3 USDA meat inspectors dead, about 145 diagnosed with COVID-19

[Tactical Peek]

Source: CBS News



3 USDA meat inspectors dead, about 145 diagnosed with COVID-19

By Josh Carney

May 5, 2020 / 5:24 PM / CBS News


Hundreds of federal meat inspectors have been exposed to COVID-19, as coronavirus outbreaks spread to thousands of workers at processing plants across the country.

About 145 field employees were absent from work as of April 28 due to COVID-19 diagnoses, and another 130 were under self-quarantine due to exposure to the virus, a spokesperson for the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the federal agency that inspects the U.S. food supply, told CBS News on Monday.

One FSIS inspector based out of the New York City area, one from the Chicago area and another from Mississippi have died due to the virus, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a union representing food inspectors, said Tuesday.

Paula Schelling, acting president of AFGE Council 45, which represents 6,500 federal food inspectors nationwide, said she gives the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service "an 'F' for protecting their own employees."



Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-usda-meat-inspectors-3-dead-covid-19/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=88005150

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No words.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213362959 (from April 28)

[LeftInTX]

1. Well, Trumpie boy, better get your lard ass over to the meat packing plant

Since you seem "immune" to Covid 19, you should take over..

[Brainfodder]

2. That aint nothing to pay attention to for Death Count Donnie?

Has he ever given condolences?

Wants to phase out the task force already, I mean there is stupid, and then there is this shit?

Good luck everybody!

[yuiyoshida]

4. Frankly I am relying on GAVIN NEWSOM

to keep me and other Californians safe.

[Brainfodder]

8. Yup, the adults who run states, thank goodness for them (where applicable).

The others will have some explaining to do.

[Rebl2]

22. Never

heard condolences to anyone from trump.

[SunSeeker]

3. Horrible.

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. "That is what it is". The Rump can't even get that saying right. tRump is bored with the focus on

covid19, wants to get back to his "great rallies and many other things".

[duforsure]

6. I choose to never buy meat products from these companies operating these plants again

From their policies hurting employees, and endangering many others over their profits. trump supporting their irresponsible actions make me sick , and I'll go without before I give them another dime of my money after this. Companies who act this way shouldn't prosper, and remain in business to do their employees like this in a pandemic.

[pazzyanne]

9. I am driving 60 miles round trip to buy meat.

The market is run by a person I know who uses local producers for the meat he sells. I've sworn off any meat from an unknown source. I have been watching confirmed coronavirus cases soar in my state due to the coronavirus found in large companies that produce chicken, pork, and beef in the state. We are heading toward tripling our confirmed cases and deaths in just the past two weeks.

[get the red out]

7. I want a freezer

I have wanted a small freezer forever but we worry about a power outage in our older neighborhood. I would still love to have one and buy some local beef and freeze it. Plenty of producers around here.

We have been buying much more meat at our local co-op.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. Good luck finding one now

They are pretty much sold out everywhere nationally, with in-stock estimates extending into July/August. I know both of my sisters had been searching (one did finally find one that got delivered yesterday - not a chest type but a small 3.0cuft upright). I had bought one (3.5cuft chest type) at Best Buy 3 years ago and it has been a godsend.

[get the red out]

27. I know

I am sure harder to find than toilet paper.

[BumRushDaShow]

28. A couple hours ago

I watched an all-white/unmarked box truck deliver a box to a neighbor that looked like it probably had some kind of freezer in it (based on box size, it might have been a 3 - 5.0 cuft size- it wasn't like a big refrigerator box but probably something that could be packed in a box that was about 4ft tall and somewhat narrow). The delivery guy was masked-up.

It's a shame we are at this point...

[KewlKat]

23. I bought a small fridge and have cranked down the temp.

Working so far. All meat I’ve put in is frozen. My small chest freezer is due to deliver 19 May...I hope.

[BumRushDaShow]

29. That would probably work

Hell, I don't even have my own fridge cranked up and the stuff I have towards the back gets frozen solid - including a couple bottles of water (I save water bottles and refill with tap water filtered through a Pur faucet filter).

[gab13by13]

10. I have a dumb question.

I remember back when Trump's tariffs caused our hog farmers to lose their market in China. Now that Trump had to undo his first trade agreement and got China to start buying hogs again, how many of the meat processing factories are supplying pork to China?

[2naSalit]

12. Actually, that's a very good question...

The answer to which I would like to know too.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. Smithfield is owned by a Chinese company

In 2011, Smithfield began focusing its sales and marketing efforts on 12 strategic packaged meats brands: Smithfield®, Eckrich®, Farmland®, Armour®, Cook’s®, John Morrell®, Gwaltney®, Kretschmar®, Margherita®, Curly’s®, Carando®, and Healthy Ones®. (The Nathan’s Famous® brand was added in 2014.) That focus—along with the company’s commitment to sustainability—has remained the same following the company’s 2013 acquisition by Shuanghui International Holdings Limited (now WH Group Limited).

Following Larry Pope’s retirement, president and chief operating officer Kenneth M. Sullivan became Smithfield’s CEO in 2016. Under his leadership, the company completed the "One Smithfield" initiative that unified all of Smithfield's independent operating companies, brands, marketing, and employees around the world under a single corporate umbrella.

https://www.smithfieldfoods.com/about-smithfield

so...

[2naSalit]

13. Someone here on DU had speculated earlier

that the inspectors might be superspreaders since they go from one facility to another, unprotected.

This is all part of a grand scheme, I suspect, and we had better be on top of our game for a long while or they will kill us all, except for the chosen slaves... think Handmaid's Tale.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. I saw some article

(may have been in our local paper here in Philly) about the USDA Inspectors loudly complaining about being forced to work with little or no access to PPE. So I wouldn't blame any civil servants who have to deal with malfeasance from the upper echelons of the department (run by Sonny Perdue ).

[2naSalit]

16. I heard about that too, somewhere...

I am sure that the lack of protection and stealing of PPE are related somehow. There is some conspired purpose in this well (though appears chaotic) organized stifling of our ability to defend ourselves from this virus. I am sure wet dreams of martial law and other authoritarian machinations are dancing around in certain heads. That one of the results is a major drop in population, that is a bonus.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. Perhaps if the KFC suddenly dries up

taking this seriously might be something that is considered (operative word "might" ).

[Miguelito Loveless]

18. Feature, not a bug

[lettucebe]

19. How long until the inspectors refuse to work and they just say fine let's have no inspectors then

I'd think people would seriously want to consider whether this meat supply is even safe

[BlueIdaho]

20. Testing, Testing, Testing.

Until we have rapid, reliable, and abundant testing we are all sitting ducks.

[Roy Rolling]

21. Almost as Many As Benghazi

Maybe Republicans will hold 33 Meat inspector hearings?

[Wuddles440]

24. Absolutely disgusting!

Just another scheme by the CONS to achieve their ultimate goal of privatization. Cripple the public sector, in this case by abusing and physically endangering the civil servants, so the industry can totally transition to "self-regulation".

[Intronautical1]

25. Just don't eat animals

Simple as that.

[AntiFascist]

26. I wonder how well (red) meat itself can carry the virus?

of course if negative information got out, it would probably hurt the meat industry.

https://local12.com/health/medical-edge-reports/could-red-blood-cells-hold-the-secret-to-treating-covid-19

"One of the things that’s actually been proposed is actually this idea that hemoglobin is attacked by COVID-19.”