Why, Exactly, Are Pork Chops So "Essential" That Workers Must Die To Keep Plants Open?
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And on Tuesday, Trump signed an order requiring meat plants to stay open during the pandemic—even though 20 meatpacking workers have died of the virus, and 6,500 meatpacking workers have already been diagnosed or placed into quarantine. The administration’s order reportedly includes funding for additional protective gear for employees, as well as health guidance; but no enforceable safety standards for workers.
The meat must keep flowing, though—because according to the Trump administration, meat is “essential” to the safety of this country. The order he signed on Tuesday invokes the Defense Production Act to classify meatpacking plants as “essential” and “critical” infrastructure. That means these facilities must remain open during the pandemic, and local health officials can’t force closures where there are COVID-19 outbreaks.
The White House says this is necessary to making sure there aren’t food shortages in America. “We see it as an urgent need, and there should not be a panic on food supply at a moment when our country is embarking on the path of recovery from the fallout of COVID,” an administration official told Axios.
But there is no evidence that a “panic on food supply” is imminent due to coronavirus’s impact on the meat industry. Yes, at least 20 meatpacking plants have closed in recent weeks because of outbreaks, the Washington Post reported, and about 25 percent of pork production is offline. But for now, that just means you might not be able to find certain cuts of pork or boneless chicken breasts at the grocery store. You know what else is hard to find at the grocery store right now? Toilet paper. But there’s no national panic over our inability to wipe our own butts. We can use tissue paper. We can eat beans.
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https://heated.world/p/is-meat-really-essential-though
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