Food supply chain is breaking

[Dole_whip_doll]

The food (meat) supply was broken long before Covid, this is just exposing it. We used to have many companies (1970's) handling meat like beef, now it is the big 4 controlling over 80% of your meat.... Tyson, Cargill, JBS, National Beef. Same situation with poultry... pork. It is a monopoly. When you have such a small group controlling such a huge enterprise... it is asking for failure.

Thank goodness I live in an area that has a healthy Community Supported Agriculture program (Western Ma). I try very hard NOT to to buy mass produced meat and to buy local.

But truthfully, that is because of changing buying/eating habits. People wanting different methods of production and processing, shift to other sources of protein, etc.

 

[Hikergirl]

No one should be hoarding frozen or refrigerated food. It would spoil during a power failure.

Those of us with generators sure can.

 

[pryncess527]

So the processing plants have to stay open? Didn’t they close because there were a lot of employees with COVID and the plants need to be sanitized and the lines restructured in an attempt to keep infections from recurring?

I agree this will not address the problem. The President said in his statement that the order would, “solve any liability problems.”

which doesnt help the workers

 

[dvcgirl67]

I agree this will not address the problem. The President said in his statement that the order would, “solve any liability problems.”

which doesnt help the workers

I agree this will not address the problem. The President said in his statement that the order would, “solve any liability problems.”

which doesnt help the workers

Of course it doesn't help the workers. Now let's see if he can sign an executive order to make sick people work, or scared people work, or union employees work if they go out on strike. Let's see if he can magically find replacement workers to go into these plants when all of that happens.

 

[Hikergirl]

I'm sure anyone that was for the President forcing companies to make masks and ventilators a few weeks ago supports this decision.

 

[jlwhitney]

But truthfully, that is because of changing buying/eating habits. People wanting different methods of production and processing, shift to other sources of protein, etc.

And the growing trend that people have no gotten use to paying less since meat costs so much less with 4 big companies controlling than buying more local.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I'm sure anyone that was for the President forcing companies to make masks and ventilators a few weeks ago supports this decision.

Were there COVID-19 outbreaks at 3M or at any of the ventilator manufacturing plants? If so, I didn't see it. And that didn't happen because the workers aren't literally shoulder to shoulder with each other on the production lines.

They are shoulder to shoulder in meat processing plants, which is why many of them are getting sick. Twenty have already died. In many small mid-west towns, these plants are responsible entirely for outbreaks in those areas. But...he signed his order, to protect the companies, not the workers. And a lot of the workers won't go back unless these plants can make it much safer for them to be there.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/29/busi...t-workers-reaction-executive-order/index.html

 

[Dole_whip_doll]

And the growing trend that people have no gotten use to paying less since meat costs so much less with 4 big companies controlling than buying more local.

Buying local isn’t an option for everyone anyways. That’s what I’m saying. Not every community has a butcher. There’s not any for at least 3 hours in every direction where I am, same with a farmers market. You have to have government clearance/regulations to operate a kill floor and any processing with government regulated grading and inspecting. It’s not like Farmer Bill takes some cows down to the local butcher and all is well. The government regulations and costs included initially squashed the buy local.

 

[Planogirl]

I still don't understand why demand would be down. People likely still eat the same amount of meat products as before. They just do so at home more.

I can see the food supply chain being disrupted though. Workers getting sick, suppliers unable to easily shift to other packaging and shipping methods, and of course good old panic buying.

 

[Hikergirl]

Were there COVID-19 outbreaks at 3M or at any of the ventilator manufacturing plants? If so, I didn't see it. And that didn't happen because the workers aren't literally shoulder to shoulder with each other on the production lines.

