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U.S. indicts Pilgrim’s Pride CEO for alleged chicken price-fixing

Allegations cover period from 2012 to 2017

Washington/Chicago | Reuters — The CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., a major U.S. poultry company, was indicted along with three other current and former industry executives on charges of seeking to fix the price of chickens, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday. A grand jury in Denver indicted Jayson Penn, the president and CEO […] Read more

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B.C. health officials order two more poultry plants closed

Over 50 COVID-19 cases found at Superior Poultry

Health officials in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley have ordered two more poultry processing plant closed after multiple cases of COVID-19 were confirmed among employees. Fraser Health announced April 24 it had ordered Superior Poultry Processors of Coquitlam to close after two employees of the chicken processing plant tested positive for the coronavirus. The health district […] Read more


Hog farmer Mike Patterson walks through one of his barns at Kenyon, Minnesota, about 70 km south of St. Paul, on April 23, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Nicholas Pfosi)

Piglets aborted, chickens gassed as pandemic slams meat sector

"We have to have less hogs somehow"

Chicago | Reuters — With the pandemic hobbling the meat-packing industry, Iowa farmer Al Van Beek had nowhere to ship his full-grown pigs to make room for the 7,500 piglets he expected from his breeding operation. The crisis forced a decision that still troubles him: He ordered his employees to give injections to the pregnant […] Read more

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Vancouver health officials shut poultry processor

COVID-19 hits at least 28 employees

Health officials in Vancouver have closed a federally inspected poultry plant in that city after confirming an outbreak of COVID-19 so far affecting over two dozen employees. The public health arm of Vancouver Coastal Health, the regional health authority for the greater Vancouver area, on Tuesday declared a COVID-19 outbreak among staff at United Poultry […] Read more


Family members of longtime JBS USA meat packing plant employee Saul Sanchez gather April 10, 2020 at his Greeley, Colorado home after his death from COVID-19. (Photo: Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

‘Elbow to elbow:’ North America’s meat plant workers fall ill, walk off jobs

Supply chains struggling to keep pace with surging demand

Chicago/Winnipeg | Reuters — At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 U.S. cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to a meat inspector. In Colorado, nearly a third of the workers at a JBS USA beef plant stayed […] Read more

Feeding our elders

Feeding our elders

First We Eat: It’s important that seniors eat well and have supports in place to help with meals and groceries when needed

Last month an elderly friend called me, wondering if I could help him and his wife cope with food for a couple of weeks. They were living in assisted living after he’d had a stint in the hospital, but both were anxious to get back into their own home, a move scheduled for several weeks […] Read more



KFC is test-marketing plant-based nuggets and wings at one of its U.S. outlets in Altanta. (Global.kfc.com)

KFC to test plant-based nuggets, wings

Reuters –– Yum Brands said on Monday it will be testing plant-based nuggets and boneless wings at an Atlanta KFC restaurant, the latest fast-food chain trying new options to attract vegan diners. The quick-service fried chicken restaurant will nationally roll out the vegan menu items, produced by U.S. processor Beyond Meat, based on the customer […] Read more


(Video screengrabs from Exceldor.ca and Grannys.ca via YouTube)

Poultry co-ops Exceldor, Granny’s to merge

Quebec poultry co-operative Exceldor is expanding its westward reach through a merger deal with Manitoba-based Granny’s Poultry Co-operative. The two co-ops announced the combination Wednesday, noting it’s already been approved by Granny’s producer members in a “unanimous” vote taken in May, and by the federal Competition Bureau in a decision last month. “The main objective […] Read more

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U.S. launches criminal probe into alleged chicken price fixing by Tyson, rivals

Reuters — The U.S. Department of Justice has begun a criminal probe into allegations that Tyson Foods and other poultry processors including Pilgrim’s Pride and Sanderson Farms colluded to fix poultry prices, court documents show. The DOJ filed a motion to intervene and stay discovery of evidence in an antitrust lawsuit involving the companies and […] Read more