The latest Covid-19 outbreaks might change our meals

The news this morning.

Where is the virus "soaring"? According to the article in the photo, 110 of the new cases came from "increased testing in Black Hawk county--home to a Tyson Fresh Meats pork processing plant that temporarily closed after an outbreak."

Approximately 150 people "with close connections to the plant" have tested positive for coronavirus.

(Apparently, they don't call them slaughterhouses anymore. They call them meat processing plants.)

There's much to say about this trend in Covid-19 outbreaks in "meat processing plants," which, in Iowa, employ more than 5000 people.

One might wonder how people who raise hogs might be affected. They're going to have to kill baby pigs because the people who raise them won't have the money to feed them.

(As a word person, I think it's interesting that they say "kill baby pigs" in this instance, but they usually say "harvest meat" when they refer to killing hogs/pigs for food. . . .)

One might ask why the managers did not institute protections for workers earlier (former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack suggests that they were swayed by government leaders' early insistence that the virus wasn't going to be a problem).

One might also ask about the people who work in meat processing plants. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers earn less than $15/hour plus benefits. It's enough to live on, maybe, but not enough to save for times of unemployment or illness.

One might also ask how the animals are raised, how meat production affects our environment, and how meat consumption affects our health.

Picture of a CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation), from the Des Moines Register. I think most of the meat in Iowa comes from these really huge operations.

This latest wave of infections--and closures of meat processing plants--has gotten me thinking about what I eat.

Bruce and I are pretty much "flexitarians," that is, we eat mostly vegetarian, but we do eat some meat.  Meat is usually an addition, not the main star, in our meals, despite the fact that we grew up during the 4 Basic Food Groups era!

Any other Boomers remember these pictures? 

We love things made with legumes, like this delicious Black Bean Taco recipe, and my "what to eat when there's 'nothing' in the pantry" red lentil curry.  I'm a fan of simple quiches and pasta dishes, too.

I'm thinking we might lean harder on our vegetarian tendencies during this pandemic. Perhaps it'll lead to a gradual shift to vegetarianism that will last.

So how has this pandemic affected your eating patterns? Has it gotten you to think more about what you eat and where your food comes from?