They are shoulder to shoulder in meat processing plants, which is why many of them are getting sick. Twenty have already died. In many small mid-west towns, these plants are responsible entirely for outbreaks in those areas. But...he signed his order, to protect the companies, not the workers. And a lot of the workers won't go back unless these plants can make it much safer for them to be there.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/29/busi...t-workers-reaction-executive-order/index.html

Of course you don't see it the same, that doesn't surprise me. The same people that complain he isn't doing enough, complains when he does.
You (in general) are either OK with a President exercising his power or you aren't.
I'm not going to go back and forth with someone who assumes it's all about protecting the companies. If you aren't seeing the forest through the trees that's on you.

 

[spiders]

Workers can certainly refuse but then they will be ineligible for unemployment.

 

[mnrose]

I'm sure anyone that was for the President forcing companies to make masks and ventilators a few weeks ago supports this decision.

Ventilators and PPE are "essential" when fighting a pandemic. Pork is not. Beef is not. Chicken is not. There are literally BILLIONS of people in the world who eat none of these things. And, I don't have a problem with him making the supply chain work. I have a problem with him doing so without a SINGLE word of protection for the employees who do it. Ever been in a meat processing plant? Know anyone who works in one? My Dad did for most of my growing up years. It is HARD, NASTY, dirty work, and the starting salary TODAY in the plant where my Dad worked in the 1970's is LESS than the money my Dad made when he last worked there. Real dollars...not inflated dollars. That's my problem. If you are going to MAKE them do this work, by God, give them adequate protection. Give them distancing while they work. Give them a decent wage. Give them sick leave. None of these things are given to them today.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Ventilators and PPE are "essential" when fighting a pandemic. Pork is not. Beef is not. Chicken is not. There are literally BILLIONS of people in the world who eat none of these things. And, I don't have a problem with him making the supply chain work. I have a problem with him doing so without a SINGLE word of protection for the employees who do it. Ever been in a meat processing plant? Know anyone who works in one? My Dad did for most of my growing up years. It is HARD, NASTY, dirty work, and the starting salary TODAY in the plant where my Dad worked in the 1970's is LESS than the money my Dad made when he last worked there. Real dollars...not inflated dollars. That's my problem. If you are going to MAKE them do this work, by God, give them adequate protection. Give them distancing while they work. Give them a decent wage. Give them sick leave. None of these things are given to them today.

Also deadly. This has nothing to do with usage of Executive Orders, and everything to do with keeping workers' and consumers safe.
Not a hard concept to absorb.

 

[mnrose]

NT

 

[luvsJack]

I think the problem we're facing with the supply chain has now become a self-fulfilling prophesy to a certain degree. I saw the first story about this well over a month ago and started building up our meat supply. The virus doesn't care that our president has signed an executive order to keep the plants open. He did that to absolve the factories of any liability when they re-open and employees continue to get sick. I understand that they have tried to put steps in place in order to keep employees safe, but in that environment, it's next to impossible from everything I've read. These plants are still going to have to close down periodically for deep cleaning...etc. And they'll have to slow the lines down because they won't be able to maintain the numbers of employees needed to go full speed.

As for why Tyson took out full page ads in newspapers about the supply chain breaking, well, it's true, and it also will cause the price of chicken to go up. So it certainly helps Tyson.

Apparently the USDA keeps a "cold supply" of meat. Sort of like our strategic oil reserve. The problem there is it's bulk meat, and it's frozen. And so it needs to be thawed, butchered and packaged before coming to the market. And it's likely going to restaurants because if would need to be used in short order and could not be re-frozen. This is another issue that is likely to add to spot shortages....restaurants in certain states are reopening.

Staying ahead of the curve and thinking about where this may go next is really important in a pandemic. We ordered a freezer for our basement in early March and now it's full. As is my regular freezer. Now you'd have a hard time getting your hands on a freezer before the middle of the summer. Lots of meat frozen in different sized portions, vacuum sealed and dated. We've also been adding an assortment of frozen fish, especially salmon because we love it. A lot of these salmon fisheries are in remote areas with hospitals that can't handle a lot of very sick COVID patients. So, they may face issues as well.

