EXCEPT, the majority of meat packers aren’t packing, because so many of their workers are coming down with coronavirus, and the rest are too afraid to come in and risk it.
People on this thread keep talking about farmers, ranchers, and butchers.
The thing they don’t realize is that 85% of the meat in this country is sold from farms/ranches to feedlots, or in case of chickens anbd hogs, raised in enormous barn like structures, and then sent to the major packing houses.
Which are closed.
Pres. Trump declared these meat packers/slaughter houses essential infrastructure, so nobody could order them closed, except:
The workers won’t work.
THIS is the problem.
It is not going to be solved by ranchers direct to small butchers to folks. There isn’t the volume. We have 330 million people in the USA. Suppose, well, except for lousy hunters*, everyone eats meat.
At best, only 5-10% will be able to get meat via direct from farm/small butcher. Economy of scale at the meat packers mean without their capacity there is a shortage. Ispo facto.
*Indian word for lousy hunter = Vegetarian/Vegan
Thank you for explaining. It seems a pity that we have so many people who are out of work, and plants shutting down for lack of workers.