Rural Routes/Margot Ford McMillen

COVID-19 Won’t Stop the Meat Lines

Just about every day, I get an email with a new horror about the meat industry. These get posted on cafozone.com, under “News,” but those guys can hardly keep up with the information on packing plants these days. There have been shut-downs because of excessive cases of COVID-19, as much as 58% of the workers at one plant in Iowa. POTUS signed an executive order at the end of April to force the plants to stay open, rather than risking a bacon or hamburger shortage.

These are the giant meat packers … the folks that sell almost all the meat in America and the list of the industry’s wicked practices is long:

• By building huge infrastructure and hogging tax dollars, they’ve destroyed markets for small farmers on safer farms and small locker plants with safer practices;

• By discharging waste into creeks, they’ve polluted rivers and cost urban residents millions for water clean-up;

• By demanding millions of bushels of grain for feed, they’ve given life to agribusiness, including the chemical and seed companies that drive pollution and remove land from production of food like tomatoes, apples, lettuce, onions and so forth for humans;

• By creating crowded conditions for animal diseases to thrive, they’ve endangered other animal (and perhaps human) populations.

One thing hidden from this list is the abuse of workers. And that issue’s finally getting attention. Now, progressive populists have to be sure that the Trump administration, which removed regulations of inspection and the work load, is held responsible for the current multiple crises.

Let’s begin with the administration’s action last May to remove USDA trained inspectors from meatpacking plants. These inspectors, while not involved directly with worker health or safety, had the right to stop production in emergencies that could impact the meat coming out the door. So, if someone sliced their finger open or peed on the floor because they couldn’t get a bathroom break, the inspector could stop the line.

Today, packing plants are allowed to use their own inspectors, who are charged with the split priorities of checking quality and keeping the profitable line moving. From what you know of bosses, who have bosses of their own to please, which priority do you think wins?

And I should add here that if you’re buying meat from grocers, big-box stores, or most restaurants, gas stations, pizza places, taco stands, hamburger joints, or any other meat-selling places in America, that’s the meat you’re getting. So, learn to ask, “Where did this meat come from?” and order vegetarian if the answer is one of the big packers.

Besides removing inspectors from the lines, the administration’s new non-rules allow an increase of speed in the lines of carcasses going past workers who are armed with knives, electric saws, shears or similar implements to disassemble a carcass into grocery store cuts. It is wickedly difficult to figure out how fast the lines go past each worker. When Human Rights Watch asked, they got answers such as Tyson’s “[w]e use industrial engineers to evaluate line speeds and, in general, don’t implement increases without improvements in technology, additional staff or both.”

JBS answered, “[O]ur internal crewing guides — which are used in determining line speeds — incorporate … available personnel.” Smithfield said, “Lines do not run faster than established speeds.” Cargill wrote, “We are committed to ensuring that production only takes place at safe speeds, and is maintainable based on staffing levels.”

Let’s say your job is cutting the left wing off dead chickens as the line goes past you. Current standards allow the line to move at 140 bpm (birds per minute) or more than two per second. For each one, you have to hold your knife at a certain level, slice at a certain angle, and return for the next bird.

This repetitive action accounts for the most common of workplace problems, called by OSHA, “musculoskeletal disorders.” From OSHA’s website, “There are many serious safety and health hazards in the meat packing industry. These hazards include exposure to high noise levels, dangerous equipment, slippery floors, musculoskeletal disorders, and hazardous chemicals (including ammonia that is used as a refrigerant) … meat packing workers can be exposed to biological hazards associated with handling live animals or exposures to feces and blood.”

And, today, add to the list of dangers, COVID-19.

Since its beginning, the meatpacking industry has depended on labor from the most helpless humans in our society. They’ve exploited Latinos, Asians and welfare moms, propping up the cost of labor with money for so-called training from USDA. Today’s workforce is largely Latino. An Iowa State researcher found that more than 65%, and perhaps as many as 85%, have less than a 9th-grade education, seriously limiting their options if they leave the packers.

But POTUS demand may be the last straw, if they’re afraid to return to the COVID-19 packing plants. If they don’t come back to the danger and disease, let’s hope the executives from the front office have to fill in. Wouldn’t that be fun to watch?

Margot Ford McMillen farms near Fulton, Mo., and co-hosts “Farm and Fiddle” on sustainable ag issues on KOPN 89.5 FM in Columbia, Mo. She also is a co-founder of CAFOZone.com, a website for people who are affected by concentrated animal feeding operations. Her latest book is “The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History.” Email: margotmcmillen@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, June 1, 2020

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