To the Editor:
Massive slaughterhouse closures are driving U.S. consumers to plant-based meat products, as sick workers pay the price.
Tyson Foods, JBS USA, and Smithfield Foods, the largest meat processors, have closed 17 plants, devastating rural communities and threatening the nation’s meat supply. Production is already down by 25 percent.
In reaction, U.S. sales of plant-based meats surged by 265 percent. Shares of Beyond Meat, a prominent plant-based meat brand, rallied by 60 percent.
A Washington Post investigation found that coronavirus outbreaks in 48 U.S. meat packing plants have sickened at least 3,300 workers and killed 17. In addition to the generally accepted consumer health argument for avoiding animal food products, the pandemic has now added the worker health element.
Production of plant-based meats requires much less labor and allows for physical distancing. We can all support the switch to healthy food on our next visit to our supermarket.
Nick Normandy
Newton