If Upton Sinclair were alive today ...
1150 Connecticut Ave., NW 12th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
202/587-4200
www.meatami.com
www.meatsafety.org
www.animalhandling.org
He'd be Amazed by the U.S. Meat Industry.
Upton Sinclair wrote one of the
most important books of the 20th
Century: The Jungle. His book
examined life in Chicago from
the point of view of a Polish
immigrant working in the city's
factories.
His book inspired passage of key
laws that today continue to
ensure a safe food supply, safe
workplaces, fair treatment of
workers, and a host of consumer
and environmental protections.
In the 100 years since The Jungle's publication, dozens of important consumer
safety, worker safety and protection and environmental laws have been passed
including:
Food and Drug Act, 1906
Federal Meat Inspection Act, 1906 (established the nation's meat inspection system)
Federal Trade Commission Act, 1914
Packers & Stockyards Act, 1921
Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938
Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 1938
Poultry Products Inspection Act, 1957 (established the nation's poultry inspection system)
Humane Slaughter Act, 1958 and 1978
Civil Rights Act, 1964
Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1970
Safe Drinking Water Act, 1974
Clean Water Act, 1977
Clean Air Act, 1980
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund),
1980
Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, 1990
Americans With Disabilities Act, 1991
Family and Medical Leave Act, 1993
Page 2
Experts
The following independent experts have agreed to offer comment on these issues.
ANIMAL WELFARE
Stan Curtis, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Animal Science
University of Illinois
217/344-4811
Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Animal Sciences
Colorado State University
970/229-0703
FOOD SAFETY/NUTRITION
Mindy Brashears, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director, of the
International Center for Food Industry
Excellence
Texas Tech University
806/742-2805, ext 235
Mohammad Koohmaraie, Ph.D.
Director, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center
Agricultural Research Service
402/762-4109
Elsa A. Murano, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Agriculture and Life
Sciences, Director of the Texas Agricultural
Experiment Station
Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences
Texas A&M University
979/845-3211
Gary C. Smith, Ph.D.
Professor, Animal Sciences,
Colorado State University
970/491-5226
John N. Sofos, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Animal Sciences
Colorado State University
970/491-7703
Martin Wiedmann, Ph.D., Dr. med. Vet
Assistant Professor, Department of Food
Science
Cornell University
607/254-2838
ENVIRONMENT
Robert Benson
Director
EPA Sector Strategies Division,
Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
202/566-2954
WORKER SAFETY
John L. Henshaw, CIH
Former Assistant Secretary of Labor and
Administrator of the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration
239/395-2023
Paula O. White
Director, Cooperative
and State Programs
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
202/693-2200
Page 11
He'd be Amazed by the U.S. Meat Industry.
Environment
U.S. business and industry have
grown in the United States, and
so too have the protections
provided to those we employ, the
animals we handle and to the
consumers who buy our
products. Today, the U.S. meat
and poultry industry is a $100
billion industry employing
500,000 people.
Meat processing plant environmental
engineers must ensure that their facilities
continuously meet stringent Clean Air Act and
Clean Water Act treatment standards,
discharge limits, and reporting requirements.
State-of-the-art air scrubbers and wastewater
treatment equipment are closely monitored
and controlled.
•
More and more of the U.S. meat industry is
adopting "environmental management
systems" to carefully analyze ways to
continuously improve their environmental
performance. Many have achieved ISO
14001 status, and others are working to
achieve that status.
industry has created a four-tiered set of
• The
environmental "best practices" to encourage
measurable, continuous improvement.
Page 10
As in 1906, it continues to be a
magnet industry for employees
born outside the U.S. While the
work is challenging, the pay is
extremely competitive. Following
are some important facts about
the amazing changes in the U.S.
meat industry throughout the last
century.
Page 3
He'd be Amazed by the U.S. Meat Industry.
