Corby Kummer: Michigan Requires Routine COVID-19 Testing For Meatpacking Plants

Workers Process Meat At Butcher And Processing Plant As Pandemic Threatens Food Supply Chains — Butchers at Old Fashion Country Butcher process meat as they work to meet increased demand due to COVID-19 related shortages on May 21, 2020 in Santa Paula, California. There has been greater support for smaller meat operations lately as supply chains from factories have been disrupted. The meat industry is currently working at 70% as COVID-19 risks have kept U.S. plants below capacity for months. The separation of work stations means fewer people on production lines, and 22 meatpacking plants have closed in the last two months as a result of the pandemic. Prices are increasing as a result of all this and many stores are placing limits on meat purchases to avoid people stockpiling. Butchers at Old Fashion Country Butch follow strict wellness checks daily and follow the standard federal safety procedures. "We are much busier," says owner Kent Short. "People are aware there's a shortage and are seeing a resultant price increase. People also want more security in terms of knowing where their meat is coming from. We believe this could go on for another 6-8 months. Meat warehouses have been cleared that could have been stockpiled." (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

Hannah Uebele is a producer for Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and previously worked as associate producer for Boston Public Radio. She graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in English and Environmental Studies. She's a proud Delawarean but has found herself saying "wicked" more and more often, so the Bostonian metamorphosis is well underway.Contact: hannah_uebele@wgbh.org

August 14, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

As of last week, all food processor employees in Michigan must now be routinely tested for COVID-19, making it the first state in the nation with this requirement. Food writer Corby Kummer told Boston Public Radio on Friday that "this is a piece of good news" in the meatpacking industry, which has so far been "callous and cruel to its workers, not caring if they live or die."

Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.

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Corby Kummer: Michigan Requires Routine COVID-19 Testing For Meatpacking Plants

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