Schools are feeding millions of children. Now they face huge losses.
Public schools served tens of millions of emergency meals in April, mostly often in drive-through lanes, to low-income children after coronavirus closures ended cafeteria service, said a survey released on Monday. Nonetheless, roughly half of the 1,894 districts taking part in the School Nutrition Association survey reported a drop-off of at least 50 percent in meals served. (No paywall)
Meat production to rebound sharply after coronavirus slowdown – USDA
Covid-19 infections of workers at U.S. packing plants forced declines in red meat and poultry production during April with beef production hit the hardest, said USDA economists on Monday. Disruptions will be felt for the rest of the year, but meat production in 2021 is forecast to rise nearly 4 percent higher than this year due to recovery in all major types of meat. (No Paywall)
House votes to double coronavirus payments to agriculture
Senate Republicans will ignore the "unserious" $3-trillion coronavirus relief bill passed along party lines by the House in favor of steps such as liability shields for employers, said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The House bill included $16.5 billion for cash payments to farmers and ranchers, double the amount in the package now awaiting approval by the White House budget office.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Coalition calls for ‘corporate’ meat boycott to improve working conditions
Thanks to falling production and rising prices, Americans are expected to eat less meat this year than last. But a coalition of groups led by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) wants Americans to cut back even further, calling for a boycott on "corporate" meat until working conditions in meatpacking plants improve. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Worst may be over, says ethanol leader
Ethanol production fell to record lows during April due to the coronavirus but is showing modest signs of recovery, said Geoff Cooper, chief executive of the Renewable Fuels Association. "It seems that the worst may be behind us," Cooper said during a teleconference.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Perdue joins coronavirus task force
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, chosen by President Trump to oversee the reopening of meat plants, is now a member of the White House coronavirus task force, "which is focused on getting Americans back to work and allowing businesses to reopen," said the White House. The appointment was announced a few hours after Perdue and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump visited a produce warehouse in the Washington suburbs that is part of the Farmers to Families Food Box on Friday.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Food insecurity doubles due to coronavirus, may exceed Great Recession
One-fifth of Americans say they have had trouble getting enough food to eat during the economic turmoil of the cornavirus pandemic, a nearly overnight doubling of food insecurity in the United States, according to a national poll released on Thursday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
As more meatpacking workers fall ill from Covid-19, meat companies decline to disclose data
As Covid-19 has swept through meatpacking facilities, it has been hard to figure out exactly how many workers have gotten sick or died of the virus. Some companies have shared numbers on positive cases, but most of the largest meatpackers have kept that data private. Critics say that the lack of disclosure puts public health at risk, especially as nearly all idled meat plants reopen. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
As coronavirus weakens ag sector, federal payments may be key
If 2019 was stressful for farmers and ranchers, with low commodity prices and bad weather for crops, the coronavirus crisis is compounding the economic challenges this year, said three Federal Reserve banks in recently released quarterly reports. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
New USDA regulation waives review of many biotech plants
Three decades into the agricultural biotechnology era, the USDA said on Thursday that it will exempt genetically engineered plants from pre-market reviews if they are unlikely to pose an environmental risk. Opponents of the move said it means "a majority of genetically engineered and gene-edited plants will now escape any oversight" by the USDA.
Overcoming shame, Americans ask food banks for help
Two of every five people visiting food banks "never had to ask for help for food" before — a gauge of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, said the chief operating officer of Feeding America. Katie Fitzgerald said food banks are facing, on average, a 70 percent increase in demand. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Protect farmworkers to assure food supply, say advocacy groups
Farmworkers are "especially at risk of falling ill from Covid-19" because they often work without protective equipment, are exposed to pesticides, and live in crowded quarters, said the advocacy groups Environmental Working Group and Farmworker Justice on Wednesday. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Depressed ethanol consumption to last through 2021
U.S. gasoline consumption will be 11 percent lower this year than in 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic slowdown, said an Energy Department agency in a monthly report. Ethanol use will experience a similar decline, according to the Short-Term Energy Outlook. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Coronavirus could pare meat consumption by 10 pounds per American
Fearing the spread of Covid-19, workers strike at three fruit facilities in Washington State
Workers at three fruit packing facilities in Washington State have gone on strike to protest what they say are inadequate protections against the spread of Covid-19. The strikes come as outbreaks of the virus continue to spread throughout facilities where the nation’s food is processed, from meatpacking plants to produce packing houses.<strong>(No paywall)</strong
House coronavirus bill boosts SNAP, other public nutrition programs
China trade advisers talk of renegotiating U.S. trade pact – report
Some Chinese trade advisers are arguing that Beijing should invalidate the "phase one" trade agreement that de-escalated the Sino-U.S. trade war as retaliation for a U.S. coronavirus blame campaign, reported a state-controlled Chinese newspaper on Monday. The agreement obliges China, formerly the top customer for U.S. ag exports, to buy roughly $40 billion a year of American food, agricultural and seafood products.
Pay hog farmers indemnities for culling herds, say senators
The next coronavirus relief bill should include indemnity money for hog farmers who killed their animals because slaughter plants were shut down due to the coronavirus, said 14 senators in a letter to House and Senate leaders on Monday. The letter did not suggest how much the indemnities would cost.
Farmland Trust supports 1,000 farmers who sell direct
To offset the impact of the coronavirus on farmers who market directly to consumers, the American Farmland Trust distributed $1 million, raised from donors, in $1,000 checks to 1,000 farmers, said AFT's president John Piotti. During a webinar sponsored by The Chicago Farmers, Piotti said the donation drive was continuing so more growers could be helped.
Most meat plants will be on line this week despite coronavirus, says Perdue
Although beef and pork slaughter plants ran at less than three-fourths capacity last week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says, "We think most of our facilities will be back on line" by the end of this week. That would account for as much as 85 percent of U.S. meat-processing capacity. Fourteen beef, pork and poultry plants resumed operation last week, according to the USDA. Other tallies showed a handful of plants still shut down.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>