Across the globe, the meat industry has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. This labor-intensive sector is a breeding ground for respiratory viruses such as SARS-Cov-2 — just like prisons or nursing homes. Meat plants are made up of closed, refrigerated spaces — ventilation systems are built to avoid external contamination — where hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people work “shoulder to shoulder,” manipulating animal protein.
In the U.S., over 17,000 meat workers might have been infected with the coronavirus so far, according to the nonprofit group Food & Environment Reporting Network. Over 100 plants were shut down across the...
