Coronavirus committee: Meat companies lied about impending shortage and put staff in danger

"The Select Subcommittee's investigation has revealed that former President Trump's political appointees at USDA collaborated with giant meatpacking firms to lead an Administration-wide effort to force staff to remain on the job through the coronavirus disaster despite harmful circumstances, and even to forestall the imposition of commonsense mitigation measures," committee chairman, US Rep. James Clyburn, said in an announcement Thursday.

The North American Meat Institute, an industry commerce group, criticized the committee's report as "partisan" and said it "distorts the reality in regards to the meat and poultry industry's work to guard workers during the Covid-19 pandemic."

"The Home Select Committee has executed the nation a disservice. The Committee might have tried to learn what the business did to cease the spread of Covid among meat and poultry workers, decreasing positive instances related to the industry whereas circumstances were surging throughout the country. As a substitute, the Committee makes use of 20/20 hindsight and cherry picks information to assist a narrative that's fully unrepresentative of the early days of an unprecedented national emergency," Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the North American Meat Institute, said in an announcement.

Ignoring the chance

For instance, the report discovered that a JBS executive acquired an April 2020 e mail from a physician in a hospital close to JBS' Cactus, Texas, facility saying, "100% of all Covid-19 patients we now have within the hospital are both direct workers or member of the family[s] of your employees." The physician warned: "Your staff will get sick and may die if this factory continues to be open."

The emails prompted Texas Governor Greg Abbott's chief of employees to reach out to JBS, but it surely remains unclear whether JBS ever responded to the email, the report said.

"This coordinated campaign prioritized industry manufacturing over the health of employees and communities and contributed to tens of hundreds of employees changing into sick, lots of of staff dying, and the virus spreading all through surrounding areas," mentioned Rep. Clyburn.

"The shameful conduct of corporate executives pursuing profit at any value during a disaster and government officials desperate to do their bidding no matter resulting harm to the public must never be repeated," he said.

In a response to CNN's request for comment, JBS, in an e-mail, did not tackle the medical doctors warning, highlighted by the committee.

"In 2020, as the world faced the challenge of navigating Covid-19, many classes were learned, and the health and safety of our workforce members guided all our actions and decisions. During that vital time, we did all the pieces potential to ensure the safety of our individuals who stored our important food provide chain working," stated Nikki Richardson, a spokeswoman for JBS USA & Pilgrim's.

The investigation surfaced examples of some meatpacking business executives acknowledging that being transparent concerning the lax mitigation measures and excessive infections charges in vegetation would trigger alarm.

The report, citing a company electronic mail, stated on April 7, 2020, managers at National Beef mentioned avoiding explicitly notifying staff when an infected plant employee returned to work with doctor clearance, saying they should instead "announce line meeting type," possible referring to announcements made throughout informal in-person huddles of manufacturing line employees, "hoping it does not incite additional panic."

Meatpacking companies and the US Division of Agriculture "collectively lobbied the White House to dissuade employees from staying house or quitting," in keeping with the report.

Further, meatpacking corporations efficiently lobbied USDA officials to advocate for Department of Labor insurance policies that disadvantaged their employees of benefits in the event that they selected to remain house or give up, whereas also in search of insulation from legal liability if their employees fell in poor health or died on the job, in accordance with the report.

The probe discovered that in April 2020, the CEOs of JBS, Smithfield, Tyson and different meatpacking firms asked Trump cupboard member after which Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to "elevate the need for messaging concerning the significance of our workforce staying at work to the POTUS or VP stage," and to make clear that "being afraid of Covid-19 will not be a reason to give up your job and you are not eligible for unemployment compensation in case you do."

On April 28th, 2020, President Trump signed an executive order directing meat packing vegetation to follow guidance being issued by the CDC and OSHA on preserve staff protected, so processing crops may stay open

"Meat processing facilities are crucial infrastructure and are important to the nationwide safety of our nation. Conserving these amenities operational is critical to the meals supply chain and we count on our partners throughout the nation to work with us on this problem."

The Committee report said meatpacking companies and lobbyists worked with USDA and the White House in an attempt to stop state and local health departments from regulating coronavirus precautions in plants.

Calling the contents of the report deeply disturbling, a spokesperson for the USDA stated "many of the decisions made by the earlier administration will not be in line with our values. This administration is committed to food security, the viability of the meat and poultry sector and working with our companions across the government to protect staff and guarantee their well being and safety is given the priority it deserves."

A spokesman for Perdue, who is at present Chancellor of the University of Georgia, stated Perdue "is targeted on his new position serving the students of Georgia" and didn't present a touch upon the committee report.

Former President Trump has not responded to CNN Enterprise' request for comment.

False claims of impending meat shortage

The report slammed those warnings as "flimsy if not outright false."

"Simply three days after Smithfield CEO Ken Sullivan publicly warned that the closure of a Smithfield plant was 'pushing our nation perilously close to the edge when it comes to our nation's meat supply," he asked business representatives to subject an announcement that 'there was plenty of meat, sufficient . . . to export," while Smithfield advised meat importers the same, the report said.

The investigation discovered industry representatives thought Smithfield's statements about a meat supply crunch were "intentionally scaring folks."

At the time, meals consultants instructed CNN Enterprise that whereas there have been meat shortages, at times, numerous cuts of meat may not be obtainable.

Tyson said by way of an e mail response that it was reviewing the report.

Smithfield said it took "each applicable measure to maintain our employees safe" when it encountered a "first-of-its-kind challenge" two years ago.

"So far, we have now invested more than $900 million to help employee security, together with paying workers to remain residence, and have exceeded CDC and OSHA guidelines," Smithfield spokesman Jim Monroe, mentioned in an electronic mail to CNN Business.

"The meat production system is a modern surprise, however it's not one that can be re-directed at the flip of a change. That's the challenge we confronted as eating places closed, consumption patterns modified and hogs backed-up on farms with nowhere to go. The issues we expressed had been very real and we are thankful that a true food disaster was averted and that we are starting to return to normal.... Did we make every effort to share with authorities officials our perspective on the pandemic and how it was impacting the food manufacturing system? Absolutely," he stated.

Cargill and National Beef couldn't immediately be reached for remark.

"Immediately's report confirms what we already knew -- the Trump Administration's negligence and unethical actions endangered America's meatpacking workers and their households on the height of the pandemic," the United Food and Business Staff International Union said in a statement.

UFCW, which represents greater than 250,000 employees in meatpacking plants, said the findings indicate a "determined want of a complete meat processing safety bill."

"As a union that represents the biggest share of America's meatpacking employees....we are fully committed to ensuring that meatpacking jobs embody the health and security requirements these skilled staff deserve and name on all lawmakers to right away take steps to make that happen."

The committee said its report was primarily based on more than 151,000 pages of paperwork collected from meatpacking firms and interest groups, calls with meatpacking staff, union representatives, and former USDA and OSHA officials, amongst others.

-- CNN Enterprise' Jennifer Korn contributed to this report