A big warning is coming from the chairman of Tyson Foods, who says that if state and local governments don’t come together and get the economy back going, millions of animals will be ‘depopulated’ and the food supply chain could break:
FOX NEWS – The chairman of Tyson Foods has issued a stark warning to Americans following the shuttering of multiple meat processing plants across the country: “The food supply chain is breaking.”
In an open letter published as a full-page ad in Sunday’s New York Times, Washington Post and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, John H. Tyson outlined Tyson Foods’ response to the ongoing coronavirus health crisis, but hinted that further closures — not only of Tyson Foods facilities, but competitors’ facilities as well — would put stress on the nation’s food supply.
In recent weeks, Tyson Foods has been forced to temporarily pause operations at a number of plants following outbreaks of COVID-19, or because of staffing shortages caused by the pandemic.
“In addition to meat shortages, this is a serious food waste issue,” Tyson claimed. “Farmers across the nation simply will not have anywhere to sell their livestock to be processed, when they could have fed the nation. Millions of animals – chickens, pigs and cattle – will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities. The food supply chain is breaking.”
Tyson said the company had adopted several new practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at its processing facilities, including new social distancing requirements, workstation dividers, deep cleanings, and temperature screenings (some performed by infrared “walkthrough” scanners), among other precautionary measures.
Still, Tyson said the supply chain will remain “vulnerable” and confirmed a “limited supply of our products” until its own plants could reopen.
“The government bodies at the national, state and county levels must unite in a comprehensive way to allow our team members to work in safety without fear, panic or worry,” he wrote. “The private and public sectors must come together.”
This is the same thing that Rep. Massie was warning about two weeks ago:
We are weeks, not months, away from farmers euthanizing animals that would have been sold for meat/food. Also, fruits and vegetables are going to rot in the fields. A drastic change in policy this week could ameliorate this inevitability.
Listen here:https://t.co/bCzTX763r1
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 13, 2020
If we were just weeks away two weeks ago, we may just be days away at this point. And this is very much an ‘interstate commerce’ issue and must be dealt with. If we continue to wait to get the economy back going, too much is going to break and it will be even harder and longer to get the economy back going again. And lives will be lost for any number of reasons.