Covid has thrown a wrench in every industry- especially food processing. Ranging from plant closures due to outbreaks and now government overreach with vaccine mandates.
The vaccine mandates in processing plants are not discussed at all, most likely due to the contempt our ruling class has for rural, working-class Americans.
The current situation with mandates is from multiple fronts: USDA inspectors and the factory workers. For context, USDA inspectors are federal employees that are paid for by processing plants and necessary for operation- without them these plants cannot run due to federal law.
Currently, there is a large shortage of inspectors. There are roughly 6,500 inspectors nationwide across all meat processing industries, with a roughly 500-700 inspector shortage. My family has been running into issues with these inspectors being stretched thin already.
The inspector at this Midwest plant is responsible for 3 total plants normally, but currently he is inspecting 9 total plants at the same time. This is dangerous for both the wellbeing of the inspector, but most importantly the quality of the food produced.
On top of that, the USDA is covering up their shortage. On their jobs page, they list a measly 57 openings for inspectors. They cover this up by only listing their positions for a week or two at a time to prevent people from realizing this dire shortage.
These inspectors have received a memo stating that they have until Friday, Nov. 19 to get vaccinated (despite the actual deadline being Dec. 4). The problem is that a sizable plurality of inspectors refuse to be bend to government vaccine mandates (roughly 25-35%).
If upwards of 35% of inspectors are fired come Dec. 4, we are looking at roughly 2,200 inspectors nationwide disappearing. This will be catastrophic. To be clear, I stand with those refusing and will fight with them.
Likewise, if a plant is stretched thin on quality assurance personnel to protect the quality of meat, that will lead to a complete shutdown of these plants until they can be fully staffed. We are looking at this being compounded with the inspector shortage.
If this happens, many plants will not be able to run. Meaning, no meat in the store and no food for children in public schools. Some of the biggest customers of the plant my family works at are public schools and prisons, as well as national chains.
This could result in children becoming malnourished at schools, as well as families having a very hard time putting food on the table. Now, how bad is the current situation, pre-mandate?
Managers at this plant have already had to jump on the line and help produce chicken due to lack of employees. This isn’t due to low pay or benefits- they stand as a beacon of hope and stability in the community. They value their workers but are on the verge of losing it all.
Likewise, corporate is already discussing sending corporate managers, including the CEO, to help relieve the already damaging constraints by working on the line with everyone else.
Only 25% of the plant is vaccinated, meaning the company will be forced to give weekly testing for all their locations, which will cost hundreds of thousands per year, or fire their hard-working employees.
If this plant, like hundreds of others across rural America, shut down it will be the final nail in the coffin of these towns and a total collapse of the food supply.
This is exacerbated by the fact that these employees oftentimes have no other skills besides working in food processing. Without this job, they won’t be able to feed their families and the towns they live in will die.
We are looking at a multi-dimensional planned disaster: people losing their jobs, food processing being destroyed and risking famine, and the total decimation of rural communities who rely on these jobs to support their families. It is completely avoidable, but they want this.
It doesn’t stop there: we are looking at a fertilizer shortage, with prices increasing 200% on ammonia. This spells disaster for family farms:Global, Domestic Fertilizer Prices Continue to RiseVarious logistical issues continue to plague fertilizer production, although at lesser levels than in October. Some countries are limiting exports, which is pushing prices sky high.https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/crops/article/2021/11/12/global-domestic-fertilizer-prices
While this isn’t meant to serve as a doomsday prediction, I urge people to be prepared for potential supply chain collapse- especially regarding food. Please, protect yourself and your loved ones. They are trying to purposely destroy our food supply.
As stated above, most people do not hear about food processing plants (except regarding cyberattacks earlier this year). This is a huge blindside to the American consumer who may soon not be able to get any meat at all, let alone hyper-inflated priced meat.
We are facing a total disaster. If the mandate goes into effect, we are looking at hundreds of thousands of families losing their livelihoods and millions of people becoming malnourished. And its all planned.