If Upton Sinclair were alive today, he'd be AMAZED by the U.S. meat industry!

Upton Sinclair's landmark book The Jungle, published in 1906, inspired the passage of key laws that today help ensure a safe food supply, safe workplaces, fair treatment of workers and a host of consumer and environmental protections. Today, American consumers enjoy a meat supply that is more abundant and affordable than any other in the world and our products are among the safest found anywhere.

The U.S. meat packing and processing industry provides jobs and benefits for more than 270,000
people. While the work is challenging, the pay is extremely competitive.  

Employment and Pay:

The U.S. meat industry pays good wages.

• Hourly workers in meat packing plants on average earned $12.03 per hour or
roughly $25,200 a year.

• The average work week in the meat packing industry is 40.6 hours.

• By comparison, in Iowa - the nation's largest pork state - preschool teachers in 2004 earned  $20,490; paramedics earned $24,680; reporters and correspondents earned $29,300 kindergarten
teachers earned $34,670.

• Likewise, in Kansas - the nation's largest beef state - preschool teachers earned $24,550; paramedics earned $21,590; correspondents earned $29,560; and kindergarten teachers
earned $36,700.
Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics

Contribution to U.S. Economy:

The U.S meat and poultry industry contributes significantly to the nation's economy and helps support our rural communities.  

The U.S. meat industry is the largest sector of agriculture and agriculture is the largest sector of
the U.S. economy. Meat industry sales in 2003 were nearly $90 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.  

• For many rural communities, livestock production and meat processing are economic cornerstones, and we encourage partnerships as important ways to maximize the
economic benefits of the meat industry.

Worker Safety:

The U.S. meat industry has demonstrated dramatic progress in enhanced workplace safety.  Despite claims that the meat industry is "the most dangerous industry in America" from the standpoint of fatal occupational injuries, the statistics clearly disagree:

• In 2004, the meat packing industry's rate of fatal occupational injuries was 5.4 (fatalities per 100,000 workers).  While this rate is slightly higher than the corresponding 4.3 rate for all private industry categories, it is lower than 63 other industry groups reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, including newspaper publishers (6.5), fishers (86.4) and logging workers (92.4).

• In 1990, the U.S. meat industry partnered with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to develop the first ever industry specific voluntary ergonomic guidelines.  OSHA publication 3123 "Ergonomics Program Management Guidelines for Meatpacking Plants˜ was issued in August of 1990, and has formed the framework of significant and very successful ergonomics progress ever since.

• Since 1990, "lost workday" illnesses and injuries, those requiring days away from work to
recuperate, have declined by nearly 60 percent.  

• "Total recordable injuries," those requiring entry on the plant OSHA Log - including lost workday
cases and less severe incidents - have declined by nearly 70 percent.

These improvements continue on a steady trend as the industry continues to address workplace safety issues.
Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics

Food Safety:

U.S. meat products have a remarkable safety record. Like all agricultural commodities, raw meat and poultry can contain bacteria. Over the last two decades, new technologies in meat plants have helped reduce bacteria levels dramatically.

• Since 1999, the incidence of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef samples tested by USDA has declined by 80 percent.

• Salmonella in ground beef has declined 75 percent since 1998.

• Incidence of Listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat meat and poultry has declined from 4.5 percent incidence rate in 1990 to 0.55 in 2004.
Source:  U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service

Animal Well-Being:

The U.S meat industry is actively engaged in voluntary animal welfare programs. More than 95 percent of meat plants have animal care programs in place, conduct regular animal welfare audits and use third party auditors.
 
• The U.S. meat packing industry is the only segment of food animal agriculture covered by a federal law - the Humane Slaughter Act - that mandates the continuous presence of inspectors in our plants overseeing animal handling practices.

• The U.S. meat packing industry partnered with world-renowned expert Dr. Temple Grandin of Colorado State University to write the first animal welfare guidelines for the meat industry.

• In 1997, the industry again partnered with Grandin to develop the first animal welfare audit program for meat packing plants - a program that is used around the world.  The program also has become a
standard requirement for all plants that seek to supply meat to major restaurant chains.

• Today, meat packers routinely monitor a host of measurable criteria in their plants to identify and correct any issues that could impact animal welfare.

• The meat industry launched the first animal handling training conference in 1999 and continues to train nearly 300 people every February in the principles of good animal handling.

Abundance and Affordability:

U.S. food - and U.S. meat - is the most affordable in the world.

• In 1970, Americans spent 4.1 percent of their disposable income on meat and poultry.  In 2004, they spent 2 percent.

• U.S. consumers buy more meat, but spend a smaller proportion of disposable income for these purchases, continuing a long-term trend.

• Over the next 10 years, consumer meat expenditures are expected to decline from about 2 percent to 1.3 percent of disposable income.

• Americans spend less than any other developed nation in the world on food broadly and on meat and poultry specifically.
Source:  U.S. Department of Agriculture Bureau of Economic Analysis