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Running Head: Meat Packaging

Meat Packaging: Slaughterhouse Concerns
Raquel Zajac
College of the Desert, Palm Desert, California
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Work injuries are a cause for concern in slaughterhouse facilities. There are several
factors responsible for the time and place of these injuries such as: Large machinery being active
when not assigned, employees handling dangerous tools at time of slaughtering cattle as well as
processing them into meat, and theres also the lack of safety equipment provided for each
individual in the work environment. Not only have employees for slaughterhouses suffered from
injuries they have also been encouraged by supervisors not to report the issue or any of their
concerns for that matter. In return these workers have been given minor alternatives; one being a
couple days off work or even assigned a temporary job in another work area within the
department. Slaughterhouse concerns go unannounced and untreated for unless supported with
life-threatening affliction; these concerns need to be handled and not overlooked because many
lives are being put at risk every day.
One view over the matter representing slaughterhouse concerns is the attitude supervisors
present toward many of the employees and their situations regarding slaughterhouse safety
measures. They are not treated with fairness rather employers insinuate they are dispensable
candidates that can and will be easily replaced. (Schlosser 2002 pg.). To add on Schlosser
expresses how a specific worker for a meatpacking slaughterhouse was fired for multiple
accidents he was unable to recover from. The mans name was Kenny Dobbins a Monfort
employee that dedicated many years of his life to the company. One of the incidents which left
him nearly immobilized is when he broke his leg while stepping into an indentation on concrete
surface while on the job. He later experiences a heart attack which disables him and requires him
to retire at the age of. (Schlosser 2002).
Another viewpoint has been established over the meat packing firms and their sanitation.
Many of the slaughterhouse firms are said to not live up to safety standard working condition.
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The meat is most likely contaminated with life-threatening pathogens, linking to illness in
consumers and employees as a whole. (Sinclair 2006). An example is issued when Upton
explains how a man named Mikolas who worked in a meatpacking firm as a beef boner
contracted blood poisoning from contagions he was exposed to while on the job. Mikolass job
requires him along with other workers to wield dangerous blades and to slice through meat in a
fast-paced environment regardless of the risks. As a result to blood poisoning Mikolas has been
out of work twice within three years; first for 3 months and then for seven with blood poisoning
held accountable for both causes. (Sinclair 2006).
With these insights portraying an ailment in which slaughterhouse productivity limits its
workers, their families, and people in general, an anecdote needs to be enforced towards
slaughterhouse safety concerns in American society. To prevent meat from being contaminated
in the first place cattle should be raised in healthy environments not factories. Pathogens
originate from the food cattle eat, their living conditions, and are known to still maintain activity
when these animals are finally slaughtered and processed. At the time of slaughtering machines
are contaminated with diseases carried by cattle and are passed on to other meat. To lessen the
risks of contamination in foods Americans eat; safety measures are required, such as feeding
cattle grass like the herbivores theyre created to be not corn and other hazardous substitutes.
From there the cattle should be herded and raised in clean environments not in unsanitary
habitats where their manure is toxic because the food theyre eating. As a result cattle live in
knee-deep manure pits until their day of slaughtering because the manure is toxic and cant be
used as fertilizer in crops or be discarded because of its extremely dangerous elements.
To lessen more injuries and enforce safety regulations containing one safety agency will
disclose the variety of assumedly dishonest inspections validated by current agencies. Also
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having only one agency to infiltrate safety standards will bring more perspective to one of the
major problems at hand (employee injuries) and will acknowledge a solution with effective
safety measures to decrease the number of injuries in the future. Another resolution for injuries
in meatpacking firms is to assign workers safety uniforms that can be used repeatedly over and
over again even when employees are terminated from job. Announcing the importance of safety
procedures and working towards a better working environment will no doubt bring awareness to
employees. All it takes to prevent further injuries from happening is to acknowledge the fact that
they are happening each and every day and to try and make a difference in diminishing injuries
altogether.
In New Jersey as of January 14 of this year at one of the largest distributing veal and
lamb industries, cattle were said to be mistreated and the footage was caught on tape. A cows
neck was slit while it was still conscious protruding blood and was stun-gunned while being
conscious the entire time. There was also a baby calf incapable of walking that was dragged by
workers inhumanely. These animals were very much alive in the time of these acts, which only
begs the question how are these animals treated when being processed into meat? Even though
the company of Catelli Brothers claims that they do not process any downed calves into meat
that doesnt mention all the other cattle in their possession being handled. (Wayne 2014). Acts
of this sort happen often almost every day and Americans simply arent informed of the
mistreatment that goes on at the time of meat procedures.
