Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY

COVID-19 deaths go uninvestigated as OSHA takes a hands-off approach to meatpacking plants

OSHA has not inspected 26 out of the 65 meatpacking plants where reporters found at least one worker died of COVID-19.

By kyle-bagenstose-and-rachel-axon-usa-today-sky-chadde-midwest-center-for-investigative-reporting, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY, Rachel Axon, USA TODAY and Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest

/ 12 Jan 2021

COVID-19 deaths go uninvestigated as OSHA takes a hands-off approach to meatpacking plants

Plagued by COVID outbreaks, the meatpacking industry could be forced to change under Biden

While president-elect Joe Biden has not announced any specific plans to protect meatpacking workers, advocates believe there are things he could, and should, do.

By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest, Rachel Axon, USA TODAY and Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY

/ 20 Nov 2020

Plagued by COVID outbreaks, the meatpacking industry could be forced to change under Biden

'They think workers are like dogs.' How pork plant execs sacrificed safety for profits.

USA TODAY and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting spent five months piecing together the pivotal moments in the Triumph Foods outbreak, interviewing more than a dozen current and former workers and examining thousands of pages of government records.

By Rachel Axon, USA TODAY, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY, Kevin Crowe, USA TODAY and Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest

/ 11 Nov 2020

'They think workers are like dogs.' How pork plant execs sacrificed safety for profits.

A week before Trump's order protecting meat plants, industry sent draft language to feds

Even as thousands of their employees fell ill with COVID-19, meatpacking executives pressured federal regulators to help keep their plants open, according to a trove of emails obtained by USA TODAY and The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.

By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY and Rachel Axon, USA TODAY

/ 14 Sep 2020

A week before Trump's order protecting meat plants, industry sent draft language to feds

Coronavirus outbreaks climb at U.S. meatpacking plants despite protections, Trump order

Coronavirus outbreaks at U.S. meatpacking plants continue to soar as the beleaguered industry ramps up production, scales back plant closures and tries to return to normal in the weeks after President Donald Trump declared it an essential operation.

By rachel-axon-kyle-bagenstose-usa-today-sky-chadde-midwest-center-for-investigative-reporting, Rachel Axon, USA TODAY, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY and Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest

/ 6 Jun 2020

Coronavirus outbreaks climb at U.S. meatpacking plants despite protections, Trump order

Cheap chicken, beef came at a cost. How American meat plants bred coronavirus hot spots.

The meatpacking industry has evolved into a marvel of modern efficiency, producing 105 billion pounds annually of poultry, pork, beef and lamb destined for dinner tables across America and the world. That’s nearly double what it produced three decades ago. But its evolution came at a cost. The same

By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY, Veronica Martinez Jacobo, USA TODAY and Rachel Axon, USA TODAY

/ 22 May 2020

Cheap chicken, beef came at a cost. How American meat plants bred coronavirus hot spots.

Meatpacking industry hits grim milestone of 10,000 coronavirus cases linked to plants

At least 170 plants in 29 states have had one or more workers test positive for the coronavirus. Some of those workers also have infected others, which is included in the count. At least 45 workers have died.

By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest and Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY

/ 6 May 2020

Meatpacking industry hits grim milestone of 10,000 coronavirus cases linked to plants

Trump executive order didn't stop meat plant closures. Seven more shut in the past week.

A week after President Donald Trump attempted to prop up the nation's meat supply chain through an executive order, the industry remains hobbled by plant closures and production losses, USA TODAY and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting found.

By kyle-bagenstose-usa-today-and-sky-chadde-midwest-center-for-investigative-reporting, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY and Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest

/ 5 May 2020

Trump executive order didn't stop meat plant closures. Seven more shut in the past week.

USDA let poultry plants put workers close together even as they got sick from coronavirus.

As coronavirus cases mounted at meatpacking plants this month, the federal government granted 15 poultry processors waivers to cut chickens faster, usually by crowding more workers onto their production lines.

By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest and Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY

/ 25 Apr 2020

USDA let poultry plants put workers close together even as they got sick from coronavirus.

USDA inspector dies as coronavirus spreads in meat packing plants.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector tasked with ensuring safe food quality at meat processing plants died Thursday after testing positive for COVID-19, a source who was on a call in which the federal agency confirmed the death told USA TODAY.

By kyle-bagenstose-grace-hauk-usa-today-and-sky-chadde-midwest-center-for-investigative-reporting, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY, Grace Hauk, USA TODAY and Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest

/ 24 Apr 2020

Coronavirus at meat packing plants worse than first thought, USA TODAY investigation finds

A rash of coronavirus outbreaks at dozens of meat packing plants across the nation is far more extensive than previously thought, according to an exclusive review of cases by USA TODAY and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. And it could get worse. More than 150 of America’s largest meat

By kyle-bagenstose-sky-chadde-and-matt-wynn-usa-today, Kyle Bagenstose, USA TODAY, Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest and Matt Wynn, USA TODAY

/ 22 Apr 2020