Some critics say the fear over a meat shortage was used to justify a Trump executive order declaring it was crucial to keep meat plants open and operating.
As U.S. meat production plummeted in April following a rash of coronavirus outbreaks and closures at processing plants across the country, industry and political leaders sounded an alarm.
to declare it was crucial to keep meat plants open and operating. He had used the authority just once before: to ramp up production of personal protective equipment. The move elevated American meat processing into a privileged position. “We’ve been very skeptical about these claims around shortages,” said Ben Lilliston, a co-executive director of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, which advocates for fair and sustainable food systems. “I think they were able to use the idea of food shortages as leverage to get those two things.”
“Cold storage can tell you something. … If the levels are still pretty high there, that tells you they haven’t tapped into that,” Lilliston said. “While there was less variety to consumers, or certain regional areas may have experienced shortages of meat, it wasn’t a widespread shortage,” Little said. “It never got to a point where we thought Americans would not have access to food. That is never something our companies would want to see. And that’s why it was so important to be able to continue operations.”
And while the U.S. does export significant quantities of “variety meat” products such as feet and tails that most Americans don’t eat, data from the U.S. Meat Export Federation shows those products accounted for less than 25% of the weight of exports in April. Keira Lombardo, executive vice president of corporate affairs and compliance for Smithfield, said there’s a delay between production and export that meant food exported at the height of the pandemic was “ordered and processed” months before.
“Most of the demand for meat has not been inside the United States,” said Jayson Lusk, head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. “It’s been outside the country, so it’s not surprising U.S. producers looking to grow their markets have looked elsewhere to try to find additional customers.”
“Food supply chains are complex and products for one market cannot always be immediately reconfigured for another,” Lombardo said.“I think those considering restricting exports overestimate the extent it would increase domestic consumption and underestimate the adverse economic impact,” said Glynn Tonsor, a professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University.
According to the inspector, who spoke with USA TODAY under condition of anonymity, FSIS officials initially addressed inspectors in April and said there was an urgent need to remain on the job, despite the risks of COVID-19. “I want to thank the patriotic and heroic meatpacking facility workers, the companies, and the local authorities for quickly getting their operations back up and running, and for providing a great meat selection once again to the millions of Americans who depend on them for food,” Perdue said.
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