A solution to the infliction implemented on these animals has been issued. The Food
Safety Program temporarily banned the Catelli Brothers Company for cruelty over handling
calves in an inhumane manner and for also not having the cow that was stunned fall unconscious
shortly after. With keen focus to these cruel acts the company is expected to file a cause for these
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inappropriate actions and to establish a solution to forbid this kind of cruelty from happening
again in the future. Though this is an approach requiring results for the cause and may fix the
circumstances as of right now; it is a temporary fix that wont hold up long-term in future
mistreatments to cattle. A more effective approach would be to enforce consequences for the
Catelli Brothers Inc. Company rather than momentarily shutting down their industry. Likewise
consumers should regroup and express their input towards this type of endeavor and sign a
petition. The more people involved with making a difference for these inhumane acts the more
likely they wont continue to happen.
Petaluma, Californias slaughterhouses concern lead to having meat recalled in attempt
to track down all meat distributed within the past year. Apparently the USDA announced that the
slaughterhouse was recalling at least 8.7 million pounds of meat because the animals processed
werent full inspected thoroughly. They were considered unfit for people to consume because the
animals were diseased and unhealthy. The company also recalled meat on January 8 of this year
for not completing inspection thoroughly. The meat was distributed to retail stores in Illinois,
Florida, California, and Texas and contained beef carcasses, oxtail, liver, cheeks, tripeetc.
(Digitale 2014).
Another slaughterhouse concern is that of food scarcity. Americans are said to have
access to less meat and dairy products by 2050. Jim Motavalli the editor of E/magazine uses
association member David Pimentel of Cornell University as a reference to support his
statement. Pimentel explains that by 2050 the U.S is likely to cease food export and the
American diet toward animal products now standing at 31 percent is assumed to drop to a mere
15 percent. As of right now Cattle, sheep and goats that are raised in slaughterhouses are
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becoming increasingly depleted around the world. As a result 800 million people dont get
enough food to even survive in society. (Motavalli 2010).
Meatpacking companies need to practice meat inspection thoroughly and keep work areas
sanitary. By doing this before meat is distributed into retail stores there will be less hassle and
better results. There would be no need to even consider recalling meat because it wont be a
concern in the first place. Meat should be handled carefully at all times and safety procedures
should be placed where workers can see them and abide by them. Also practicing cleanliness by
sustaining a sanitary environment will prevent pathogens from spreading and stop them dead in
their tracks.
Instead of raising small numbers of animals in unstable environments they should be
raised numerously and cared for in stable environments. Not compacted into small factories
where they never see sunlight and walk over one another in each others feces, rather in an open
space habitat where they are less likely to get sick and die. The lack of resources pertaining to
slaughterhouse development over animal production can be advanced with precaution to the
circumstance. One way is to make animal development in slaughterhouses more efficient to
minimize the likely cause for resource depletion by 2050. By providing more resources to an
increasing worldwide expansion of people slaughterhouses can reduce the number of people
unable to fend for themselves.
Finally, slaughterhouse injuries can be minimized by simply enforcing safety regulations
and by establishing workplace safety uniforms that can be used repeatedly by soon to be
employees. Also animal cruelty can be advanced and handled with having more people aware
and involved in the situation to find a solution. The matter of meat sanitation can be prevented
before handedly ahead of time before it gets recalled by the USDA or any other sanitation
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enforcing agencies by making sure the meat has been inspected thoroughly before distributing it
to retail stores. As for food scarcity the most prominent way to approach this matter is by
raising more animals to lessen the number of people not getting the resources they need to
acquire. (Motavalli 2010). There is no reason for slaughterhouses to produce meat thats been
contaminated, mistreat the animals at time of processing, not verify whether the meat is healthy,
or provide resources to an expectant society of starving people.

















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References
Digitale, R. (2014). Meat Recall Means Uphill Battle to Reopen Petaluma Slaughterhouse: The
Press Democrat.
Motavali, J. (2010). Factory-Farmed, Meat-Based Diets May Cause a Food Scarcity Crisis. In D.
A. Miller, Current Controversies. Factory Farming. Detroit: Greenhaven Press
Parry, W. (2014). Feds Suspend NJ Slaughterhouse; Cruelty Alleged. US News.
Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast Food Nation. Perennial edition. Library of Congress.
Sinclair, U. (2006). the jungle. New York: Modern Library.