Livestock workers and their communities face over 51 to 75% higher COVID contagion rates, and 37 to 50% more deaths. The pandemic has highlighted that the high risk faced by meat workers is not only linked to the labour-intensive nature of the job and plant ergonomics, but also that current labour management strategies of protein producers exacerbate this risk across the supply chain.

The industry’s heavy reliance on human capital amplifies the material impact labour issues have on the business. COVID showed how failing to protect meat workers drives labour shortages that cause immediate material damages to producers, including unexpected costs, contracted production capacity, disruption of operations and food supply chains globally. Meat producers around the world are now facing fines, prosecution investigations, employee litigation, greater regulation specific to labour-management in the industry, and even bans on imports to leading consumer markets like China for fear of food contamination.

Therefore, there is a clear need to strengthen the labour standards and corporate practices of animal protein producers beyond the pandemic to mitigate labour risk in the industry. This is particularly relevant in the face of broader industry trends that pose serious human capital challenges, such as the transition to a green economy and automation. Strong labour management strategies will be instrumental to defining the social impact of future food production.

Long term management of labour risk (beyond the COVID-19 emergency) focused exclusively on meat producers across regions is not currently addressed through existing investor engagements. Analysis by FAIRR has shown that even where labour policies are compliant with the International Labour Standards (ILS), animal protein companies are not disclosing clear evidence of enforcement and tracking, reducing the ability of investors to monitor the effectiveness of risk management systems.