Packing Plant Blues

The Packing Plants and the Viruses

https://nebraska.tv/news/coronavirus/jbs-offers-look-inside-plant-to-see-steps-taken-to-slow-virus\

https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2020/04/08/smithfield-foods-sioux-falls-south-dakota-coronavirus-covid-19/2971621001/

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/04/20/coronavirus-in-minnesota-worthington-pork-plant-idled-by-growing-coronavirus-cases/

 Meat processing plants have been hit by the COVID-19 Virus.

From Sioux Falls South Dakota:

“More than 80 employees at a Sioux Falls food processing business have tested positive for the coronavirus, Health Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon confirmed Wednesday. “

“Smithfield's cases represent more than one-third of the total cases in the county and one-fifth of the cases in the state. (at this time, South Dakota had 393 cases). 

From Grand Island Nebraska

“GRAND ISLAND, Neb — Grand Island is a hot spot of COVID-19 cases, and one workplace accounts for a quarter of all positive results.

As of Thursday afternoon, JBS employees account for 28 of 105 cases in the Central District Health Department.

Schellpeper, JBS Fed Beef President, said everyone is fighting a common enemy in the coronavirus, and at this plant with 3,500 employees, they’re also fighting fear through education.

From Worthington Minnesota -

“33 of the plant’s 2,000 employees tested positive by Sunday evening, JBS was urged to cease operations.

“I think at the rate it’s going I don’t know how we can avoid it,” United Food and Commercial Workers local 663 President Matt Utech said.

“JBS processes 20,000 hogs each day, so sitting idle will certainly have a huge economic impact for the region.

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Let’s think about this a little.

In this time of the coronavirus, some jobs are deemed essential.  In this case, processing meat has been considered as an essential need for society.  In a similar fashion to grocery stores being essential, creating and processing the items that get into our food supply chain.     

Starting at the source - Farmers.

Farmers raise livestock with the aim to pass the cows (pigs, chicken, other) off to packing plants to be slaughtered and packaged and sent off to grocery warehouses.  Farmers watch their cattle grow from calves to cows.  They monitor the feed they get and their weight.  For most cows, there is an optimum point where they are at the best point to be slaughtered (and made into hamburger, steaks, and other products).  A farmer cannot go into his/her fields and say to the cattle “Hey, listen to me.  There is this virus thing going on, and I want you to go on a diet for a couple of months because the packing plants are closed.” 

Farming can be quite a gamble.  When you breed your cows to your bulls, you hope at the time they go to slaughter, the market price is enough to pay for the expense of raising the animals.  

So, let’s say that Farmer Jones has determined that today is the best day to ship twenty of his cows to be processed.  

The processing plant (in Grand Island JBS) kills (slaughter) the animals and sends the final product out to grocery warehouses.  

But, being an animal processing plant worker is not an easy job.  You must move the cows into holding pens and release them to the processing floor.  Yes, there is some automation, but there still is a lot of manual labor.  [Think Mike Rowe on the “Dirty Jobs” TV show].  Over the last years, many ‘traditional’ Americans don’t want those types of jobs, so the packing plant has to hire immigrants - maybe Mexicans, even Somalis, and from other places.  

The report from Nebraska (which is like the South Dakota and Minnesota reports) mentions that their COVID-19 statements were translated into TEN different languages.  Now, these immigrants are frequently living in substandard housing with maybe three or four families in the same house.  They are trying to make money to support their families and, if possible, to send money home.  

So, Ibrahim, from Somalia contracts the virus - but in the early stages, he passes it on to his house mates - and others at the packing plant (maybe Miguel).  Miguel, likewise, is trying to get money for his family - and interacts with others from Central America or Mexico.  

They go to the grocery stores and they happen to cough - which throws the virus germs into the air.  Soon, whole communities are affected.

For the workers, they must work.  They probably don’t have a fall back plan.  

Of course, packing plant owners and managers are sometimes at fault to allow sick employees in t0000o work (and maybe even greedy).  But, the employees are too scared NOT to come to work, and they need the money.  

So here are two cases from one industry that is essential and yet might have difficulties in enforcing social distancing, effective handwashing, and safe procedures (particularly in up to 10 different languages.   Shutting the packing plants down might help - but what about those farmers who need to sell their animals at the right time?  What about the consumers who want meat in their grocery stores? 

There doesn’t seem to be a good solution.  Ship the immigrants home and hire Americans that are out of work - and most will not want the job - no matter the wages.  If the packing plants raise the wages (let’s say to $30 an hour - or about $60,000 a year), it might price beef (or ham) out of the range for consumers to buy meat.  

What do you think?

Karen