As meat packing plants continue to shutdown across the U.S., John Tyson, the board chairman of Tyson Foods, took out full-page ads in three newspapers Sunday to warn that millions pounds of meat will soon disappear from the nation’s food supply chain.
“In addition to meat shortages, this is also a serious food waste issue,” Tyson wrote. “Farmers around the nation simply will not have anywhere to sell their livestock to be processed when they could have fed the nation......The food supply chain is breaking.”
The ad also highlighted Tyson Foods’ efforts to keep plants open, including: more than $60 million in “thank you” bonuses for workers, waiving insurance co-pays for COVID-19 testing, installing more thermometers and protective shields for workers, and paying short-term disability to those who miss work because they are sick.
“It hasn’t been easy and it’s not over, but I have faith that together, we’ll get through this,” Tyson wrote. “I’m grateful for the team members, our customers, our communities, and our consumers who depend on our products every day.”
You can see the full ad here.