President Donald J.Trump Is Taking Action To Ensure The Safety Of Nation’s Food Supply Chain

President Donald J. Trump is using the Defense Production Act to ensure that Americans have a reliable supply of products like beef, pork, and poultry.

President Trump is signing an Executive Order providing the authority to ensure the continued supply of beef, pork, and poultry to the American people. Under the order, the Department of Agriculture is directed to ensure America’s meat and poultry processors continue operations uninterrupted to the maximum extent possible.

A number of America’s large meat processors and their workers have been affected by outbreaks of coronavirus (COVID-19). Closure of a single large beef processing plant can result in the loss of over 10 million servings of beef in a single day. Similarly, the closure of a single plant can eliminate more than 80 percent of the supply of a particular meat product—like ground beef—to an entire grocery store chain.

Failure to process livestock could force millions of pounds of meat to disappear from the market, potentially leading to long-term disruptions in our supply chain.

In April, the President announced that his Administration would provide $16 billion to farmers, ranchers, and food producers who experience economic losses during this pandemic.

Through the Department of Agriculture, the Administration is purchasing $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat products of excess supply to be distributed in order to assist Americans in need as well as producers with lost markets.

SOURCE: whitehouse.gov