The Story of Meat
The term meat generally refers to the skeletal muscle
from the carcasses of animals--beef and veal (cattle), pork (hogs),
and lamb (sheep). The general composition of such meat is approximately
70% water, 21% protein, 8% fat, and 1% ash (mineral). A cooked
85-g (3-oz) serving of beef contains approximately 200 calories,
9.4 g of fat (4.2 g of saturated fat), and 73 mg of cholesterol.
(Poultry--which is often included in statistical descriptions
of the meat industry--and fish are discussed in poultry and fishing
industry.) With annual sales in the early 1990s of almost $70
billion, the meat and meat-packing industry is the largest agriculture-based
industry in the United States. It is primarily concerned with
converting the flesh of livestock into edible meat items.
China replaced the United States as the world's largest producer of meat in the mid-1980s, achieving its first place through its truly extraordinary production of pork. (The United States remains the world's prime beef producer.) Other significant meat producers are Germany, Argentina, Russia, and Ukraine.
Development of the Industry
The first meat packers in the United States were the colonial New England farmers, who packed meats in salt as a means of preservation. As the frontier moved westward, slaughter facilities were constructed near population centers, and livestock were driven overland or barged to these markets. Cincinnati, Ohio, was known as "Porkopolis" because of the large volume of hogs marketed and killed there. In the mid-1800s, with the development of refrigerated rail shipping, Chicago became the center for the collection and slaughter of livestock because of its central location as a railroad terminus. Most recently, the beef industry has left the large metropolitan areas to be near commercial feedlots in the central United States in such states as Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. The pork industry also remains centrally located in the Midwest, principally in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska.
Scope of the Meat-Packing Industry
In the United States some 1 million farmers and ranchers are engaged in raising livestock, which is slaughtered at approximately 6,000 federally inspected plants doing more than 97% of all processing. (Less than 1% is slaughtered at the farm for personal consumption without inspection. The remainder is state inspected.) As in many other industries, a few large packers dominate the field. Currently, three major packers process more than 80% of the beef, and another four, about 60% of the pork in the United States. The processing of sheep and lambs is relatively negligible, accounting for only about 7% of meat-packing production.
In addition to the sale of meat from the carcasses, by-products are an essential part of the meat-packing business. In the case of beef, as much as 15% of the value of the live animal may be in the form of by-products such as hides, inedible and edible tallow, meat and bone meal, and variety meats. Only about 62% of beef is consumed as beef cuts; 24% is ground for hamburger, and 14% is processed into bologna-type products. In the case of pork, more than 65% of the total is consumed in the form of processed meat such as ham, bacon, and sausage. A large proportion of these meat by-products are exported. The meat-packing industry also produces such products as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, glues, and gelatins.
Slaughtering and Processing Procedures
The Humane Slaughter Act (1960) requires that prior to slaughter animals be rendered completely unconscious with a minimum of excitement and discomfort, by mechanical, electrical, or chemical (carbon dioxide gas) methods.
After being bled, skinned, and eviscerated (removal of the internal organs), the carcasses are chilled for 24 to 48 hours before being graded and processed. Meat items, such as brains, kidneys, sweetbreads (calf thymus glands), the tail, and the tongue, do not accompany a carcass and are considered edible by-products to be sold separately as specialty items. These parts, and all other items removed from the carcass, such as feet, hide, and intestines, are called offal and are an important source of income for meat packers.
The Inspection and Grading System
Inspection takes place at practically every step of the livestock-procurement and meat-packing processes. Inspection attempts to ensure that harmful additives and ingredients are kept out of manufactured meat products, that sick and diseased animals are excluded from the market, that misleading labeling and packaging are eliminated, and that contaminated and unwholesome meats are prevented from reaching consumers. Federal meat inspection is administered by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Meat that is to be used entirely within a given state need be inspected only by that state's department of agriculture, whereas all meats entering interstate commerce must be federally inspected. To combat the often invisible bacterial contamination of meat--particularly the E. coli pathogen that is believed to have caused several outbreaks of severe illness in the mid-1990s--in 1995 the FSIS began to institute systems that require microscopic inspection. The meat industry has also suggested irradiation of ground meat, which is especially vulnerable to the pathogen.
Unlike inspection, which is mandatory, meat grading is a service offered to packers on a voluntary basis by the Agricultural Marketing Service of the Department of Agriculture. Grading establishes and maintains uniform trading standards and aids in the determination of the value of various cuts of meat. Quality grades for beef carcasses are prime, choice, select, standard, commercial, utility, cutter, and canner. These grades are assigned on the basis of carcass marbling (fat flecks or streaks within the lean), color and texture of the lean, and maturity, which is determined according to the color, size, and texture of the cartilage bones. The belief held by some consumers that leaner meats (those with a lower fat content) are more healthful has led to an increased demand for the select grade. Yield grades classify carcasses according to the proportion of usable meat to bone and fat and are used along with quality grades to determine monetary value of a carcass.
