Tyson Foods: 'food supply chain is breaking' especially with meat

[Blue3]

https://news.yahoo.com/food-supply-chain-breaking-tyson-213539680.html

'The Food Supply Chain Is Breaking.' Tyson Foods Warns of Meat Shortage as Plants Close Due to COVID-19


Tyson Foods, one of the U.S.’s biggest meat processors, didn’t mince words in a full page New York Times spread that ran Sunday, in which they warned, “the food supply chain is breaking.”

“As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain,” John Tyson, Chairman of the Board of Tyson Foods, wrote in a letter published as an advertisement. “As a result, there will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed.”

[Blue3]

No reaction??

[Brittain33]

The U.S. will do just fine once people realize they can live well without eating meat. Beef is terrible for the environment and with climate change we can’t afford the exhaustion of water supplies and additional greenhouse gases.

[Blue3]

This could also lead to many pet cats dying, since meat is an essential ingredient for them.

[Brittain33]

This could also lead to many pet cats dying, since meat is an essential ingredient for them.

What percentage of meat production in the U.S. goes into pet food, though? I’m sure my cats eat less meat in a year than an average American eats in two weeks. Besides, meat doesn’t have to go away completely, we just can’t sustain it as a staple produced on industrial scale.

[Averroës Nix]

I can't think of a less sympathetic occasion for pushing vegetarianism than a time when so many farmers are fearing bankruptcy, agricultural workers are out of their jobs, animals are being led to pointless slaughter by the tens of thousands, and Americans are lining up at food banks in record numbers.

The moral or economic case for eating less meat remains as strong or as weak as it ever was, but anyone who isn't already convinced will view those appeals with as much contempt as "the earth is healing itself."

At this point the most likely outcome is somewhat higher prices in the fall, so it's not even as this will make much of a dent on meat consumption except among the American poor, a group in which many more of us may soon find ourselves.

[jamestroll]

Will not impact me much because I do really believe in eating much meat.

But still yet another reason we should have every right to criticize the Chinese Government.  And it is not racist to do that no matter how much you want to think it is!

[S019]

The U.S. will do just fine once people realize they can live well without eating meat. Beef is terrible for the environment and with climate change we can’t afford the exhaustion of water supplies and additional greenhouse gases.

This exactly, meat production is absolutely terrible for the environment and contributes more methane, etc. we'd be better off without it, and now I await the replies that increased methane is somehow good.

[dead0man]

except nobody has argued meat production is good for the environment, but hey this thread does need more straw.

[Mr. Reactionary]

except nobody has argued meat production is good for the environment, but hey this thread does need more straw.

Like Averros said, anyone trying to exploit this crap to push a "Green New Deal with extra steps" is going to provoke a harsh reaction. Seriously, kale munchers lecturing about how no one NEEDS meat is going to piss plenty of fence sitters off. Ive already seen greenies posting on social media about how Hopefully gas and oil jobs being lost now never return. No jobs, no church, no protesting, and now no meat. Good luck forcing us to obey.

[S019]

except nobody has argued meat production is good for the environment, but hey this thread does need more straw.

Like Averros said, anyone trying to exploit this crap to push a "Green New Deal with extra steps" is going to provoke a harsh reaction. Seriously, kale munchers lecturing about how no one NEEDS meat is going to piss plenty of fence sitters off. Ive already seen greenies posting on social media about how Hopefully gas and oil jobs being lost now never return. No jobs, no church, no protesting, and now no meat. Good luck forcing us to obey.

We need to abandon fossil fuels at some point, everyone realizes this. Also why should meat continue to be mass-produced, when we all realize that it's bad for the environment? Something needs to be done to fight climate change, and moving away from environmentally unsustainable industries like meat and moving towards green energy are good steps in that direction. Also your argument is literally a straw man argument: 1. people can't work in a pandemic 2. churches can operate remotely 3. protesting puts vulnerable people at risk of getting sick 4. meat is bad for the environment, and this had been known for a long time. Please make better arguments next time.