I was in our butcher's shop yesterday to pick up some eggs. I asked him if he was having issues getting product and for the first time he said that he was. He doesn't know what he can and can't get from day to day now, and in what amounts. He also said that a few local restaurants have come to him for product because they were having issues getting supplies. And we're only doing take-out here in NJ. As restaurants open, that will strain things further.

As for produce, we joined a local CSA farm....they deliver our organic produce starting in late May....1/4 of a bushel of fresh organic produce once a week through the middle of November. You get what is in season. So it's a "you get what you get" kind of deal, but we're fine with that. It's fresh organic produce and if there are items in the bushel we don't want, we'll share. Expect prices for produce to go up significantly as well with the border shutdown as farms are unable to hire enough help to keep up with demand.

Those large portions of meat may not have to be fully thawed to be butchered. My dad cut meat for the grocery store he and mom ran. He would get in large pieces that were frozen and would cut them with the meat saw and package with it frozen.

That would give more flexibility to how that meat can be used.

 

[Searc]

And for the record, I’ll buy anything other than Tyson now. He wants to take out an ad to cause panic rather than implement new procedures at his plants? There have been a lot of essential places that have had positive cases. They cleaned them, reopened them and adjusted procedures. Apparently that isn’t possible at Tyson.

Do your homework is you're serious about not buying Tyson. They own a lot of brands and I don't know what is available in all areas.

We've had two different meat plants close locally (one Tyson, other JBS) and they both have had multiple issues across the US in other plants. I'm also disgusted with the Pork and Beef Councils and what they're saying about it.

 

[luvsJack]

Ventilators and PPE are "essential" when fighting a pandemic. Pork is not. Beef is not. Chicken is not. There are literally BILLIONS of people in the world who eat none of these things. And, I don't have a problem with him making the supply chain work. I have a problem with him doing so without a SINGLE word of protection for the employees who do it. Ever been in a meat processing plant? Know anyone who works in one? My Dad did for most of my growing up years. It is HARD, NASTY, dirty work, and the starting salary TODAY in the plant where my Dad worked in the 1970's is LESS than the money my Dad made when he last worked there. Real dollars...not inflated dollars. That's my problem. If you are going to MAKE them do this work, by God, give them adequate protection. Give them distancing while they work. Give them a decent wage. Give them sick leave. None of these things are given to them today.

I have seen them, followed meat from the farmer to the slaughterhouse to the processing plant; and it is up to the COMPANY to protect their employees, just like it is for the other end of the chain.

The federal government wasn’t expected to protect the cashier at Walmart or the employees at the plants made to make those vents.

As for it being a need. Food is a need. If we have a shortage of meat, people will buy the other things to replace it and we end up with a shortage in other areas. It is all a set of dominoes.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I have seen them, followed meat from the farmer to the slaughterhouse to the processing plant; and it is up to the COMPANY to protect their employees, just like it is for the other end of the chain.

The federal government wasn’t expected to protect the cashier at Walmart or the employees at the plants made to make those vents.

As for it being a need. Food is a need. If we have a shortage of meat, people will buy the other things to replace it and we end up with a shortage in other areas. It is all a set of dominoes.

Thus since it's the company's responsibility what is the need of the Executive Order? To prod the company to protect the workers, remove liability, or a combination of both?

 

[Searc]

They created a lower demand for milk briefly. They limited people to 2 gallons and dairy farmers were dumping milk because they had too much. Once they stopped limiting how much people could buy the situation corrected itself. Or I assume it did. I haven’t heard any more about it.

Dairy farmers were dumping milk because processors weren't buying it, because they had no one to sell it to, with restaurants and schools closed. Milk has to go to a processor to be pasteurized before it can be put into the supply chain. That is where the breakdown happened.

 

[Searc]

Thus since it's the company's responsibility what is the need of the Executive Order? To prod the company to protect the workers, remove liability, or a combination of both?

To remove liability from the employer if their employees get sick and die. They or their families will have no recourse.