspended cattle slaughtering at a beef plant in Tama, Iowa, for a cleaning and planned to resume on April 13.

* Aurora Packing Company closed a beef plant in Aurora, Illinois, said Brad Lyle, chief financial officer for U.S. commodity firm Kerns and Associates. A security officer at the plant said it was closed due to the pandemic. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

* Harmony Beef in Alberta, C.... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-h...1V09W?rpc=401&

 

[Treyfish]

Notre Dame expert: South Dakota pork plant closure will reduce nation’s meat supply, impact entire supply chain
13-Apr-2020 5:05 PM EDT
, by University of Notre Dame
...."Just as we have seen the effects of coronavirus within other industries, these plant closures will disrupt the entire pork supply chain—from the livestock farmers to the consumers who purchase pork products,” Foster said....

“Meat products are perishable and because they require cold storage, there's also limited storage capacity,” Foster explained, “making it difficult to carry a large amount of inventory. Once the existing inventory is used up, consumers can expect to see smaller quantities of pork products in stores due to processing plant closures.

“In this case, the inputs into the process are also perishable, and farmers will be left with livestock that they won't be able to move down the supply chain,” she noted. “With production halted, every tier of the supply chain will be impacted.":tiphat: https://www.newswise.com/coronavirus...icle_id=729847

 

[Treyfish]

Union says 38 confirmed COVID-19 cases at Cargill meat plant cause for closure

Social Sharing

Minnesota-based company says it's doing what it can to keep workers safe

David Bell ? CBC News ? Posted: Apr 13,
Last Updated: 31 minutes ago
The union representing some workers at the Cargill meat packing plant in High River, Alta., is calling for the facility to be closed for two weeks on fears of COVID-19.
The union representing some workers at a meat packing plant south of Calgary says there are dozens of confirmed COVID-19 cases at the facility and it should be closed for at least two weeks to come up with a plan.

The Cargill plant in High River — about 60 kilometres south of Calgary — has roughly 2,000 workers, and the union said it could be hit hard by the illness, given provincial projections on how the virus spreads.

Last week, Premier Jason Kenney said provincial modelling showed that about one in six Albertans could contract the novel coronavirus. The union noted that one in six of the plant's 2,000 staff equals 333 people.

The union says currently there are 38 confirmed cases at the plant: five salaried employees, four contractors and 29 workers...:tiphat:https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...530836?cmp=rss

 

[Treyfish]

47m ago
U.S. Backs Contentious Meat-Plant Changes With Supply at Risk

Deena Shanker and Lydia Mulvany, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- As American meat producers are forced to shutter and slow output at plants amid coronavirus outbreaks, the U.S. government is giving companies a green light to run some facilities at higher speeds -- something experts and labor advocates have long said is dangerous for workers.

In April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service allowed five poultry plants -- two owned by Tyson Foods Inc., and three by Wayne Farms LLC -- to run their slaughter lines at higher speeds. The agency also gave approval to Foster Farms in March.

“This decision is endangering blue collar essential workers at a time when we need to think about protecting them and their communities,” said Debbie Berkowitz, director of the Worker Safety and Health program at the National Employment Law Project.

The coronavirus pandemic is now spreading from urban cities into rural areas where much of America’s food production takes place. Just in the past week or so, hundreds of poultry, beef and pork workers have tested positive for the virus, leading the likes of Cargill Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. to shutter plants. Two people employed at a Tyson Foods plant in Georgia died from complications due to the virus, according to union officials.

Slaughterhouse Shutdowns Raise Concern for Farmers and Consumers

The outbreak is highlighting the often dangerous role that workers play to provide the world with plentiful, affordable food.

“We’re working hard to protect ou....
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/u-s-back...risk-1.1420983

 

[bertrand789]

Donc, il faut retenir que ce sujet est un vrai sujet qui doit ?tre vu tr?s s?rieusement.

Sauf que, quand ce secteur, celui du porc, d?cide d'agir, le bricolage n'a pas lieu d'?tre.

Il faut du gel hydroalcoolique: on sait et va faire en citerne
il faut des tests en tr?s grande quantit? : idem
https://www.pigprogress.net/World-of...id-19-568743E/
etc

Enfin, et cela me semble le plus important, ce sont des personnes en comp?tition qui se parlent. Donc, ceux qui veulent leur raconter des "carabistouilles"
https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/carabistouille ou mieux de ?neries
https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/ânerie

La confiance que les hommes du XVIII[SUP]e[/SUP] si?cle avaient dans les capacit?s industrielles de l'?tat, para?t pu?rile ? toutes les personnes qui ont ?tudi? la production ailleurs que dans les insipides bouquins des sociologues; ceux-ci conservent encore fort soigneusement le culte des ?neries du temps pass?;

ils ne peuvent venir qu'une fois ...

C'est un monde discret. Pour l'entrevoir, dans le monde, il faut de regarder ceci : https://www.pigprogress.net/World-of...s/Farm-visits/

Celle l? en surprend plus d'un :

https://www.pigprogress.net/World-of...loors-275164E/

 

[Treyfish]

western pennsylvania

Six employees at Smithfield Foods Arnold plant test positive for coronavirus


MICHAEL DIVITTORIO | Monday, April 13, 2020 10:13 p.m.

