Dan Charles

When COVID-19 infections forced pork companies to close processing plants, some farmers predicted that it would force them to euthanize millions of hogs. The actual number has been much lower.

The charitable organizations called food banks are getting a lot of attention and donations right now. But they aren't nearly as important or effective as SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is buying billions worth of food to give it to food banks. But food banks say that SNAP, also known as food stamps, is a better way to get food to people in need.

A loudspeaker-equipped van is circling the streets of Immokalee, Fla., and broadcasting warnings about COVID-19 to prevent the coronavirus from spreading among farmworkers.

NPR science and business correspondents talk about the protection of the workers — those working now, and those who will start soon, in a variety of industries.

An NPR science correspondent takes listener questions about why some shelves in the grocery stores are empty and how the food supply is affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

An NPR science correspondent takes listener questions about why some shelves in the grocery stores are empty and how the food supply is affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Tyson Foods is halting work at a processing site in Waterloo, Iowa, because people have tested positive for the virus. Other plants also have closed, cutting U.S. pork production by about a quarter.

Smithfield Foods didn't want to stop slaughtering hogs at its Sioux Falls pork plant, even after hundreds of workers got sick with the coronavirus. Then the city's mayor forced the company's hand.

Smithfield Foods has closed one of the biggest pork plants in the country after nearly 300 workers tested positive for the coronavirus. The company is warning of disruptions to the pork supply.

Several processing plants in the U.S. are sitting idle this week because workers are sick with the coronavirus. Other facilities are still operating, but fewer workers are showing up.

Lab studies have shown hydroxychloroquine has blocked the coronavirus from entering cells, but scientists have not reported results yet of whether it can work as a treatment.

The Trump administration decided against opening special window for Affordable Care Act sign ups. "It's like they're twisting themselves into pretzels to avoid anything" Obamacare, said one.

Some Americans, fearing food shortages from COVID-19, have cleaned out supermarket shelves. Yet there's too much food in some places. Farmers are dumping milk and vegetables that they can't sell.

Instead of reopening health care exchanges for those who don't qualify for Medicaid and don't have employer-based insurance, Trump is proposing paying hospitals directly. But it might not be enough.

Computer models predict that between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans will die from COVID-19 in the months ahead. Administration officials said public health interventions could still lower the toll.

Farmworkers are still working during the coronavirus epidemic. They're essential. But they're also at greater risk of infection.

COVID-19 has turned one end of the food industry — stores and restaurants — on its head. At the other end, food production hums along as usual, but that could change if workers catch the virus.

Congress required alcohol in gasoline 15 years ago, launching a multi-billion dollar biofuel industry. For differing reasons, gasoline companies and environmentalists now say this law is out of touch.

Grass on the prairie is growing taller because there's now more carbon dioxide in the air. Paradoxically, though, this might be hurting wildlife, because the grass is less nutritious.