Vegetarianism is more about animal cruelty in the meat industry
When people consider the reasons to become a vegetarian, they might first think of animal cruelty, food safety or health. But what about the human cruelty that exists in the meat packing industry?
Though labor issues taint a wide range of industries, I believe that none present such a simple opportunity for people to make a difference. This opportunity is to simply stop eating meat that comes from the shady processing plants in which human laborers are treated as less than human. I have made this sacrifice, and I can assure you it’s well worth it — it’s probably not even as painful as you think.
In 1906, Upton Sinclair published “The Jungle” and exposed the ills of the meatpacking industry to a shocked and concerned audience. Soon the Meat Inspection Act was passed, and by the 1930s, trade unions were forming in the industry. This resulted in better wages and improved working conditions.
“Improved” is a relative term, of course, but the difficulty of the job was adequately represented by its wage, which was higher than all other manufacturing wages and peaked at $20 per hour (adjusted for inflation) in the ’60s and ’70s ["Meatpacking in America: Still a Jungle Out There?" PBS, Dec. 15, 2006].
In the 1980s, though, things began to change. Plants moved to rural areas, productivity went up, skilled labor lost its value and efforts by employees to unionize were thwarted — some employers threatened termination of those who joined unions, which remains a trend today.
Consolidation created big business, which provided big profits. Attention to details, like the attitudes and health of workers, was lost in favor of this new efficiency. And little has changed there, either.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average wage of a meatpacking plant worker in the past five years has hovered around $11.50 per hour and is 30 percent less than the average manufacturing wage — a giant leap back from the high wages in the ’60s and ’70s.
And part of what keeps these wages so low is a willing workforce. Meat processing plants have discovered a source of laborers south of the U.S. border — ones who will work for a low wage, in grueling conditions and without forming unions. just south of the U.S. border. With few other options available for work in the rural areas to which immigrants relocate, companies can take advantage of these low-skill workers and use them up as if they were simply a natural resource.
One of the more hideous examples of social injustice in meatpacking involves a plant in Minneapolis that advertised high-paying factory jobs to Mexicans, promising housing and transportation. When the workers arrived in Minneapolis, they were dropped off at the local homeless shelter ["Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal," Eric Schlosser]. I think the absurdity and social recklessness of this practice goes without explanation.
Working in the plants is backbreaking and dangerous. Workers hold large, sharp knives in close proximity and are expected to keep up with an alarmingly fast conveyor belt while maintaining precision and receiving taunts from supervisors to work faster. Repetitive motion in long shifts often results in trauma to different parts of the body.
Injuries and accidents (at a rate of 25 percent) occur far too often and are vastly underreported. Employers often threaten workers with losing their jobs if they report the injury. In addition, if shifts are missed because of hospitalization or bed rest, the worker may no longer have a job waiting for them when they are well again ["Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers' Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants," Human Rights Watch, Jan. 25, 2005].
Our own desires and senses of entitlement to eat meat at every meal drove production up so high as to cause workers to go from processing hundreds to tens of thousands of animals per day. If human rights organizations and unions work hard to improve conditions and are accompanied by a decrease in demand of the meat processed at these plants, then we could start to see change. If demand decreases, then production speed will likely decrease and workers will likely have safer environments.
Research the meat you buy. Learn where it comes from and who processes it. You might discover that many meat processors are secretive about their practices, which is a red flag.
Instead, try a local butcher or meatpacker. You might be surprised by the increased options and better taste and quality.
If you’re like me and can’t afford to support the pricier brands that treat workers well, just pass on meat altogether. Show some love for your fellow man in a simple ritual we practice three times daily.
Try to leave meat off your plate, even for a week — you may find it easier than you thought.
— Brennan Clary is a junior from Phoenix, Ariz. majoring in social work and psychology
Vegetarian, Raw and Vegan with Bill & Sheila
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