President Donald Trump classified meat plants as essential infrastructure last week, implying that they must remain open. Food writer Corby Kummer spoke with Boston Public Radio on Tuesday about the ability of meat packing plants to stay open amid coronavirus outbreaks.
"[Meat packing plants] are among the most dangerous, inhumane, cruelly run business operations in the United States," Kummer said. "Social distancing is impossible [in meat packing plants] because you're under incredible pressure to keep the line speed up."
Meat packing plants consist of horrible working conditions, Kummer noted. "There's no reason to keep these cruel inhumane places open."
Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.
