Misadventures of Slaughterhouses
Fast Food Nation & In The Jungle
Introduction to Slaughterhouse Workers
"Knocker, sticker, shackler, romper, First Legger, Knuckle Dropper, Navel Boner, Splitter Top/Bottom Butt, Food Kill Chain - the names of job assignments at a modern slaughterhouse." (Chapter 8, page 172)
The Cattle
"At times the animals are crowded so closely together it looks like a sea of cattle, a mooing, moving mass of brown and white fur that goes on for acres." (Chapter 7, page 150)
"Cattle were herded up wooden ramps to the top floor, where they were struck on the head with a sledgehammer, slaughtered, then dissembled by skilled workers.".....Coming out as sides of beef, cans of beef, or boxes of sausages ready to be loaded in railcars."(Chapter 7, page 152)
"the meat would be shoveled into carts, and the man who did the shoveling would not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one." (Chapter 14)
"Carcasses swing so fast along the rail that you have to keep an eye on them constantly, dodge them, watch your step, or one will slam you and throw you onto the bloody concrete floor." (Chapter 8, page 170)
"Sides of beef suspended from an overhead trolley swing toward a group of men. Each worker has a large knife in one hand and a steel hook in the other. They grab the meat with their hooks and attack it fiercely with their knives." (Chapter 8, page 170)
The Pieces
"It was law that cows of that sort came along with the others, and whoever noticed it would tell the boss, and the boss would start up a conversation with the government inspector, and the two would walk away." (Chapter 5)
- In, In The Jungle, Upton Sinclair was talking about sick or pregnant cows. The cows that were pregnant would be slaughtered, and the baby cows inside them would also be slaughtered, and even though they weren't supposed to use pregnant cows or the cow's fetuses for meat, they still used them.
"In the end Jurgis saw them go into the chilling rooms with the rest of the meat, being carefully scattered here and there so that they could not be identified." (Chapter 5)
"There would be hams found spoiled, some of them with an odor so bad that a man could hardly bear to be in the room with them." (Chapter 14)
The Injuries
"In The Jungle (1906) Upton Sinclair described a litany of horrors: severe back and shoulder injuries, lacerations, amputation, exposure to dangerous chemicals, and memorable, a workplace accident in which a man fell into a vat and got turned into lard." (Chapter 7, page 152)
"He saw friends get badly injured on the job, lost the middle finger on his right had while using a saw, got knocked unconscious when a side of beef fell off a hook and struck him in the head." (Chapter 7, page 156)
"Meat packing workers routinely develop back problems, shoulder problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, and "trigger finger" (a syndrome in which a finger becomes frozen in a curled position)" (Chapter 8, page 173)
Bubbly Creek
Odors in Lexington
The Cleaning Process
Should we?
After learning all of the bad things that happen during the slaughtering/packing process, does that discourage you from eating meat?
Fast Food & Your Grocery Store
It's not just fast food that is the problem.
In the end
It's not only cows and pigs and meat, though....