If the reactions to Gov. Jared Polis’ inaugural “MeatOut Day” were any indication, Colorado ranchers are about to get extra moody. For many in the Centennial state, herding pink-snouted bovines is a source of pride. From juicy hamburgers to Gucci handbags, a whopping 2.7 million cows — equivalent to nearly half of the state’s human […]
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Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Culture, News
Colorado ranchers already had beef with Jared Polis. Then came “MeatOut Day.”
LIMON — When Kelsey Pope watches her kids doing after-school chores, scattering hay for some of the 1,200 head of Red Angus cattle on their high plains farm, a beef-bashing proclamation from a governor 70 miles away doesn’t feel like a distant nuisance. Colorado’s official embrace of “MeatOut Day” on March 20 feels like a […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Health, News
JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley accused of negligence after COVID-19 outbreak
GREELEY — Two women who were hired to screen employees after a coronavirus outbreak at a Colorado beef plant say the owners did not take screening protocols seriously and were negligent. The two say in affidavits that JBS USA Holdings provided screening equipment that did not function properly, forced employees to pay for coronavirus tests […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, News
Coronavirus collapsed America’s food system, but created “a pivotal and magical moment” for locavores
MOSCA — Sheldon Rockey weaves through pallets of potatoes in a long-retired high school gym as a small team of workers wash and package his trademarked fingerlings. “We just weren’t prepared for this, so there will be some livestock that will eat some gourmet potatoes this year,” says Rockey, who saw his innovative and competitive […]
Posted inBusiness, News
Colorado’s attorney general joins colleagues in seeking federal probe into meatpacking industry
By Rozana Hegeman, The Associated Press BELLE PLAINE, Kan. — The attorneys general for 11 Midwestern states urged the Justice Department on Tuesday to pursue a federal investigation into market concentration and potential price fixing by meatpackers in the cattle industry during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, the […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News
Even with beef plants staying open, reduced capacity means Colorado ranchers feel the coronavirus pinch
To be a cattle rancher in Colorado is to expect setbacks. There are droughts and fires and economic volatility. There are snowstorms and tornadoes and tricky equipment. There are changing consumer demands. But rarely do the stumbling blocks line up one after another and all at once the way they have now with the crisis […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News
Meatpackers welcome Trump’s order that they stay open while others — including Colorado’s governor — question the coronavirus risks
By Stephen Groves, The Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Big meatpacking companies that have struggled to keep plants running during the coronavirus crisis said Wednesday that they welcomed President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring them to stay open, but unions, some employees and Democrats questioned whether workers could be kept safe. Trump used the […]
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Stopping coronavirus is a huge challenge at crowded U.S. meat plants, including in Colorado
By Josh Funk, The Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. — Daily reports of giant meat-processing plants closing because workers tested positive for the coronavirus have called into question whether slaughterhouses can remain virus-free. According to experts, the answer may be no. Given that the plants employ thousands of people who often work side by side carving […]
Posted inUncategorized
Union demands better conditions at Greeley beef plant as coronavirus outbreak worsens, draws White House’s attention
The union representing 3,000 workers at a Greeley meatpacking plant is demanding better conditions at the facility after an outbreak of the new coronavirus that has sickened dozens and killed at least two. The union, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, asked Gov. Jared Polis to shutter the plant for at least seven days […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, News
Health officials investigate beef plant in Greeley after 30-plus employees test positive for coronavirus
Health officials are investigating working conditions at a beef plant in northern Colorado where more than 30 employees have tested positive for COVID-19. Weld County’s health department said Thursday that concerns at the JBS USA facility include the proximity of workers to each other and employees working while they are sick. If the plant does […]