COVID-19 Exposes How Meat Industry Oligopoly Contributes to Food Shortage

Graphic Created by Kate Lee

In late April 2020, the country’s largest meat processing facilities began to discuss closure due to COVID-19 outbreaks already occurring among their staff or for the fear of potential outbreak. President Trump reacted by using the 1950 Defense Production Act to keep these facilities open despite the immediate risk to laborers, who regularly work in close proximity. 

This inspired a very similar reaction to the toilet paper and cleaning supply scares in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic: now people are storming their local supermarkets and stocking up on frozen meat, poultry, and fish, leaving the aisles empty and people frustrated. Meat accounts for approximately one fifth of Americans’ calories, and provides an important source of protein, vitamins, and minerals. The worry is certainly real: reducing the availability of one of the largest sources of calories nationwide is not a benign act, especially during a pandemic. 

This shortage could have potentially been avoided if it wasn’t for the irresponsible practices within the American food production system that have existed for decades. In 1967, the Wholesome Meat Act was passed by Congress. The act does sound, well, wholesome. It required that all commercially available beef and pork be slaughtered and processed in USDA-inspected facilities. However, it was this act that directly led to the oligopoly on meat production that currently exists in the United States. The four largest meat processing companies, Tyson, Cargill, JBS, and Smithfield, now control 80% of the beef and 70% of the pork Americans eat. The farmers and ranchers that raise the animals, often at small scales, are completely at the whim of these four mega-corporations. Under this law, your local rancher that raises grass-fed cattle cannot sell directly to grocery stores, and instead must sell animals to these corporations to be processed first. During the pandemic, ranchers are being forced to essentially give away their animals for free, or even euthanize them, to meet the demands of the large corporations, a total tragedy that should never have to occur. 

There is a simple solution. If the not-so-Wholesome Food Act was repealed, and local ranchers could sell directly to grocery stores, this would make up for the gap in production caused by COVID-19 outbreaks in large meat processing factories. Do away with these ultra-powerful and rich corporations that are only causing unnecessary risk to workers. Give power back to the farmer and rancher. If you do eat meat and have the means, try to buy directly from a local rancher. It’s a small task we can all attempt to do that can make drastic differences in our nation’s corrupt food system.