Traditionally, meat packers have sold carcasses as sides, as quarters (hinds or fores), or as wholesale cuts (large cuts such as entire rounds, loins, ribs, or chucks). Recently, most beef has been sold as "boxed beef." Boxed beef is prepared at the packing plant by removing more of the bone and fat from the carcass as it is cut into smaller portions, vacuum-packed to reduce spoilage and shrinkage, and placed into boxes that are easier to ship and handle than quarters. Other advantages come from reduced shipping costs, reduced labor costs, and the increased value of the fat and bone to the packer, who is able to process this waste into usable by-products. The most recent development by large packers is to prepare consumer-ready meat cuts such as precut steaks and roasts in vacuum packages to be placed directly in the supermarket meat case.
Livestock marketing and prices are affected by weather, feed prices, federal import policies, and consumer demand. U.S. meat packing is a high-risk industry; workers in meat-packing plants have the highest illness and injury rate of all U.S. industrial workers.
Dietary and Other Controversies
Since the mid-1970s total U.S. per-capita beef consumption has declined substantially, while consumption of pork, and of fish and poultry, has grown. In part the decline is due to the relatively higher prices for beef and in part to concerns about the health effects of diets heavy in fat-rich "red meats." Saturated animal fats are implicated in the etiology of heart disease and certain types of cancer.
In addition, cattle ranching has been named as a factor in the destruction of tropical forests when they have been cleared to create pastureland. Where attempts have been made--as in some countries in Africa--to fence off grasslands for cattle grazing, wildlife populations have suffered declines. Also, the use of much of the world's grain production to feed cattle rather than people offends many, particularly those who do not eat meat.
In rebuttal the industry is producing leaner beef and pork. To counter claims that grazing has degraded the public lands that have long been open to ranchers for their cattle, and to counter government efforts to raise the fees ranchers are charged for their use of public lands, the industry is trying to improve the way those lands are maintained.
U.S. beef exports have risen steadily over the past two decades, particularly to Japan, which has become the biggest export market for U.S. meat products.
Reviewed by William R. Henning
Bibliography: Harwell, Edward M., et al., Meat Management and Operations (1985; repr. 1990); Hedrick, Harold, et al., Principles of Meat Science, 2d ed. (1994); Kinsman, D. M., et al., eds., Muscle Foods (1994); Pearson, A. M., and Dutson, T. R., eds., Meat and Health (1990); Romans, J. R., et al., The Meat We Eat (1985; repr. 1994); Skaggs, Jimmy M., Prime Cut: Livestock Raising and Meatpacking in the United States, 1607-1983 (1986); Walsh, Margaret, The Rise of the Midwestern Meat Packing Industry (1982); Wood, J. D., and Fisher, A. V., eds., Reducing Fat in Meat Animals (1991).
China replaced the United States as the world's largest producer of meat in the mid-1980s, achieving its first place through its truly extraordinary production of pork. (The United States remains the world's prime beef producer.) Other significant meat producers are Germany, Argentina, Russia, and Ukraine.
Development of the Industry
The first meat packers in the United States were the colonial New England farmers, who packed meats in salt as a means of preservation. As the frontier moved westward, slaughter facilities were constructed near population centers, and livestock were driven overland or barged to these markets. Cincinnati, Ohio, was known as "Porkopolis" because of the large volume of hogs marketed and killed there. In the mid-1800s, with the development of refrigerated rail shipping, Chicago became the center for the collection and slaughter of livestock because of its central location as a railroad terminus. Most recently, the beef industry has left the large metropolitan areas to be near commercial feedlots in the central United States in such states as Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. The pork industry also remains centrally located in the Midwest, principally in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska.
Scope of the Meat-Packing Industry
In the United States some 1 million farmers and ranchers are engaged in raising livestock, which is slaughtered at approximately 6,000 federally inspected plants doing more than 97% of all processing. (Less than 1% is slaughtered at the farm for personal consumption without inspection. The remainder is state inspected.) As in many other industries, a few large packers dominate the field. Currently, three major packers process more than 80% of the beef, and another four, about 60% of the pork in the United States. The processing of sheep and lambs is relatively negligible, accounting for only about 7% of meat-packing production.
In addition to the sale of meat from the carcasses, by-products are an essential part of the meat-packing business. In the case of beef, as much as 15% of the value of the live animal may be in the form of by-products such as hides, inedible and edible tallow, meat and bone meal, and variety meats. Only about 62% of beef is consumed as beef cuts; 24% is ground for hamburger, and 14% is processed into bologna-type products. In the case of pork, more than 65% of the total is consumed in the form of processed meat such as ham, bacon, and sausage. A large proportion of these meat by-products are exported. The meat-packing industry also produces such products as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, glues, and gelatins.