8 minutes ago

Six employees at the Smithfield Foods plant in Arnold tested positive for coronavirus.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 President Wendell Young said four people reported positive tests last week, and two more tested positive as of Monday.

He said those individuals have not been to work for at least several days. UFCW represents 107 workers at the plant.

The plant implemented multiple safety measures to combat the coronavirus prior to the employees testing positive, including rigorous cleaning throughout the day and overnight.

“We have more kno
https://triblive.com/local/valley-ne...r-coronavirus/

 

[Treyfish]

Former agriculture secretary issues stark warning that a 'cascading series of events' is disrupting the US food chain amid coronavirus pandemic as meat producers plan to cut jobs and products
13:01 EDT, 14 April 2020

• Former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on Monday warned of escalating food supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic
• At least 11 meat processing plants have closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks
• Major meat companies are now laying contingency plans to avoid outbreaks
• Chicken processor Sanderson Farms is considering drastically streamlining its meatpacking methods so fewer workers are required on each shift
• Thousands of food industry workers have already become infected while others put themselves at high risk by going into work each day
• Immediate demand took a hit as major consumer sources such as restaurants and schools that were shuttered under stay-at-home orders.. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ary-warns.html

 

[Treyfish]

North American meat plants struggling to maintain workforce amid COVID-19 pandemic


According to more than a dozen interviews with US and Canadian plant workers, union leaders and industry analysts, a lack of protective equipment and the nature of "elbow to elbow" work required in meat processing is highlighting risks for employees and limiting output.
14 April 2020, at 11:27am

At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the new coronavirus, according to a meat inspector.

In Colorado, nearly a third of the workers at a JBS USA beef plant stayed home amid safety concerns for the last two weeks as a 30-year employee of the facility died following complications from the virus.

And since an Olymel pork plant in Quebec shut on 29 March, the number of workers who tested positive for the coronavirus quintupled to more than 50, according to their union. The facility and at least 10 others in North America have temporarily closed or reduced production in about the last two weeks because of the pandemic, disrupting food supply chains that have struggled to keep pace with surging demand at grocery stores, Reuters reports.

According to more than a dozen interviews with US and Canadian plant workers, union leaders and industry analysts, a lack of protective equipment and the nature of "elbow to elbow" work required to de-bone chickens, chop beef and slice hams are highlighting risks for employees and limiting output as some forego the low-paying work. Companies that added protections, such as enhanced cleaning or spacing out workers, say the moves are further slowing meat production.... https://thepigsite.com/news/2020/04/...id-19-pandemic

 

[Treyfish]

Latinos' coronavirus deaths at meat processing plant raise alarms about worker safety

“These workers suffer the most. If the plants shut down, they lose their income. They also are losing their lives,” said union leader Kim Cordova.

April 14, 2020, 6:33 PM EDT
By Suzanne Gamboa
The deaths of at least three Latino employees from coronavirus at a Greeley, Colorado, meat plant are raising alarms about the safety of workers and the vulnerability of the nation's food supply.

Saul Sanchez, 78, Eduardo Conchas de la Cruz, 60, and Tibursio Rivera Lopez, 69, workers at the JBS meat processing plant, died last week of coronavirus, according to previous reports and families statements. Their deaths led to a shutdown of the plant Tuesday through April 24 for a deep cleaning and to screen workers.

The deaths have come amid temporary closings of other meat processing plants and news of workers’ coronavirus infections at plants around the country. The outbreaks have prompted calls from organized labor, civil and worker rights advocates for more masks, gloves and other protections, as well as coronavirus testing, paid leave, disability and other assistance for workers who have remained on the job.

Latino advocates have become especially alarmed because of the number of Latinos who work in the food industry—from farm workers and truck drivers to processing plant workers and grocery stores employees. Many are struggling to get adequate protective supplies such as masks and gloves and to distance themselves from other workers.

“These are essential frontline wor....
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/...orker-n1183916

 

[Treyfish]

CORONAVIRUS CASES AT SOUTH DAKOTA MEATPACKING PLANT SURPASS 540, MAKE UP 55 PERCENT OF ALL CASES IN THE STATE

BY MATTHEW IMPELLI ON 4/15/20 AT 2:35 PM EDT

In South Dakota, the novel coronavirus continues to spread with the Smithfield Foods meatpacking plant in Sioux Falls becoming a major hotspot in the state.

As of Wednesday, there are 545 reported cases linked to the Smithfield plant, with 438 employees testing positive and 107 additional cases from people who have been in contact with the plant's employees. The 545 cases stemming from the plant now represent 55 percent of the state's 988 total cases, according to a tracker provided by Johns Hopkins University.

While the increasing number of coronavirus cases at the plant forced it to shut down, South Dakota is one of seven U.S. states without a statewide stay-at-home order. Governor Kristi Noem said Tuesday that residents in her state are holding themsel...:tiphat:https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus...8121?piano_t=1

 

[Treyfish]

Coronavirus hits workers at 5 of big poultry processor's plants
video

BY KATE GIBSON

APRIL 15, 2020 / 3:49 PM / MONEYWATCH

Coronavirus has stricken workers at nearly half of Wayne Farms' 11 chicken processing plants and two of its 17 feed mills and hatcheries in the southeastern U.S., the poultry producer confirmed on Wednesday.

