A ransomware attack that temporarily froze the country’s second biggest producer of beef, pork and poultry upended the national food system this week, highlighting the vulnerabilities in the highly consolidated meat industry.
With a growing range of plant-based and meat-alternatives on the market and increasing interest among meat-eaters to engage in this category, what is preventing them from reaching for mushroom burgers?
Beef Prices Rise, Shortages Feared as White House Confronts Russia Over JBS Meat Packer Hack
On 6/1/21 at 9:17 PM EDT
Meat prices were already on the rise as fears of shortages were amplified by the cyberattack that halted U.S. livestock slaughters by JBS, the world s largest meat processing company.
The White House believes that the ransomware attack was carried out by a group of Russian cybercriminals and directly confronted the Russian government over the issue after being informed of the attack by JBS. It happened only weeks after a similar attack brought down the Colonial Pipeline, causing gas prices in parts of the country to surge and fears of shortages to come to fruition as panicked motorists flocked to pumps.