Animal Welfare
Affordability
Percent of U.S. Income Spent on
Meat and Poultry
Soure: USDA Agricultural Baseline Projections to 2015,
February 2006. Economic Research Service, USDA
•
Percent Disposable Income Spent
on Food at Home, 2002
*
U.S.
6.4 *
United Kingdom
10.2
Canada
10.4
Netherlands
10.9
Mexico
24
India
48.4
Philippines
52.9
In 1906, the Humane Slaughter Act of 1958 and
1978 hadn't even been contemplated. Today,
meat plants every day must comply with this
important law. Compliance is monitored by
federal inspectors in meat packing plants during
every minute of operation.
The U.S. meat industry is actively engaged in
voluntary animal welfare programs. More than
95 percent of meat plants conduct regular animal
welfare audits and use third party auditors at
least annually.
U.S. figure declined to 5.4 percent in 2004.
In 1970, Americans spent 4.1 percent
of their disposable income on meat
and poultry. In 2004, they spent 2
percent.
•
Americans spend less than any other
developed nation in the world on food
broadly and on meat and poultry specifically.
•
U.S. consumers buy more meat and poultry,
but spend a smaller proportion of disposable
income for these purchases, continuing a
long-term trend.
•
Over the next 10 years, consumer meat and
poultry expenditures are expected to decline
from about 2 percent to 1.3 percent of
disposable income.
During the audits, key welfare indicators are
measured carefully and monitored over time. They
include vocalizations, which can indicate stress, slips
and falls during movement, which can injure animals,
and effective use of stunning equipment to ensure
that livestock feel no pain.
Source: USDA Bureau of Economic Analysis, USDA Economic Research Service.
Page 4
Page 9
He'd be Amazed by the U.S. Meat Industry.
Employment and Wages
Worker Safety
Rate of Injury & Illness Cases per 100 Full-time Workers
United States 1991 - 2004
Employment and Earnings for Meat Industries
Compared With Food -- 2004
Total Recordable Cases
Meat packing
Total employees
Production workers
Average weekly earnings
Average weekly hours
Average hourly earnings
Total Lost Work Day Cases
35
149,200
132,000
$484.87
40.6
$12.03
30
25
20
15
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
•
According to an estimate by the United Food and Commercial Workers, 60 percent of meat
packing employees are represented by the union. This compares rather favorably to the
overall U.S. private sector representation rate of 7.9 percent.
•
•
•
Average wages in the meat packing industry are more than twice the minimum wage for jobs
that require no previous experience or formal training.
•
Hourly workers in packing plants on average earned $12.03 per hour or $25,000 per year plus
benefits for jobs in rural areas with low cost of living.
•
•
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
20
04
20
03
20
02
20
01
20
00
19
99
19
98
19
97
19
96
In 1990, the U.S. meat industry partnered with the United Food and Commercial Workers
Union and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to develop the first ever industry
specific voluntary ergonomic guidelines. OSHA Publication 3123 "Ergonomics Program
Management Guidelines for Meatpacking Plants" was issued in August of 1990, and has
formed the framework of significant, and very successful, ergonomics progress ever since.
Since that time, "lost workday" illnesses and injuries -- those
requiring days away from work to recuperate -- have declined
by nearly 60 percent. And, "total recordable injuries" -meaning all those requiring entry on the plant OSHA Log -have declined by nearly 70 percent. These improvements
continue on a steady trend as the industry continues to
address workplace safety issues.
•
Despite claims by some writers and activists that the meat industry is "the most dangerous
industry in America" from the standpoint of fatal occupational injuries, the statistics clearly
disagree. In 2004, the meat packing industry's rate of fatal occupational injuries was 5.4
(fatalities per 100,000 workers). While this rate is slightly higher than the corresponding 4.3
rate for all private industry categories, it is lower than 63 other industry groups reported by
BLS.