However, the Continental Grain Co. subsidiary declined to specify the number of employees ......
:tiphat:https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronav...lants-workers/

 

[Treyfish]

Smithfield Foods shuts two more facilities, including a ham plant in Missouri

• By Tom Polansek | Reuters
• • 45 min ago

CHICAGO — Smithfield Foods Inc., the world’s largest pork processor, said on Wednesday it would shutter two U.S. plants that process bacon and ham, after closing a separate hog slaughterhouse because of an outbreak of the coronavirus among employees.

The latest shutdowns show the domino effect that can occur when the closure of a major slaughterhouse removes raw materials that are turned into food for consumers.

Smithfield, owned by China’s WH Group Ltd., is shuttering a plant that processes bacon and sausage in Cudahy, Wisconsin, for two weeks, according to a statement. A facility in Martin City, Missouri, near Kansas City, that processes spiral and smoked hams will also close.

The Missouri plant, which employs more than 400 people, processes pork from the Smithfield slaughterhouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that the company closed indefinitely. More than 200 employees became infected with the coronavirus at the South Dakota slaughterhouse, which produces 4% to 5% of the nation’s pork.

“Without plants like Sioux Falls running, other further processing facilities like Martin City cannot function,” ....:tiphat:

​https://www.stltoday.com/business/lo...3b12b55be.html

 

[Treyfish]

...A dry sausage and bacon plant in Cudahy, Wisconsin, will close for two weeks and a plant in Martin City, Missouri, that produces spiral and smoked hams will close indefinitely, according to a press release from Smithfield Foods.

The release said that both facilities have had "a small number of employees" test positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Additionally, the release said, the Martin City plant receives raw material from the Sioux Falls plant, which closed indefinitely on Wednesday following a spike in COVID-19 cases that eventually made the plant the biggest single source of cases in the country as of Wednesday, w....:tiphat:

 

[bertrand789]

2. R?sistance et stabilit? du virus
2.1 Stabilit? du virus sur les surfaces inertes Le Sars-cov-2 est un virus envelopp? d’une membrane ? spicules ce qui en fait un virus assez fragile qui ne r?siste pas tr?s longtemps dans le milieu ext?rieur. Mais il peut tout de m?me garder son infectiosit? sur les surfaces inertes pendant un temps non n?gligeable. D’apr?s les derni?res ?tudes en cours (Holbrook 2020 dans NEJM et Chin 2020 pas encore publi?)
le virus viable n’est plus d?tect? apr?s : - 3 heures dans l’air
- 4 heures sur le cuivre
- 3 heures sur le papier et le papier ? usage unique (papier toilettes, mouchoirs ? usage unique)
- 2 jours sur le bois, le carton et les v?tements
- 4 jours sur le verre et les billets de banque
- 7 jours sur le plastique et l’acier inoxydable
- 7 jours sur la surface interne d’un masque naso-buccal et plus de 7 jours sur la surface externe d’un masque naso-buccal La stabilit? des coronavirus est am?lior?e ? basse temp?rature : on a montr? que le Sars-Cov gardait son infectiosit? pendant 10 jours ? 4?C et seulement 5 jours ? T? ambiante.

la suite : https://www.ifip.asso.fr/sites/defau...virus-ifip.pdf

 

[Shiloh]

Pig Farmers: Are We Going to Produce Food in the U.S. or Not?: https://www.porkbusiness.com/article/pig-farmers-are-we-going-produce-food-us-or-not

 

[Treyfish]

42 workers at a Tyson plant in Washington state :tiphat:https://katu.com/news/local/dozens-o...ve-coronavirus

 

[Emily]

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/apr/15/eastern-washington-meat-plant-sees-cluster-of-47-v/

Eastern Washington meat plant sees cluster of 47 virus cases, remains open


UPDATED: Wed., April 15, 2020
A cluster of COVID-19 cases that spread across three Eastern Washington counties has been traced to a meat processing plant in Wallula.

As of Wednesday, a total of 47 cases – 41 in the Benton-Franklin Health District and six in the Walla Walla County Health District – have been traced to the Tyson Fresh Meats processing facility.

The processing plant, which employs about 1,400 people, is located in Walla Walla County but is close to the Franklin County line, and the majority of its employees live in the Tri-Cities.
...
County health officials have not asked the plant to shut down.

“We don’t feel that’s a workable solution at this time,” said Liz Jessee, communications officer for the Walla Walla County Health District, which has jurisdiction over the facility.

If all the workers are laid off, they will still be in the community and could expose others whenever they leave home.

At a news conference Wednesday, Gov. Jay Inslee said he hadn’t been briefed on the situation at the Tyson plant. He said he may have the authority to close a facility to prevent the spread of the virus but “it’s not something we’ve thought about for any particular company or site at the moment.”
...

 

[Treyfish]

:tiphat:https://www.agrimarketing.com/s/129925