Perception versus reality of the COVID-19 pandemic in U.S. meat markets

Nicole Olynk Widmar; Nathanael M Thompson; Courtney Bir; Eugene Kwaku Mawutor Nuworsu

doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2022.108812

Perception versus reality of the COVID-19 pandemic in U.S. meat markets

Meat Sci. 2022 Jul:189:108812. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2022.108812. Epub 2022 Apr 3.

Authors

Nicole Olynk Widmar¹, Nathanael M Thompson², Courtney Bir³, Eugene Kwaku Mawutor Nuworsu²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. Electronic address: nwidmar@purdue.edu.
² Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
³ Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.

Abstract

Disruptions to meat markets during the COVID-19 pandemic spurred mass media attention. While media deeming the U.S. food system 'broken' garnered a great deal of attention, the actual production and meat availability data does not support this conclusion. The U.S. meat supply chain, while certainly strained and with measurable consequence during periods of adjustment, proved ultimately resilient and rebounded quickly. Increased attention on meat supply chains may drive continued efforts to improve resiliency, but analyses of online media and U.S. production and cold storage data do not support a narrative that the system 'broke', but was perhaps 'strained' and 'responded efficiently'. Findings indicate that public sentiment about U.S. meat supply overall was not as dominated by pandemic-era concerns as may be hypothesized.

Keywords: COVID-19; Consumer confidence; Food systems; Meat markets; Public perceptions.

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Humans
Meat / analysis
Pandemics*
Perception