•
As perspective, "newspaper publishers" experienced a fatality rate of 6.5 per 100,000 workers
for 2004. "Logging workers" had the highest fatality rate of 92.4, and "fishers and related
fishing workers" had a rate of 86.4.
By comparison, in Iowa - the nation's largest pork state - preschool teachers in 2004 earned
$20,490; paramedics earned $24,680; reporters and correspondents earned $29,300 and
kindergarten teachers earned $34,670.
Likewise, in Kansas - the nation's largest beef state - preschool teachers earned $24,550;
paramedics earned $21,590; reporters and correspondents earned $29,560; and
kindergarten teachers earned $36,700.
19
95
0
19
94
1,497,900
1,180,900
$509.66
39.3
$12.98
5
19
93
All Food
Total employees
Production workers
Average weekly earnings
Average weekly hours
Average hourly earnings
10
19
92
119,100
94,500
$509.99
39.4
$12.95
19
91
Meat Processing
Total employees
Production workers
Average weekly earnings
Average weekly hours
Average hourly earnings
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Page 8
Page 5
He'd be Amazed by the U.S. Meat Industry.
Nutrition
Food Safety
Prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in
Ready-to-Eat Meat and Poultry Products*
Prevalence
of E.of coli
in Ground
Prevalence
E. coliO157:H7
O157:H7 in Ground
Beef* Beef*
Percent Positives
1
3
0.8
2.5
0.6
Total Fat and Saturated Fat in Popular Cuts of Meat and Poultry
Skinless, Boneless Turkey Breast
0.20.6
Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast
0.9
3.0
2
0.4
Pork Top Loin Chop
1.3
Eye Round Roast and Steak
1.4
3.6
1.5
0.2
1
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Fiscal Year
0.5
Top Sirloin Steak
0
95% Lean Ground Beef
*Results of raw ground beef products analayzed for E. coli O157:H7
in products
federal plants
* Results of raw ground beef
analyzed for E. coli
O157:H7 in federal plants.
1.9
Saturated Fat
4.9
Total Fat
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Pork Tenderloin
Flank Steak
Like all agricultural commodities -- and like the human body itself -- raw meat and poultry can
contain bacteria. Over the last two decades, new technologies in meat and poultry plants have
helped reduce bacteria levels dramatically.
2005 Foodborne Illness
Incidence Compared to 1996:
Significant Declines
CHANGE
E. coli O157:H7
- 29%
Listeria
- 32%
Campylobacter
- 30%
Salmonella
- 9%
2.4
5.1
2004
*Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) results of readyto-eat products analyzed for Listeria monocytogenes.
PATHOGEN
4.0
Pork Rib Chop
Pork Sirloin Chop
1.9
5.4
2.6
6.3
2.9
8.3
3.1
Concern about fat and cholesterol
encouraged the production of leaner
animals beginning in the late 1950s and
closer trimming of outside fat on retail
cuts of meat beginning in 1980s.
8.6
•
•
Source: Centers for Disease Control
•
Since 1999, the incidence of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef samples tested by USDA has
declined by 80 percent.
•
Salmonella in ground beef has declined 75 percent since 1998. Incidence of Listeria
monocytogenes on ready-to-eat meat and poultry has declined from 4.5 percent incidence
rate in 1990 to 0.55 in 2004.
•
The marketing of a variety of lower fat
ground and processed products has
lowered the meat and poultry group's
contribution to total fat and saturated fat in
the food supply.
Despite near record-high per capita
consumption of total meat in 2000, the
proportion of fat in the U.S. food supply
from meat, poultry, and fish declined from
33 percent in the 1950s to 24 percent in
2000.
Similarly, the proportion of saturated fat
contributed by meat, poultry, and fish fell
from 33 percent in the 1950s to 26 percent
in 2000.
Source: USDA Agriculture Fact Book 2001-2002.
•
Amazingly, the total bacteria count found today on raw ground beef is lower that the level
typically found on ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold already cooked in the early
1970s.
Page 6
Page 7