Killing 22 hogs a minute, meatpackers test old limits of safety

[Judi Lynn]

Andrew Martin, Bloomberg
Published 12:11 pm CST, Friday, February 1, 2019

In an Illinois River town where Abe Lincoln once toiled as a country lawyer, the slaughterhouse of the future runs at a speed that generations of Midwestern farmers would have dismissed as fantasy.

At other factories, as many as seven government inspectors are stationed along the slaughter line to look for signs of contamination or disease. Here, in Beardstown, Illinois, workers bear more of that responsibility.

Four federal inspectors officiate like chair umpires at a tennis match. They try to call out potential hazards as carcasses whiz by, before getting cut into chops and hams. Owned by Brazil-based JBS, known for its Swift pork brand, the plant is a model of lethal efficiency. It kills up to 21,000 hogs each day-as many as 1,300 per hour.

. . .

The Trump administration wants to offer the Beardstown model to other slaughterhouses and estimates 40 plants will ultimately participate. Collectively, these process more than 90 percent of the 120 million hogs killed in the U.S. every year.

More:
https://www.chron.com/news/article/Killing-22-hogs-a-minute-meatpackers-test-old-13580938.php

[underpants]

1. Smithfield Tar Heel NC plant "processes" 30,000 per day

Every day.

[democratisphere]

2. Glad pork is off my menu.

God only knows what is in this stuff and not to forget to mention the cruelty factor.

[Fuzzpope]

3. .

Where the hell do all those animals come from?!

7,665,000 a year slain for "food".

Just one plant.

No wonder the earth itself wants us gone.

[radical noodle]

4. A sow might well have

10 (or 20 if bred twice) babies a year. It normally takes less than a year for the baby to be ready to slaughter. If you think that's bad, start counting chickens.

[dalton99a]

5. In Trumpworld, government exists to help rich people get richer

In 2016, a trade group, the North American Meat Institute, gave its public service award to Al Almanza, a longtime top food safety official at the USDA. Almanza defended faster line speeds, shepherded the poultry inspection rule and suggested changes to hog inspection would be next.

He retired from government work in July 2017, before the hog inspection rule was published. His new job? Global head of food safety and quality at JBS, owner of the Beardstown plant. Almanza declined a request to be interviewed.

[OxQQme]

6. How fast do you want to go? How big is your wallet?

http://www.smithfield.com/smithfield-racing-hub/



http://www.smithfield.com/meal-ideas/how-about-ham/

http://www.smithfield.com/meal-ideas/flavors-of-the-season/cinnamon-roll-pigs-blanket/