As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the United States, the meat industry increasingly faces the potential of pandemic-related economic and legal threats. One of the most pressing involves the risks faced by workers in meat processing plants. This has manifested in lawsuits, federal civil rights complaints and allegations of widespread mistreatment of essential workers. The devastating impact COVID-19 has had on the meat industry is complex and involves many important issues. I believe now is the time we must all come together to continue to put food on our nation’s tables. 

In early July, worker advocacy groups filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) alleging that certain meat packers deliberately endangered predominantly minority employees to boost profits. Specifically, the complaint claims the alleged corporate policies violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars companies that engage in racial discrimination from receiving federal funding. In support of the allegations, the complainants cite a recently published U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, which notes that 87 percent of meat industry employees infected with COVID-19 were Asian, Black or Latino. According to a study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), Black, Latino and Asian workers make up about 70 percent of line workers in meatpacking plants. Thus far, thousands of workers have been infected and, reportedly, more than 100 have died. In turn, complainants are asking that the federal government cease doing business with the companies, which have received more than $150 million dollars in federal contracts this year.