The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are considering the Safe Line Speeds in COVID-19 Act to prevent the USDA from speeding up killing lines at meat and poultry plants. Farm Sanctuary supports this legislation along with allied animal protection, labor, food justice, and consumer organizations.

Increasing slaughter line speeds puts animals at greater risk of intolerable suffering, such as being dismembered or boiled alive while still conscious. It also intensifies worker stress and injuries and heightens the threat of contracting and spreading coronavirus. Since mid-March, meat and poultry establishments have become COVID-19 hotspots. Over 30,000 meatpacking workers have tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 100 have died.

Please send a message to your elected representatives and senators today. Ask them to cosponsor and support the Safe Line Speeds in COVID-19 Act to help protect animals, workers, and the safety of our food system.

Sources:
1. COVID-19 Among Workers in Meat and Poultry Processing Facilities―19 States, April 2020, Weekly (May 8, 2020) https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6918e3.htm?s_cid=mm6918e3_x (last visited July 10, 2020)
2. Lakhani, Nina, US coronavirus hotspots linked to meat processing plants, (May 15, 2020). https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/15/us-coronavirus-meat-packing-plants-food
3. Douglas, Leah, Mapping Covid-19 outbreaks in the food system (last updated July 9, 2020) https://thefern.org/2020/04/mapping-covid-19-in-meat-and-food-processing-plants/ (last visited July 10, 2020)