Apr 20, 2020
With some meatpacking plant closures due to COVID-19, a look at their role in the food supply chain
The industry has consolidated over the last decades, so there are fewer plants, that handle a lot more meat.

Stacey Vanek-Smith/Marketplace
The meat supply chain is still moving in the U.S., but experts have their eye on one big lynchpin: meatpacking plants. They’ve consolidated over the years, which means there’s a lot more people working in much larger plants. Some meat plants have already closed temporarily because workers became ill with COVID-19. And if that happens on a larger scale, it could create a bottleneck between those who want to sell their livestock and consumers who want to buy meat.