Missouri Pork Association Essay

will come to market in January 2003) currently have an average carrying cost of $10/cwt, which is expected to increase to $38/cwt at maturity. The futures prices, at September 30, 2002, for lean hogs/cwt are as follows: October 2002 ……………………………$29 November 2002 …………………………$30 December 2002 ………………………… $33 January 2003 …………………………… $37 February 2003 …………………………...$42 March 2003 ……………………………...$45 Despite the fact that current spot market prices for lean hogs are below the Company’s cost, management has indicated that, based on current spot market prices for the various products, they expect to recover all production costs of the entire hog inventory on hand (i.e., live hogs and developing hogs to be internally processed and sold to third parties) at September 30, 2002. In other words, total revenues for the pork products and total revenues for the sale of the live hogs to third parties, based on current spot prices, will exceed the sum of the current capitalized

In his article “Boss Hog: The Dark Side of America’s Top Pork Producer,” (Rolling Stone Magazine, December 14, 2006) Jeff Teitz reports that not only are millions upon millions of pigs being abused and slaughtered each year by America’s largest pork producer, but, in turn, the waste produced by those pigs is polluting, destroying, and even killing others. Teitz begins by revealing that Smithfield Foods, the world’s most profitable pork processor, killed 27 million hogs last year, which is roughly equivalent to the entire human populations of America’s thirty-two largest cities. As Teitz delves deeper into statistics, he explains that more fecal matter is produced from half a million pigs at one Smithfield subsidiary than the 1.5 million

In chapter four, it is said that from colonial times to the 1950’s when it was overtaken by beef, pork was the major source of meat for Americans. Pioneers kept hogs as free-range animals that foraged for their food. Corn-fed pigs grew faster and bigger, so it was common practice to round up surplus hogs and corn-feed them in the weeks before they went to market (value is weight-based). In 1818, the first meatpacking plant in Cincinnati was opened and became the dominating entity in pork production until the civil war,

The fumes and accumulating waste that is pumped into lagoons are constantly leaking out and are polluting the local waterways. The pollutions and fumes are also causing people to become sick and choke from the toxic air. In 1992, family farms would control seventy percent of the hogs that were raised on their farms for consumption (173). By the year of 2007, ninety-five percent of the hog productions were from factory farms (173). This only left 5 percent to small family farms to raise their animals in the way they want it to be. Hauter (2012) argues “ the number of small family-famed hog operations in Missouri dropped from 23,000 in 1985 to 3,000 large ones in 2007, a decline of 87 percent” (180). Even though there has been a dropped in family farm business the number of hogs grown in the state has remained constant. The working conditions that the meatpacking industry is horrendous for the workers and many of them suffer a lot to keep their job. Hauter (2012) argues “according to the “Packaged with Abuse: Safety and Health Conditions….”, Smithfield has engaged in abusive labor practices in several ways” (184). The reported claims from the workers are carpal tunnel syndrome, contusions, blunt traumas from slipping and falling on wet floors, cuts and puncture, infections causing the fingernail to separate from the figure, fractures, amputations, burns, hernias, rashes, and swelling (185). Smithfield has also been

The farmers of long ago took pride in their animals treating them with kindness and care, but today they are kept in small cramp areas with countless other hogs where the ability for movement is often constricted this for the animal causes stress and in turn makes the meat more tough, and sometimes fattier. Some of these animals are filled with hormones that will increase their size making the animals today larger than the ones in the past, but larger doesn’t always mean better. The hormones that they are using can cause illness to some people this unacceptable this is not only unethical, but inhumane to the animal and how they are treated. The small hog farmers are bought out from the big business, but they still allow the farmer to raise the animals under strict guidelines that they must follow this in turn makes the small farmer feel like they “work for the man” and their understanding of the business is often shot down because they have little or no control of their farm they are told how to raise the hogs, how to process them and transport them, but at times they are the ones that have to take the fines if they are not following standing USDA procedures with the big corporation

In Howard Wight Marshall’s article, Meat Preservation on the Farm of Missouri’s “Little Dixie,” he focuses on the meat preservation all over North America, especially Missouri. The article discusses the importance of how families in the Midwest preserved their meat. It uses the traditions that many families in this area hold to discuss regional differences in North America. The article discusses the influence the South had on the Midwest. It explained how the southern ways mixed with the “yankee” traditions of the North to create its own culture, the Midwestern culture. And of course, it illustrated several different ways to preserve meat.

