Smithfield CEO Says Pork, Meat 'Essential To Life'

Smithfield CEO Kenneth Sullivan said his business and other meat producers are performing a vital service, as meat is "essential to life," The Wall Street Journal reported.

Smithfield CEO Says Plants Should Operate 

Smithfield was forced to close several of its plants across the U.S., including one of the biggest of its kind in South Dakota, after dozens of employees became infected with the coronavirus.

The decision to close the plan was the right one, even though it poses a risk to the U.S. food supply chain, he said. 

The "right thing" for the American public is for Smithfield and others to "operate these plants," the CEO said. Otherwise, he said meat products could become "scarcer and more expensive."

Grocers Sound Alarm On Meat Supply 

The company is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and hosted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide guidance on how to proceed. 

Several grocery stores have already confirmed the coronavirus has disrupted their meat supplies.

"We are very concerned about fresh meat," Mark Griffin, president of a Midwestern grocery chain B&R Stores, told WSJ.

"We have fresh meat today, but there are indicators that it will be a problem in the future."

What's Next For Meat Industry 

Meat producers are facing pressure from worker advocates who demand the health of processing line employees must be prioritized, even at the expense of the country's food supply. 

If this is the case, production "will be compromised" and "we have to accept that as a society," Minor Sinclair, director of U.S. programs for Oxfam, told the Journal. 

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