Today's eye-opening read is so full of revelations that it's hard to know which quote to pull first. I'll post a few in the thread below.

Hard-hitting reporting from @USATODAY & @IMidwest finds that the slaughterhouse situation is worse than we thought. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/04/22/meat-packing-plants-covid-may-force-choice-worker-health-food/2995232001/

From Nebraska's chief medical officer: "Initially our concern was long-term care facilities... If there's one thing that might keep me up at night, it's the meat processing plants and the manufacturing plants." 2/

From asst. prof @joshspecht (no relation): "If this goes on for a long time, there is a reality of a shortage... The politics of this could play out that they reopen at enormous risks to workers, rather than face an actual shortage… I wouldn’t bet against that.” 3/

"The meatpacking industry already has been notorious for poor working conditions... Meat and poultry employees have among the highest illness rates of all manufacturing employees and are less likely to report injuries and illness than any other type of worker." 4/

"[R]ather than increase safety and oversight, the [USDA] relaxed it in the midst of the pandemic. Just this month, the agency allowed 15 poultry plants to exceed federal limits on how many birds workers can process in a minute. That’s more than in any previous month..." 5/

"[M]eat & poultry workers experienced higher illness rates than other manufacturing workers — nearly 160 cases per 10,000 full-time meat & poultry workers in 2013, compared to about 40 cases for manufacturing overall. But those rates are likely higher [due to underreporting]." 6/

The article is worth opening if for no other reason than the photos. When you see how close these line workers are, it's easy to see how COVID19 rips through these facilities. Increased line speeds to try to make up for shortages will only make the problem worse. /end