Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Two prominent U.S. Senate Democrats are pressing America’s top meatpackers to disclose by month’s end how much pork, beef and chicken they shipped to China during the coronavirus outbreak while warning of possible meat shortages at home. The request from Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker increases scrutiny of companies such […] Read more
U.S. senators question packers over exports to China during pandemic
USDA shows record pork exports to China in April, raising questions about rising U.S. meat prices
Fall quota level based on ‘rebound’ in chicken demand
National allocation trimmed two per cent for September-October period
Reading Time: 2 minutes A relatively small tweak to national chicken quota allocation has been set for much of this autumn, following a stretch of heavy pandemic-related cuts. At a Chicken Farmers of Canada meeting Tuesday, national allocation for quota period A-165 (Aug. 30 to Oct. 24, 2020) was set at minus two per cent from its adjusted base. […] Read more
COVID concerns weigh on chicken farmers, processors
Sales crashed on lack of foodservice business
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa — Chicken Farmers of Canada say they’ve faced a “sharp decline” in sales as a result of a significant drop in food services, which represents roughly 40 per cent of their market. CFC chair Benoît Fontaine warned federal MPs as much during a virtual meeting of the Commons standing committee on agriculture and agri-food […] Read more
U.S. indicts Pilgrim’s Pride CEO for alleged chicken price-fixing
Allegations cover period from 2012 to 2017
Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington/Chicago | Reuters — The CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., a major U.S. poultry company, was indicted along with three other current and former industry executives on charges of seeking to fix the price of chickens, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday. A grand jury in Denver indicted Jayson Penn, the president and CEO […] Read more
B.C. health officials order two more poultry plants closed
Over 50 COVID-19 cases found at Superior Poultry
Reading Time: 2 minutes Health officials in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley have ordered two more poultry processing plant closed after multiple cases of COVID-19 were confirmed among employees. Fraser Health announced April 24 it had ordered Superior Poultry Processors of Coquitlam to close after two employees of the chicken processing plant tested positive for the coronavirus. The health district […] Read more
Piglets aborted, chickens gassed as pandemic slams meat sector
"We have to have less hogs somehow"
Reading Time: 5 minutes Chicago | Reuters — With the pandemic hobbling the meat-packing industry, Iowa farmer Al Van Beek had nowhere to ship his full-grown pigs to make room for the 7,500 piglets he expected from his breeding operation. The crisis forced a decision that still troubles him: He ordered his employees to give injections to the pregnant […] Read more
Vancouver health officials shut poultry processor
COVID-19 hits at least 28 employees
Reading Time: 2 minutes Health officials in Vancouver have closed a federally inspected poultry plant in that city after confirming an outbreak of COVID-19 so far affecting over two dozen employees. The public health arm of Vancouver Coastal Health, the regional health authority for the greater Vancouver area, on Tuesday declared a COVID-19 outbreak among staff at United Poultry […] Read more
‘Elbow to elbow:’ North America’s meat plant workers fall ill, walk off jobs
Supply chains struggling to keep pace with surging demand
Reading Time: 4 minutes Chicago/Winnipeg | Reuters — At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 U.S. cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to a meat inspector. In Colorado, nearly a third of the workers at a JBS USA beef plant stayed […] Read more
U.S. meat industry sues California for animal protection ‘overreach’
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — California was sued on Friday by the largest U.S. trade group for meat packers and processors, which wants to block enforcement of a voter-approved measure requiring farmers to provide more space for animals being raised for food. The North American Meat Institute, whose members include processors such as Tyson Foods and retailers including […] Read more
KFC to test plant-based nuggets, wings
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters –– Yum Brands said on Monday it will be testing plant-based nuggets and boneless wings at an Atlanta KFC restaurant, the latest fast-food chain trying new options to attract vegan diners. The quick-service fried chicken restaurant will nationally roll out the vegan menu items, produced by U.S. processor Beyond Meat, based on the customer […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
