Democracy Dies in Darkness

Tyson says nation’s pork production is down 50%, despite Trump’s order to keep meat plants open

Numbers raise doubts about effectiveness of recent executive order

By
May 4, 2020 at 4:47 p.m. EDT
Workers at a Tyson Foods meat-processing plant in Lexington, Nebraska are getting sick with covd-19 and say the company hasn’t done enough to protect them. (Video: Robert Ray/The Washington Post)

President Trump’s executive order last week requiring meat processing plants to stay open to ward off shortages may not be a cure-all for the food industry segment that has been hardest hit by coronavirus outbreaks.

On Monday morning, Tyson Foods said during an investor call that U.S. hog processing capacity had dropped by 50 percent.