Becoming killable – meatpacking and kinship among covid-19

In the early months of Covid-19, meatpacking plants were designated "essential" infrastructure, sending laborers back to work, despite the high risk. Animal bodies were deemed essential to produce, but the human bodies producing them were not deemed essential to protect. Concurrently, the zoonotic nature of COVID-19 challenged dominant narratives of human exceptionalism, reminding us of our animality and shared vulnerabilities. As the pandemic surged, the question of whose lives matter arose in social and political discourse, alongside critiques of social institutions and economic systems. This paper explores the multispecies intersections and potential kinships that were unveiled by Covid-19.