Please leave this field empty
Donate Monthly Make a Gift Renew Your Membership Ways to Give
Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch
  • About
  • Problems
  • Campaigns
  • Impacts
  • Research
  • Contact
Donate Monthly Make a Gift Renew Your Membership Ways to Give
  • facebook
  • twitter
Please leave this field empty
Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch
$
Menu
  • About
  • News
  • Research Library
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Donate
Search
Please leave this field empty
  • facebook
  • twitter

HEROES Act Leaves Heroes Working in Meat Plants Unprotected

House passes the 4th stimulus bill without crucial protections for meat workers and food safety

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • google-plus
  • envelope

We all need safe food and clean water.

Donate
05.15.20

Washington, DC— Today, the House voted on the next proposed legislation in response to the economic fallout from the current pandemic. The bill, referred to as the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, does not respond to requests for analysis of USDA neglect on animal, food, and worker safety during COVID-19. It also ignores calls for stronger meat inspection and processing regulation like halting slaughter line speed increases.

In response, Tony Corbo, Sr. Government Affairs Representative for Food & Water Action, issued the following statement:

“We applaud the House leadership for including provisions in H.R. 6559 that call on OSHA to implement an emergency rule to offer some protection to essential workers during the pandemic and to protect water access for all. However, we’re still seeing the brutal impacts of USDA’s neglect when it comes to the food supply chain. The House had an opportunity to stop the meat industry and current administration from putting profit ahead of common-sense protections in the relief package. We urge Congress to act in the public’s interest and fix the bill before it becomes law.

“As the coronavirus ravaged meatpacking workers, the federal government was busy giving the very industry to blame for outbreaks waivers to let them force workers to move faster in more crowded conditions. USDA has now implemented unprecedented numbers of increased line speeds in meat and poultry plants during the current pandemic.

“Line speed and reduced inspection have been the bull’s eye issues by industry for decades. Fast lines with fewer inspectors are desirable for profit-focused business but disastrous for workers and consumers. These deregulations are part of the collusion between this administration and the meat and poultry companies to push industry profits while ignoring public health and worker safety standards.

“There absolutely needs to be an independent investigation into USDA’s shortcomings in dealing with the pandemic. While other parts of the HEROES Act called for investigations by the Government Accountability Office, there was no such audit for USDA. The GAO must be called on to investigate USDA’s dereliction during the pandemic.”

Related Links

  • Trump Sacrifices America’s Meat Workers to COVID-19 and Sets Up Our Food Supply for Catastrophe
  • Coronavirus Exposes Our Food System's Crisis
  • USDA and Industry Are Neglecting Frontline Food Safety Workers and It’s Going to Impact Our Meat Supply
  • USDA Is Removing Safeguards On Food While Everyone Else Is Fighting A Pandemic
Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version

Monsanto's Roundup is a "probable human carcinogen." We need to ban it!

Get the latest on your food and water with news, research and urgent actions.

Please leave this field empty

Latest News

  • Trump’s Out, Biden’s In! Now The Fight Of Our Lives On Climate Begins.

    Trump’s Out, Biden’s In! Now The Fight Of Our Lives On Climate Begins.

  • Biden’s 100-Day Must-Do List for a Cleaner, Healthier Country

    Biden’s 100-Day Must-Do List for a Cleaner, Healthier Country

  • Fracking, Federal Lands, And Follow-Through: Will President Biden Do What He Promised?

    Fracking, Federal Lands, And Follow-Through: Will President Biden Do What He Promised?

See More News & Opinions

For Media: See our latest press releases and statements

Food & Water Insights

Looking for more insights and our latest research?

Visit our policy & research library
  • Renewable Natural Gas: Same Ol' Climate-Polluting Methane, Cleaner-Sounding Name

  • The Case to Ban Fracking on Federal Lands

  • Dangerously Deep: Fracking’s Threat to Human Health

Fracking activist with stickersFracking activist in hatLegal team loves family farmsFood & Water Watch organizer protecting your food

Work locally, make a difference.

Get active in your community.

Food & Water Impact

  • Victories
  • Stories
  • Facts
  • Trump, Here's a Better Use for $25 Billion

  • Here's How We're Going to Build the Clean Energy Revolution

  • How a California Activist Learned to Think Locally

Keep drinking water safe and affordable for everyone.

Take Action
food & water watch logo
en Español

Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold & uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people’s health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.

Food & Water Watch is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Food & Water Action is a 501(c)4 organization.

Food & Water Watch Headquarters

1616 P Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20036

Main: 202.683.2500

Contact your regional office.

Work with us: See all job openings

  • Problems
    • Broken Democracy
    • Climate Change & Environment
    • Corporate Control of Food
    • Corporate Control of Water
    • Factory Farming & Food Safety
    • Fracking
    • GMOs
    • Global Trade
    • Pollution Trading
  • Solutions
    • Advocate Fair Policies
    • Legal Action
    • Organizing for Change
    • Research & Policy Analysis
  • Our Impact
    • Facts
    • Stories
    • Victories
  • Take Action
    • Get Active Where You Live
    • Organizing Tools
    • Find an Event
    • Volunteer with Us
    • Live Healthy
    • Donate
  • Give
    • Give Now
    • Give Monthly
    • Give a Gift Membership
    • Membership Options
    • Fundraise
    • Workplace Giving
    • Planned Giving
    • Other Ways to Give
  • About
  • News
  • Research Library
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Donate
Learn more about Food & Water Action www.foodandwateraction.org.
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • 2021 © Food & Water Watch
  • www.foodandwaterwatch.org
  • Terms of Service
  • Data Usage Policy