This essay primarily outlines the significant changes that the American meat packing business has undergone from the 19th to the present-day 21st centuries. Increased urbanization and industrialization increased the demand, which prompted the construction of slaughterhouses to effectively process the high level of meat demand that resulted. (Boyd & William 643). This sector deals with the slaughtering of livestock creatures as well as all the packaging and delivery procedures. Cattle, pigs, and sheep are examples of these creatures. This is all intended for human sustenance. In the 19th century the immigrants were the ones that provided the labor characterized by poor working conditions. The colonists used different ancient technology in the meat handling industry for storage and shipping such as salting and smoking. To meet the demand for meat, large cattle ranches were established in different parts of America. This cattle ranches led to the emergence of big companies of the Mid-West; Swift, Armour and Cudahy (Paul & Catherine 534). This large companies established branch houses. The mode of transport used then was railroads. However, river transport was also used as most the cattle ranches were found along the Mississippi river. Later on, animal transport was used to provide local delivery. Animals such as the horse and the mule-drawn wagons were used. Towns that enjoyed the local delivery included Natchez, Greenville, Vicksburg and Tupelo. The completion of the Atlantic seaboard opened the door for the shipment of meat products to the east at a faster rate.
Towns that were a distant from the major companies and branches relied on home slaughtered meat or dry-curedand canned meats (Paul & Catherine 536). This was delivered by peddlers who worked within 40 mile distance from the branch houses. Through the civil war the meat canning industry was seen to have gotten a major boost with developments in canned beef and roast beef trade. Other meat that was been packed by certain companies was the packed ox, chicken, ham and soups. In the 1880, efficient transport had evolved with railroad refrigerators cars. These cars were used to transport fresh meat from the slaughter houses to the nearby towns. No spoilage of the fresh meat was experienced. With this improvement of refrigeration it allowed to reduction of the ancient technology of preservation such as salting of ham and bacon. Smoking meat was also replaced by this new technological advancement of preservation (Boyd & William 657). With increase in demand for meat production, meat packing and storage required advancements since bulk meat was to be produced to cater for the growing demand. This led to introduction of freezers that were able to store meat at extreme low temperatures.
Freezing therefore became a method for bulk storage for fresh meat that was waiting to be canned. The introduction of large rail terminals easened transportation at almost any location. Larger profits were made by the meat industries as cheap labor was being offered by the African immigrants under forceful conditions. It is during the 1920’s that the employees of the meat industry started to champion for their rights by forming workers’ unions (Arnould 19). These unions were to serve as a channel of the employees to openly fight against any brutal working conditions. During 1950s the unions had made greater strides in the fight against the poor conditions and were now against the rising racial segregation.
It is during this period that the meat handling companies opted for technology that would reduce labor force and thus reduce the need for workers. It is seen that by the end of the 20th century, most the work in meat packing was done mostly by impoverished workforce. The livestock handlers were generally Irish. The African-Americans usually could not work in the mechanical trades whereas the Mexicans would work in the freezers. The living quarters were also segregated according to the workers’ ethnic backgrounds. After a continued series of boycotts from the workers the Congress passed the Wagner Act, which encouraged a collective bargaining. According to the law the employer must bargain in good faith with labor organization, if authorized by majority of employees.
The meat packing industry caused an environmental degradation. This is because the cattle kept were producing large amounts of feces and urine. This brought about the emergence of constituents meat processing industries, such as manure and fertilizers’ industries. This led to an increase in soil fertility as the manure produced was a valuable resource in agriculture. With introduction of fertilizers increase in the agricultural products was witnessed thus increasing food productivity.
The meat industry has undergone tremendous changes with the advancement in technology. The government is also seen to be keen by introducing certain sets of inspection procedures that are aimed at food safety (McMichael 1257). The regulations set aside by the United States Department of Agriculture involve; Standard sanitation requirements and daily monitoring records. The second is the antimicrobial treatments in slaughtering plants for the first time to be applied to carcasses prior to chilling. The third requirement is the time and temperature requirement that would be required to maintain the carcasses and raw meat at a specified temperature during handling, holding and shipping.
The meat packing industry was a major boost to the economy of the United States. This is because the large demand for farm products at very affordable prices made meat production very affordable. The exportations of the animal products to countries like the Great Britain earned America large amounts of foreign exchange.
It is quite evident that as we approach the end of 20th century meat processing and package has become a highly sophisticated industry due to the advancements in technology (Paul & Catherine 536). The use of modern computers and scientific knowledge has a brought about lots of improvements in this industry. The United States of America is among the leading countries that incorporates technology in their industries. Therefore it is evident that numerous changes have occurred from the 19th century to date. The rapid advancement in technology is seen to have brought about better preservation methods that can preserve the meat products for longer periods. The meat packing industry has also geared to improvements in the transport sector, such as, cars fitted with refrigerators are now used to transport meat products.
Works Cited
Arnould, Richard J. "Changing patterns of concentration in American meat packing, 1880–1963." Business History Review 45.01 (1971): 18-34.
Boyd, William. "Making meat: Science, technology, and American poultry production." Technology and Culture 42.4 (2001): 631-664.
McMichael, Anthony J., et al. "Food, livestock production, energy, climate change, and health." The lancet 370.9594 (2007): 1253-1263.
Paul, Catherine J. Morrison. "Cost economies and market power: the case of the US meat packing industry." Review of Economics and Statistics 83.3 (2001): 531-540.