[Brittain33]

I can't think of a less sympathetic occasion for pushing vegetarianism than a time when so many farmers are fearing bankruptcy, agricultural workers are out of their jobs, animals are being led to pointless slaughter by the tens of thousands, and Americans are lining up at food banks in record numbers.

The moral or economic case for eating less meat remains as strong or as weak as it ever was, but anyone who isn't already convinced will view those appeals with as much contempt as "the earth is healing itself."

At this point the most likely outcome is somewhat higher prices in the fall, so it's not even as this will make much of a dent on meat consumption except among the American poor, a group in which many more of us may soon find ourselves.

I know, no one is going to become a vegetarian because I pointed this out. It’s why I say this here on Atlas but not to my real friends. Here, I can say that I’m really interested to see how people respond when meat is taken from them, not given up.

Those jobs in industrial meat packing are terrible, BTW, and we won’t miss them if they go away.

[Brittain33]

except nobody has argued meat production is good for the environment, but hey this thread does need more straw.

Like Averros said, anyone trying to exploit this crap to push a "Green New Deal with extra steps" is going to provoke a harsh reaction. Seriously, kale munchers lecturing about how no one NEEDS meat is going to piss plenty of fence sitters off. Ive already seen greenies posting on social media about how Hopefully gas and oil jobs being lost now never return. No jobs, no church, no protesting, and now no meat. Good luck forcing us to obey.

It’s not helpful to campaign on, sure, but I don’t see any risk to discussing this truthfully here.

[dead0man]

We need to abandon fossil fuels at some point

no

we will eventually quit using them when they are less efficient/more expensive that alternatives.

Also why should meat continue to be mass-produced, when we all realize that it's bad for the environment?

"also, why should computers continue to be mass produced, when we all realize that it's bad for the environment."  You know that mass producing soy beans is bad for the environment too.  So is manufacturing clothing.  And it's much more "natural" for humans to eat meat than it is for them to wear clothing.

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

You know that mass producing soy beans is bad for the environment too.

Most soy product is soy meal, which is used almost entirely for animal feed. Much more is used for feed than for actual human products (which requires whole beans).

Source 1 Source 2 (more specific source listed inside).

[dead0man]

I don't know what point you're trying to make.  Growing food is bad for the environment.  Especially if you want it cheap enough for poor people to eat.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

I don't know what point you're trying to make.  Growing food is bad for the environment.  Especially if you want it cheap enough for poor people to eat.

Obviously that's true, but it's a bit of a bad-faith argument. Producing the amount of soy beans and beef, for example, does not have the same impact on the environment at all. Efficiency matters.

Personally, my position is that the externalities of producing all types of food should be contained in their sale price, which would make meat a lot more expensive and a lot less popular, but trying to force vegetarianism on people is, of course, unduly authoritarian.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Getting back on track, I posted this in the general megathread but it's relevant here:

https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1255184301458669571

How can the Executive Branch provide immunity from liability? 

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

But NO this literally doesn't matter we have to FLATTEN the CURVE, literally no one can work or we will all die. You don't want people to eat you want to KILL them OMG OMG  don't you know there's like, literally a 99.9% chance they will DIE from Trumpvirus we have to close everything down and arrest people who break quarantine. No industry is more essential than making sure that literally nobody DIES, don't you know that RETHUGLICANS? All these food processing plants need to be locked down ASAP.

Never in my dreams could I come up with a post that would embarrass me as much as this one.

[fhtagn]

except nobody has argued meat production is good for the environment, but hey this thread does need more straw.

Like Averros said, anyone trying to exploit this crap to push a "Green New Deal with extra steps" is going to provoke a harsh reaction. Seriously, kale munchers lecturing about how no one NEEDS meat is going to piss plenty of fence sitters off. Ive already seen greenies posting on social media about how Hopefully gas and oil jobs being lost now never return. No jobs, no church, no protesting, and now no meat. Good luck forcing us to obey.

We need to abandon fossil fuels at some point, everyone realizes this. Also why should meat continue to be mass-produced, when we all realize that it's bad for the environment? Something needs to be done to fight climate change, and moving away from environmentally unsustainable industries like meat and moving towards green energy are good steps in that direction. Also your argument is literally a straw man argument: 1. people can't work in a pandemic 2. churches can operate remotely 3. protesting puts vulnerable people at risk of getting sick 4. meat is bad for the environment, and this had been known for a long time. Please make better arguments next time.

