Executive order keeps meat processing plants open during COVID-19 outbreak
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday requiring meat processing to remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump said Tuesday that his order will shield companies from being sued by employees.
“We have had some difficulty where they are having a liability that is really unfair to them, and we are going to be doing that,” Trump said.
ISU Extension livestock economist Lee Schulz said keeping plants running is only one part of the solution.
"Just ordering the packing plants to stay open doesn't dictate at what level they can process product through that packing plant,” Schulz said.
In Iowa, Tyson Foods plants in Columbus Junction, Perry and Waterloo experienced outbreaks of their own, causing a chain reaction throughout the industry.
“We've slaughtered roughly 133,00 less pigs than we did last week and 353,000 less than we did a year ago,” Schulz said.
Schulz said Iowa farms are seeing a backup of roughly 50,000 pigs, potentially causing shortages of some cuts of meat in grocery stores.
According to Schulz, it will take time for the industry to recover.
"It's going to take time,” Schulz said. “It's going to take a conservative effort really across the whole industry."
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union said it wants protection for employees at meat processing plants, saying in a statement that workers need better access to testing and protective equipment.