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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.

With some meatpacking plant closures due to COVID-19, a look at their role in the food supply chain
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. 

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