‘The food supply chain is breaking’: Tyson Foods raises coronavirus alarm in full-page ads, defends safety efforts

In a full-page newspaper ad published in The Washington Post, the New York Times and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Sunday, Tyson Foods — which sells products ranging from frozen chicken nuggets to cuts of raw pork — said the coronavirus pandemic may disrupt the U.S. food supply chain and raise the price of meat. The company defended itself from criticism that it has not adequately protected its workers and pleaded for more government assistance in doing so. “The food supply chain is breaking,” wrote John H. Tyson, chairman of the company’s executive board. “We have a responsibility to feed our country. It is as essential as healthcare. This is a challenge that should not be ignored. Our plants must remain operational so that we can supply food to our families in America. This is a delicate balance because Tyson Foods places team member safety as our top priority.” The company warned that shuttering processing plants would cause “millions of pounds of meat” to disappear from the markets, reducing what’s available on grocery store shelves and raising prices. Farmers may have to kill and dispose of cows, pigs and chickens that were bred for the closed slaughterhouses, the company claimed, and those animals’ meat would go to waste. The troubles stem from the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has ripped through the meatpacking factories, sickening hundreds of workers and forcing closures at slaughterhouses owned by Tyson, Smithfield Foods and JBS USA. The ad called for more government help in finding a “way to allow our team members to work in safety without fear, panic or worry."...MORE