COVID-19 Outbreak (Update: More than 2.9M cases and 132,313 deaths in US) (3 Viewers)

[Saint_Ward]

I think this was a very good interview on what lessons we could learn from China and what techniques could work.

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[IntenseSaint]

I think this was a very good interview on what lessons we could learn from China and what techniques could work.

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What the US might learn from China about COVID? Lie about your numbers?

 

[Saint_Ward]

What the US might learn from China about COVID? Lie about your numbers?

Maybe you should give it a listen. And he only covers that bit for a short term.

 

[livefromDC]

Stat is a medical news and research publication.

We need the real CDC back, and we need it now

This must be a painful time for the many extraordinary career scientists who continue to work at the CDC. Real CDC leadership is absolutely essential for confronting and getting clear of this crisis.

www.statnews.com

I totally agree. That only occurs with a change in the administration.

 

[St. Widge]

Thankfully, most arent though....for now

Its a perfect case of a loud minority and a manufactured movement:

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Which I do expect to shift as these astroturf campaigns pick up steam from people mistaking it for popular opinion.

The thing is while people in general may feel this way, it doesn't really matter if the company you work for says to get back in the office, plant, store, etc. I mean ultimately it only matters what the boss thinks and I think the tide is quickly turning and once stay a home orders end in each state businesses are going to be filled because nobody ever wants to lose a job, especially not now.

 

[nolaswede]

Unfortunately, too many people are too worried about their "freedom" to care about science..

Sorry, I have been drinking!

 

[Goatman Saint]

Cost of continued feeding is certainly part of it. I don't know how it translates across the meat spectrum but I've often heard re: chickens that the process can't deviate too far from certain norms. Chickens get too big and the processing doesn't work as well. Take that with a grain of salt but it does make sense that equipment has limitations and the livestock needs to be within certain perameters.

Basically a lot of animals are in the pipeline so to speak and if you stop slaughter for a month you essentially are a month behind with a ton of extra birds that have no where to go as most plants run near capacity anyway. Besides, restaurants, fast food, most producers want a certain size of bird which works out to a consistent product either 4 or 6 ounces. Huge chickens have very few selling points.

Cattle and hogs here again processed on size. A steak is so big. A roast same way. Consistently is king. Older animals can be slaughtered, but generally younger animals are more tender and marble better also.

 

[DCSaints_Fan]

As late as the 1960s I think it was not uncommon for the slaughter of chickens and turkeys to be local or even done at home. My grandfather used to be in this business, as an intermediary between farmers and the demand for live chickens. This was before Frank Perdue industrialized the whole process, I wonder if we’ll ever go back to those times. Personally I’ve had to decapitate chicks but not adult chickens.

 

[Zaphod]

The thing is while people in general may feel this way, it doesn't really matter if the company you work for says to get back in the office, plant, store, etc. I mean ultimately it only matters what the boss thinks and I think the tide is quickly turning and once stay a home orders end in each state businesses are going to be filled because nobody ever wants to lose a job, especially not now.

Agreed. I'd rather stay home, but my employer says otherwise

 

[Zaphod]

Sorry, I have been drinking!

Strangely enough, the people on each side of him in that photo look a lot like the ones I've seen ranting on Facebook

 

[Get in the Carr]

I think this was a very good interview on what lessons we could learn from China and what techniques could work.

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I think it ‘s about time we quit even considering what China has done. They are likely to create another disease trying to find a vaccine because all they care about is winning at all costs. They will cut every corner in the name of speed. I mean we should just accept that global diseases spread from there since globalization has taken off and then just accept their techniques to deal with it? I am about done with using data when it comes to this. So many outliers that we are not focusing on the real problem and has everyone outthinking themselves. Quit doing business with countries that do not have safety protocols in place for their own citizens, workers, and customers. Am i the only one that sees it as that simple?

 

[0rion]

I don't know anything about it but I'd speculate that maybe the meat changes (becomes gamey) after a certain age?

A month isn't going to make a difference. This is either greed, ignorance, or click bait reporting. There's something off on this story and something that's not being reported correctly or at all.

 

[0rion]

Not just age, but I suspect the longer they keep them, the more it costs to keep them. Everything has a shelf life, and unfortunately that includes animals. It seems a waste to me, but I don't know what goes on behind the scenes there.

This would be the greed angle. I still don't think a plant gets closed and 2 days later they're talking about killing the animals. They already have alot of money invested in those animals. Maybe it's an angle to get propped up by Uncle Sam? Maybe they want their cut of the pie also?

 

[saintmdterps]

I would like to see the science that says now is the time to open things up because what I see in general are cases still increasing. Not increasing as drastic but still increasing. I just don't see what's different now versus 2 weeks ago.

We’re increasing here very dramatically. Per CNN, Salisbury is the 14th fastest-growing hotspot in the nation. Poultry production is big, with Perdue's headquarters being in Salisbury. Most of the Salisbury area nursing homes have positive cases, so this is just the start.

The facility where I work is 30 miles to the south of my home, and there are 2 other facilities 15 miles away from that building. We form a triangle of nursing homes located in small towns. Currently there are no positive cases in any of the three but because of the growing number of cases to our north and further south (Virginia) we feel surrounded. It's a war and the perimeter is being pushed back. It's only a matter of time. There is discussion of housing essential employees in hotels near where I work, but that will be something I'll have to discuss with my family. Great times.

 

[KiwiSaint]

It's obvious that most of you don't know how your food is grown and processed in most of the industrialised world. Poultry and pork production systems are highly efficient and are focused on weekly production batches. In the pork production system, large sow farms produce weekly batches of weaned pigs...12-14 lb. at 21 days of age. These operations have specific areas dedicated to mating sows, gestating sows and areas where they give birth. At any one time, there will be 16 weeks of pregnant sows in the pipeline plus 3 weeks of sows lactating. It is imperative that every week, sows wean their piglets so that the next batch can enter the birthing unit. Now to put numbers in perspective, the usual size of a sow farm is 5000 head. This farm will produce 2,400 piglets each week.
These weaned pigs must then be moved to a wean-finish facility where they will spend the next 24 weeks of their life growing from 12 lb to 300 lb. at which time they are slaughtered. Again...at the end of the 24 weeks, the pigs must go to the slaughterhouse to accommodate the next batch of weaned pigs. There is no buffer in the system. Closure of a processing plant for one week is a disaster in the making...farmers can possibly get by one to two weeks by double-stocking their facilities...meaning placing twice as many pigs in their facility as they would normally. This has serious animal welfare implications because the animals have half as much space as they need including access to feed and water is reduced by 50%. Three or more weeks and the only alternative is to euthanise animals just like what is occurring now. You have a pipeline of pigs coming every week and cannot turn it off...and that pipeline is 43 weeks long (16 weeks of pregnancy, 3 weeks of lactation and 24 weeks of post-weaning growth).
Now, the poultry industry is similar in many respects...but more easy to shut off the pipeline by not setting or hatching the weekly batch of chicks. However, broiler chickens (genetically improved for fast and efficient growth and high yields of breast meat) cannot be held one or two weeks longer than normal. Their skeletal structure will not support the additional weight that these birds would gain in the 7-14 extra days.