Your posts are literally a meme.

[Sirius_]

Our nation's food supply chain is not equipped to feed everybody on a vegan diet tomorrow. Even if they aren't the only sources, our society is geared towards meat as the primary source of nutrients such as proteins and iron, and if all meat disappeared from the shelves it would make plant foods more scarce due to higher demand. We can't operate based on your perfect ideals, we have to operate based on reality. And the reality is that meats are an essential food in this society.

[Brittain33]

Our nation's food supply chain is not equipped to feed everybody on a vegan diet tomorrow. Even if they aren't the only sources, our society is geared towards meat as the primary source of nutrients such as proteins and iron, and if all meat disappeared from the shelves it would make plant foods more scarce due to higher demand. We can't operate based on your perfect ideals, we have to operate based on reality. And the reality is that meats are an essential food in this society.

I agree, vegan diet would be very hard. But vegetarian would be doable. People get protein from eggs, cheese, nuts. They’re also at risk from supply chain disruption, but they don’t seem to require humans to go to plague factories.

Again, I’m not saying that we should experiment for the sake of it. I’m saying the experiment is going to happen because our industrial meat supply is fragile, and I’m curious what it’s going to look like.

Rationing in the UK in World War II was a deeply unpleasant and inconvenient experience for most people, but no one actually went hungry and many people were much better nourished than in peacetime. It’s that kind of thing. Nothing to celebrate but it’s happening.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Our nation's food supply chain is not equipped to feed everybody on a vegan diet tomorrow. Even if they aren't the only sources, our society is geared towards meat as the primary source of nutrients such as proteins and iron, and if all meat disappeared from the shelves it would make plant foods more scarce due to higher demand. We can't operate based on your perfect ideals, we have to operate based on reality. And the reality is that meats are an essential food in this society.

I agree, vegan diet would be very hard. But vegetarian would be doable. People get protein from eggs, cheese, nuts. They’re also at risk from supply chain disruption, but they don’t seem to require humans to go to plague factories.

Again, I’m not saying that we should experiment for the sake of it. I’m saying the experiment is going to happen because our industrial meat supply is fragile, and I’m curious what it’s going to look like.

Rationing in the UK in World War II was a deeply unpleasant and inconvenient experience for most people, but no one actually went hungry and many people were much better nourished than in peacetime. It’s that kind of thing. Nothing to celebrate but it’s happening.

But this isn't WWII or even something even in the same league.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Our nation's food supply chain is not equipped to feed everybody on a vegan diet tomorrow. Even if they aren't the only sources, our society is geared towards meat as the primary source of nutrients such as proteins and iron, and if all meat disappeared from the shelves it would make plant foods more scarce due to higher demand. We can't operate based on your perfect ideals, we have to operate based on reality. And the reality is that meats are an essential food in this society.

I agree, vegan diet would be very hard. But vegetarian would be doable. People get protein from eggs, cheese, nuts. They’re also at risk from supply chain disruption, but they don’t seem to require humans to go to plague factories.

Again, I’m not saying that we should experiment for the sake of it. I’m saying the experiment is going to happen because our industrial meat supply is fragile, and I’m curious what it’s going to look like.

Rationing in the UK in World War II was a deeply unpleasant and inconvenient experience for most people, but no one actually went hungry and many people were much better nourished than in peacetime. It’s that kind of thing. Nothing to celebrate but it’s happening.

But this isn't WWII or even something even in the same league.

No, but if the meat supply chain is damaged, it will have a similar effect on the supply of available meat.  In that case it's reasonable to look at the WWII example in that area.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

I actually rarely ate meat - maybe chicken like twice a week - as recently as two months ago. I have shifted my diet towards having red meat four times a week and chicken two-to-four times a week. I've never had so much time to stockpile and prepare meat. I'm thankful I just froze a ton. I had been missing out for years! Definitely won't let that happen when the supply chain is fixed.