John Tyson, chairman of Tyson Foods, warned of a food shortage and increased meat prices resulting from plant closures amid the novel coronavirus in a full-page ad published Sunday in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Tyson Foods is one of the world’s largest food processors of chicken, beef, and pork; at least 13 plants have been closed since March, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
Plants in Waterloo, Iowa, and Logansport, Indiana, closed last week in order to conduct coronavirus testing. Controversy surrounded the closings due to alleged unsafe working conditions, including a lack of masks being provided to employees despite an already known spread among them. CNN reported that at least 182 cases of the virus were linked to the Waterloo plant closure, and three employees told CNN that social distancing measures were impossible to follow in the facility.
The company attempted to refute claims and defended its working conditions and safety measures. “The food supply chain is breaking,” Tyson wrote in the ad, which was also published on the company’s website. “We have a responsibility to feed our country. It is as essential as healthcare. This is a challenge that should not be ignored. Our plants must remain operational so that we can supply food to our families in America. This is a delicate balance because Tyson Foods places team member safety as our top priority.”
The ad comes in the wake of fears that grocery stores will face shortages across the country as processing plants continue to close nationwide. The company, which employs about 100,000 workers, pleaded for government help in finding ways to help the meat industry through the pandemic and allow workers to “work in safety without fear, panic or worry.” According to the Post, as slaughterhouses close across the country, the meat industry has been pushing for government assistance at all levels. Tyson claimed that if not helped, closures will cause farmers to kill and dispose of animals that were bred for slaughterhouses, causing the meat to be wasted. “As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain,” Tyson wrote.
But while grocery stores are indeed struggling to stock shelves, the Food and Drug Administration said on April 14 that there are “no nationwide shortages of food,” the Post reported. Most of the shortages occurring at this time are related to panic buying, in which people are buying more food than they need in fear of future shortages.
Tyson’s warning that food will be wasted comes as no surprise as dairy farmers have already been forced to discard food that cannot be sold. As restaurants, schools, hotels, and other gathering places continue closures, farmers are left with no buyers for half of their crops, The New York Times reported. Produce and fresh food intended for businesses and schools are going to waste as farmers must dump gallons of fresh milk, bury vegetables, and destroy eggs. In one day, approximately 3.7 million gallons of milk are being dumped, in addition to more than 700,000 eggs being smashed by a chicken processor, theTimes reported.
Some shoppers have already begun to see a rise in the prices of grocery store products during the pandemic, but according to The Guardian, experts say consumers will not notice a difference in meat supplies and products for several more weeks. Earlier this month, Donald Trump claimed his administration would ensure that food supplies stayed “stable and safe.” Pork and beef producers continue to urge the government to buy more meat and livestock to help the industry during this difficult time. “It hasn’t been easy and it’s not over,” Tyson wrote. “But I have faith that together, we’ll get through this.”