Selection of meats at supermarkets could dwindle as production slows

Shoppers in supermarkets could see less of a selection of meats soon as processing plants close and production begins to slow due to COVID-19.

News 12 Staff

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Apr 29, 2020, 9:22 PM

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Updated 1,823 days ago

More than a dozen major meat processing plants across the country have closed after becoming COVID-19 hot spots. For those that remain open, staffing shortages and attempts to comply with social distancing have led to operation slowdowns.

As a result, shoppers in supermarkets could see less of a selection of meats.

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News 12 was at Stew Leonard’s in Norwalk where there was an increased demand for beef, pork and chicken, according to CEO Stew Leonard Jr. He referred to it as "panic buying."

“We're finding now we need like two or three more butchers just to keep up with the demand,” he said.

President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act on Tuesday to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure and compel plants to open.

However, some industry employees said it was “reckless and irresponsible” to keep meat processing plants open during a pandemic.

Leonard Jr. says he's been in touch with his suppliers and disputes the warning from Tyson Foods' chairman that the food supply chain is breaking. He says meat may become a little more expensive, but prices on other items that would have normally gone to restaurants will go down.

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