To make matters worse there are evident racial and socioeconomic factors that have been observed in relation to hog farms in

As the United States grew in the beginning of the 20th century the demand for meat was always needed. Fortunately for the young state of Oklahoma the prairie lands of the Great Plains were a perfect area to feed the numerous heads of animals sent to the butchers that fed America. In 1907, there were 1,206,800 animals within Oklahoma; nearly all farmers in every country of Oklahoma raised hogs (Goins and Goble, 171). Oklahoma’s ranching economy changed in the youthful years of statehood as the profession of ranching became more commercialized with intent to maximize the meat per hoof, which would increase the profit margins (Baird and Goble, 194). One way the ranchers maximized the meat per hoof was the replacement of Spanish breed longhorn cattle for the heartier English breed, Hereford (Baird and Goble, 194). “Herefords were raised in such numbers that many referred to Oklahoma as ‘Hereford Heaven’ (Goins and Goble 172)”. As mentioned before plains of Oklahoma were ideal for grazing

During the 1930’s low supply and high cost of pork and beef made horse meat rise in popularity. Again during World War II, people were again in the same predicament. Inflation during the early 1970’s raised the cost of traditional meats; Time Magazine reported from Carlson’s, a butcher shop in Westbrook, CT, that they were selling over 6,000 pounds of horse meat a day. (Weil) In 2006, the House of Representatives voted to end horse slaughter; the bill passed to make the killing and selling American horses for human consumption an illegal practice in the United States.

In the U.S., the concept of factory farms primarily involving animals such as pigs, cattle and chicken began in the 1920’s as a way to increase efficiencies by capturing

The beef industry is an important asset to United States agriculture as a whole. Over a million agricultural entities benefited from the sales of cattle and calves in the year 2000. Gross totals from sales of cattle and calves in 2000 totaled $40.76 billion accounting of 21% of all agricultural receipts making the beef sector the largest single agricultural enterprise. Direct and indirect employment in or related to the production and processing of beef supports over 1.4 million full-time-equivalent jobs in the US as well. Cattle are produced in all 50 states and their economic impact contributes to nearly every county in the nation and they are a significant economic driver (Lawerance and Otto, 2000).

The agricultural industry: the farms, plants, animals, and farmers, have supported this great country for so long, but lately we have turned our backs on it. Today, we live in a materialistic society, people wanting more and better items, not settling for products that will accomplish the same job.From looking at the fruits and vegetables in the grocery store, we see the bruised or smaller ones left, while the big and brightly colored ones are selected first. In our society today, changes are constantly being made to help expand and evolve the agricultural industry, but it has yet been able to do so. To this day farmers across this nation have not been completely successful in providing for the people who make up this country. In the stores

Industrialization has revolutionized America’s economy. Mass production allows products in demand to be easily available for purchase. But at what point does this system cross the line? It is one thing to mass produce electronics and clothing, for example, but applying mass production to the meat industry is entirely different. In order to generate the most profit, livestock are killed systematically at a massive scale on an assembly line. These animals are treated as nothing more than objects that can be processed, packaged, and sold to a consumer. For this business to take place with both time and cost efficiency, the welfare of the livestock is placed as one of the last priorities. Factory farming has gotten out of hand, and America is

The agriculture industry is not only the largest industry within our state, but also within our nation. However, in recent years it has also been one of the most heavily criticized. This has led to a ‘brain drain’ in rural America as more people decide to leave our industry and their family farms.

The meat industry today is not what it was nearly a century ago. While improvements are thought to have been made, an ever changing society has brought upon new problems that have been piled on to the previously existing ones. While these problems are not like those found in The Jungle, they do parallel how by exposing what is going on in the meat industry; new regulations would be the answer to the noted problems. The increased demand for meat has made it a rushed mutated production instead of a means to raise livestock for consumers. Taking into consideration the demand for cheap meat that will be used for in quick and high demanded products such as frozen and fast food, this demand of meat has greatly skyrocketed. Animals whose sole