5@5: Plant worker protections in negotiation | COVID-19 to double population living in acute hunger

Each day at 5 p.m. we collect the five top food and supplement headlines of the day, making it easy for you to catch up on today's most important natural products industry news.

April 22, 2020

2 Min Read
meat plant workers
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Union negotiates with JBS to get protections for plant workers

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is working with Brazilian meat processor JBS to get much-needed protections for at-risk meatpacking and processing plant workers. Food industry workers have been especially hard hit by COVID-19, and meatpacking plant employees are at a particular disadvantage because the naturel of the work requires them to be in close contact with each other. Read more at Modern Farmer

 

UN fears coronavirus will double population living in acute hunger

The United Nations agency expects 265 million people worldwide to face food crises in 2020 on account of COVID-19. Those displaced by violence or environmental disaster are far more likely to be impacted by both the health and economic impacts of the virus. Read more at NPR

 

US regulation rollbacks during COVID-19 criticized

Amid a growing number of plant closures, the U.S. government is moving forward with a controversial regulatory rollback that will allow meat plants to speed up their production lines. One union representative criticized the decision by pointing out that faster lines will make it more difficult to catch "pathology that shouldn't be going out to consumers." Read more at The Guardian… 

 

Is it ethically okay to get food delivered right now?

It's complicated, as every decision could negatively affect consumers, shelf stockers, delivery people, restaurant workers and more. However, the guidelines already laid out by many experts (hand washing, reducing grocery store trips, and asking delivery people to leave orders on doorsteps to name a few) can help consumers reduce any potential health risks. Read more at The Atlantic

 

Experts say it may be time to ban customers from coming inside because of COVID-19

Small grocery store owners, union leaders and some worker experts are pushing for large chains to go "dark" and pivot to offering curbside pickup and delivery exclusively. Careless consumers present the biggest threat to store workers' health right now because the majority of them aren't practicing social distancing according to a survey of grocery store member workers. Read more at CNN

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