The coronavirus is having an impact on farmers and our food supply in more ways than one.
Two million chickens in Delaware and Maryland are being euthanized because chicken processing plants are short-staffed.
According to a statement from Delmarva Poultry Industry, poultry farmers are being forced to euthanize their stock because there are not enough people to process the chickens.
The lack of employees at chicken processing plants is because of community cases of COVID-19 and social distancing.
The Delmarva Poultry industry says it investigated several options and could not find a better solution.
On Sunday Tyson Foods warned we could see more of these scenarios.
As meat processing plants across the US are suspending operations as a result of the pandemic, Tyson warns the closures could cause major gaps in the country’s food supply chain.
Tyson’s chairman said millions of pounds of meat could disappear from grocery stores and restaurants.
And millions of chickens, pigs and cows could be euthanized because farmers have no place to sell their livestock and there’s no one in the plants to process them.
Posted – 4.27.20