Fault Lines

Virus on the Poultry Line

Fault Lines investigates why COVID-19 ravaged US poultry plants and what companies could have done to manage the spread.

In the early months of the pandemic, meatpacking plants emerged as deadly hot spots for COVID-19.

In the poultry industry, workers describe conditions that make physical distancing impossible inside plants – above all, the fast line speeds.

Chicken companies have reduced calls to slow the line speeds and space workers further apart. Federal regulators responsible for safety at the plants have issued optional guidance during the pandemic, not enforceable rules.

Fault Lines follows meatpacking workers and families who lost loved ones to the virus and asks what sacrifices have been made to keep poultry plants open.