Save your bacon: A real meat shortage looms with virus shutdowns

Politico ^ | April 23, 2020 | Liz Crampton

[C19fan]

Americans could start to see shortages of pork, chicken and beef on grocery shelves as soon as May as major packing plants swept by the coronavirus remain shuttered and the nation’s massive stockpiles of frozen meat begin to dwindle.

Any empty shelves to date have been the result of bumps in the supply chain, with stores being unable to restock as quickly as customers are buying. But bacon, pork chops and ham could be the first to face actual shortages: The amount of frozen pork in storage nationwide — more than 621 million pounds — dropped 4 percent from March to April, the USDA reported this week. Slaughter rates are down 25 percent, and 400,000 animals are backed up in slaughterhouses.

[usconservative]

Chicken is already hard to find near me, same for pork. I don't even look at beef, I cannot afford it.

Strangely, the chicken that does seem to be in very plentiful supply around me is wings. I can find those anywhere. Breasts, thighs, backs and drumsticks not so much.

[CJ Wolf]

the lack of a march madness created a glut of chicken wings.

[usconservative]

That's exactly what I'd read elsewhere and heard on talk radio.

The one thing I have noticed is that I have to go in the early morning if I want to get almost any kind of meat. By afternoon / early evening the meat's gone.

Meijer is the worst to try and get any sort of meat at by me. There was zero chicken aside from wings the other day. most pork except pork loins was gone and the beef was so overpriced I walked out in disgust.

Ended up at the Jewel (union store, high prices) just to get the last of the chicken breasts they had available. Plenty of wings, thighs and backs at Jewel, just not what I was looking for.

[hinckley buzzard]

That is the whole point of articles like this. They do not say these things to inform but to induce anxiety and panic buying, thereby bringing the shortage about. They can then blame the shortage on Trump. Of course. Just watch.

[metmom]

Sounds like a plan.

I have no doubt about it.

[Magic Fingers]

“The freezer warehouses are full of meat - several cold storage facilities are out of room and are trying to fill up the grocery stores”

I know of a processor who’s renting restaurants’ empty freezers until he can get temp freezers and generators in place.