May 4, 2020

What’s happening in the U.S. meat supply chain amid the Covid-19 crisis offers a stark warning of how vulnerable the food chain is to shocks. Poultry and livestock farms across the U.S. have been euthanizing millions of animals because processing facilities are grappling with the disease’s outbreak among the workforce and don’t have the staff available to manage. Controversially, the U.S. President issued an executive order compelling meat processors to stay open—an act that has received tremendous backlash for the health risks it imposes on workers. uch drama hasn’t similarly struck Europe. But the continent’s food producers and suppliers acknowledge the pandemic’s amplifying impact on existing challenges and vulnerabilities in growing, processing and moving food.