'The food supply chain is breaking': Industry giant warns coronavirus could cause meat shortages

One of the nation's largest meat processors issued a dire warning about the food supply chain during the coronavirus pandemic.

Arkansas-based Tyson Foods purchased a full-page ad in Sunday's edition of the New York Times warning that the COVID-19 crisis was forcing the closure of meatpacking facilities and disrupting the supply chain, reported Yahoo News.

“Millions of animals — chickens, pigs and cattle — will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities,” the ad reads. “The food supply chain is breaking.”

“As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain,” wrote John Tyson, the company's chairman of the board. “As a result, there will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed.”