An animal rights activist posing as Smithfield Foods CEO Dennis Organ appeared on the Fox News show “Mornings with Maria” hosted by Maria Bartiromo.
The activist stated company farms can be “Petri dishes for new diseases.” Keira Lombardo, chief administrative officer for Smithfield Foods, immediately condemned the comments, saying their farms are “a recognized leader in animal wellbeing and care.”
Bartiromo apologized to Smithfield and Organ, stating, “it appears we have been punked.”
North American Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts issued a statement saying, “While fringe groups waste time on selfish publicity and pranks, Smithfield and other Meat Institute members have successfully reversed the pandemic’s impact with measures that have cut infection rates for meat and poultry workers to less than eight times the rates in the general population.”
