Unit 1 - The Meat Industry

Who were the 3 explorers that spread livestock to the Americas? What did they all have in common?

• Columbus

  • Brought sheep & cattle to the West Indies in 1493

• Cortez

  • Took offspring of Columbus’ cattle to Mexico in 1519

• DeSoto

  • Brought pigs to Florida in 1539

• All explorers originally from Spain

What did Lord Delaware do?

Brought cows, oxen, and goats to the English colonies in 1610

Who was the nation’s first meat packer? What did he do to achieve this?

William Pynchon

• Salted pork bellies in barrels to preserve meat

What did Benjamin Franklin propose in 1773? What did he claim this method did?

• A “more compassionate” slaughter method—electrical stunning

• Claimed that electricity made the meat “uncommonly tender”

Where did Uncle Sam originally stem from?

A meat packer named Sam Wilson, who stamped his barrels with “Uncle Sam’s" pork or beef during the War of 1812.

Where was the first meat packing plant in the U.S.? What later took the role of “meat processing hub” of the U.S.?

• Porkopolis, modern-day Cincinnati

• Chicago became the hub

Who was the assembly-line style production in the meat industry inspired by?

Ford’s car assemblies

What notable event occurred from 1852-1865?

Railroad reached Chicago, allowing stockyards and slaughter to move west

• Subsequently caused cattle drives from south → north and east → west

What notable event happened in 1867?

1st shipment of frozen beef & refrigerated rail car

Does grading = inspection?

NO! They are two separate things

Which college had the first meats facility?

University of Minnesota

What notable event began in 1892?

Animals were being used for medicine

The 1900’s was the decade of…?

Food safety legislation and implementing inventions

What happened in 1904?

Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle

What was Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle originally written to do? What did it do instead?

Written for worker’s rights, but caused massive controversy over the health and safety conditions of meat processing facilities.

What notable event happened in 1906?

The Meat Inspection Act was passed, which was mandatory and rigorous for meat facilities

What notable event happened in 1996?

BSE (mad cow disease) shattered the U.K.’s beef industry

What notable event happened in 2003?

BASE (mad cow disease) arrives in the U.S. on Christmas

• Caused mammalian-to-ruminant feed bans

• Prohibited Specified Risk Materials (SRM’s) from feeds, pet foods and fertilizers

What notable event happened in 2005?

FDA approved for beta agonists in swine and beef feeding

• Major shift in red meat yield

What notable event happened in 2011?

Creation of Plant-based “meats”

What is a Fed animal?

Young animals managed and fed for meat production

• Steers, heifers, barrows, gilts, wethers, ewes

How is the value of meat from Fed animals determined?

• Quantity (weight and yield)

• Quality (maturity and marbling)

In Fed animals, higher quality carcasses are (more/less) valuable

More

What is a Non-fed animal?

Mature animals harvested for meat after they are no longer productive for a specific purpose (breeding, work, milking, etc)

• Bulls, cows, boars, sows, rams, ewes

How is the value of a Non-fed animal determined?

• Quantity ONLY (weight and yield)

The US is the world’s second largest cattle feeding industry and producer of beef for domestic and export use — (t/f)

False! The U.S. is the first.

How is the U.S. beef industry dived?

Two production sectors:

• Cow-calf operations

• Cattle feeding

What is a cow-calf operation?

An operation that maintains a herd of beef cows for raising calves

• Those not kept for breeding purposes are sold into the feeding system for slaughter

The US is the world’s third largest producer and consumer of pork products — (t/f)

True

What is Vertical Integration?

A strategy that allows a company to mainstream by taking direct ownership of various stages of production

• Can theoretically own the piglets from birth to slaughter

The US is the world’s largest producer and exporter of poultry meat — (t/f)

False. While the U.S. IS the world’s largest producer, it is not the worlds largest exported (it is second in this regard)

What are sheep raised for?

Meat (lamb or mutton) AND wool

Has sheep and wool industries in the U.S. seen any changes? Are these changes positive or negative?

Yes; negative, as the industry is shrinking

What are the 3 distinct processes used in the meat industry?

1. Slaughter/harvest & carcass chilling

2. Carcass fabrication/minimal processing

   1. Minimal processing - ground beef

3. Further processing

   1. Characterized by the changing of protein nature or adding any non-meat components to the original meat

What does the “slaughter process” refer to?

The steps followed from the time the live animal is stunned/immobilized, through the dressing process to the point that the carcass is placed in refrigeration for cooling

• Conversion of muscle → meat

Fabrication

Process of taking a carcass and breaking it into smaller components and more useful end products for consumers

• Based on Ford’s assembly lines

How are meat products divided? What are the categories?

Based on the degree of preparation applied:

• Minimal processing (grinding, chopping, mixing)

• Further processing (curing, smoking, cooking)

Both classifications and their subclasses refer to the amount and type of processing applied to meat when merchandised to the end user

What is sodium nitrite used for? Why do some dislike its usage?

• To improve food safety, extend product shelf-life, and slow development of rancidity

• Implicated by some researchers to be associated with certain types of cancer