Trump: Meat plants must be open
President orders processing to go on to ensure supply
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump took executive action Tuesday to order meat processing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing coronavirus cases and the effect on the nation’s food supply.
U.S. coronavirus-related deaths also reached a somber milestone Tuesday, surpassing the number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War.
More than 58,300 Americans have died f rom COVID-19, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. That compares with the National Archives’ figure of 58,220 deaths from the Vietnam War.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 also topped 1 million in the U.S. on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins.
The order uses the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to try to prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermarket shelves. Unions fired back, saying the White House was jeopardizing lives and prioritizing cold cuts over workers’ health.
More than 20 meatpacking plants have closed temporarily under pressure from local authorities and their own workers because of the virus, including two of the nation’s largest, one in Iowa and one in South Dakota.
“Such closures threaten the continued functioning of the national meat and poultry supply chain, undermining critical infrastructure during the national emergency,” the order states.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million food and retail workers, said Tuesday that 20 food-processing and meatpacking union workers in the U.S. have died of the virus. An estimated 6,500 are sick or have been exposed while working near someone who tested positive, the union says.
As a result, industry leaders have warned that consumers could see meat shortages in a matter of days. Tyson Foods Inc., one of the world’s largest food companies, ran a full-page advertisement in The New York Times and other newspapers Sunday warning, “The food supply chain is breaking.”
The 15 largest pork-packing plants account for 60% of all pork processed in the U.S., and the country has already seen a 25% reduction in pork slaughter capacity, according to UFCW.
The order, which was developed in consultation with industry leaders including Tyson and Smithfield, is designed, in part, to provide companies with additional liability protections in case workers get sick.
But UFCW International President Marc Perrone said that more must be done to protect workers.
“Simply put, we cannot have a secure food supply without the safety of these workers,” he said in a statement, urging the administration “to immediately enact clear and enforceable safety standards” and compel companies to provide protective equipment, make daily testing available to workers, and enforce physical distancing, among other measures.
Earlier at the White House on Tuesday, Trump defended his administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and promised to help states safely begin reopening their economies.
Trump, seated next to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Oval Office, insisted that the United States was doing enough testing to protect Americans reentering the workforce. He said the administration was talking to airlines about requiring temperature and virus checks for travelers as they board certain flights. Trump has claimed for weeks now that airlines have been screening passengers, even though they’re not.
He said the idea of having passengers wear masks sounded “like a good idea.”
The administration had been criticized for not overseeing widespread testing, but Trump said no amount would ever be good enough for critics in the media.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence chose not to wear a face mask Tuesday during a tour of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, an apparent violation of the world-renowned medical center’s policy requiring them.
Video feeds show that Pence did not wear a mask when he met with a Mayo employee who has recovered from COVID-19 and is now donating plasma, even though everyone else in the room appeared to be wearing one. He was also maskless when he visited a lab where Mayo conducts coronavirus tests.
Pence was the only participant not to wear a mask during a roundtable discussion on Mayo’s coronavirus testing and research programs. All the other participants did, including Food and Drug Administration chief Stephen Hahn, top Mayo officials, Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn.
“Mayo shared the masking policy with the VP’s office,” the health care system said in its response.
Pence explained his decision by stressing that he has been frequently tested for the virus.
“And since I don’t have the coronavirus, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for me to be here, to be able to speak to these researchers, these incredible health care personnel, and look them in the eye and say ‘thank you.’ ”
Los Angeles Times contributed.