Millions Of Pigs Will Be Euthanized As Pandemic Cripples Meatpacking Plants
As the pandemic wreaks havoc on the meat industry, hog farmers anticipate they'll soon be forced to euthanize millions of pigs unable to be sent for processing.
Third generation hog farmer Chad Leman, making his daily rounds, points to dozens of 300-pound pigs.
"These pigs should be gone," he said.
He means gone to the meatpacking plant to be processed. But with pork processing plants shut down due to worker safety concerns, he's faced with a grisly task: He needs to kill the pigs to make room for more.
And Leman isn't the only one. With meatpacking plant closures and reduced processing capacity nationwide, America's hog farmers