Slaughtering and Processing Procedures
The Humane Slaughter Act (1960) requires that prior to slaughter animals be rendered completely unconscious with a minimum of excitement and discomfort, by mechanical, electrical, or chemical (carbon dioxide gas) methods.
After being bled, skinned, and eviscerated (removal of the internal organs), the carcasses are chilled for 24 to 48 hours before being graded and processed. Meat items, such as brains, kidneys, sweetbreads (calf thymus glands), the tail, and the tongue, do not accompany a carcass and are considered edible by-products to be sold separately as specialty items. These parts, and all other items removed from the carcass, such as feet, hide, and intestines, are called offal and are an important source of income for meat packers.
The Inspection and Grading System
Inspection takes place at practically every step of the livestock-procurement and meat-packing processes. Inspection attempts to ensure that harmful additives and ingredients are kept out of manufactured meat products, that sick and diseased animals are excluded from the market, that misleading labeling and packaging are eliminated, and that contaminated and unwholesome meats are prevented from reaching consumers. Federal meat inspection is administered by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Meat that is to be used entirely within a given state need be inspected only by that state's department of agriculture, whereas all meats entering interstate commerce must be federally inspected. To combat the often invisible bacterial contamination of meat--particularly the E. coli pathogen that is believed to have caused several outbreaks of severe illness in the mid-1990s--in 1995 the FSIS began to institute systems that require microscopic inspection. The meat industry has also suggested irradiation of ground meat, which is especially vulnerable to the pathogen.
Unlike inspection, which is mandatory, meat grading is a service offered to packers on a voluntary basis by the Agricultural Marketing Service of the Department of Agriculture. Grading establishes and maintains uniform trading standards and aids in the determination of the value of various cuts of meat. Quality grades for beef carcasses are prime, choice, select, standard, commercial, utility, cutter, and canner. These grades are assigned on the basis of carcass marbling (fat flecks or streaks within the lean), color and texture of the lean, and maturity, which is determined according to the color, size, and texture of the cartilage bones. The belief held by some consumers that leaner meats (those with a lower fat content) are more healthful has led to an increased demand for the select grade. Yield grades classify carcasses according to the proportion of usable meat to bone and fat and are used along with quality grades to determine monetary value of a carcass.
Traditionally, meat packers have sold carcasses as sides, as quarters (hinds or fores), or as wholesale cuts (large cuts such as entire rounds, loins, ribs, or chucks). Recently, most beef has been sold as "boxed beef." Boxed beef is prepared at the packing plant by removing more of the bone and fat from the carcass as it is cut into smaller portions, vacuum-packed to reduce spoilage and shrinkage, and placed into boxes that are easier to ship and handle than quarters. Other advantages come from reduced shipping costs, reduced labor costs, and the increased value of the fat and bone to the packer, who is able to process this waste into usable by-products. The most recent development by large packers is to prepare consumer-ready meat cuts such as precut steaks and roasts in vacuum packages to be placed directly in the supermarket meat case.
Livestock marketing and prices are affected by weather, feed prices, federal import policies, and consumer demand. U.S. meat packing is a high-risk industry; workers in meat-packing plants have the highest illness and injury rate of all U.S. industrial workers.
Dietary and Other Controversies
Since the mid-1970s total U.S. per-capita beef consumption has declined substantially, while consumption of pork, and of fish and poultry, has grown. In part the decline is due to the relatively higher prices for beef and in part to concerns about the health effects of diets heavy in fat-rich "red meats." Saturated animal fats are implicated in the etiology of heart disease and certain types of cancer.
In addition, cattle ranching has been named as a factor in the destruction of tropical forests when they have been cleared to create pastureland. Where attempts have been made--as in some countries in Africa--to fence off grasslands for cattle grazing, wildlife populations have suffered declines. Also, the use of much of the world's grain production to feed cattle rather than people offends many, particularly those who do not eat meat.
In rebuttal the industry is producing leaner beef and pork. To counter claims that grazing has degraded the public lands that have long been open to ranchers for their cattle, and to counter government efforts to raise the fees ranchers are charged for their use of public lands, the industry is trying to improve the way those lands are maintained.
U.S. beef exports have risen steadily over the past two decades, particularly to Japan, which has become the biggest export market for U.S. meat products.
Reviewed by William R. Henning
Bibliography: Harwell, Edward M., et al., Meat Management and Operations (1985; repr. 1990); Hedrick, Harold, et al., Principles of Meat Science, 2d ed. (1994); Kinsman, D. M., et al., eds., Muscle Foods (1994); Pearson, A. M., and Dutson, T. R., eds., Meat and Health (1990); Romans, J. R., et al., The Meat We Eat (1985; repr. 1994); Skaggs, Jimmy M., Prime Cut: Livestock Raising and Meatpacking in the United States, 1607-1983 (1986); Walsh, Margaret, The Rise of the Midwestern Meat Packing Industry (1982); Wood, J. D., and Fisher, A. V., eds., Reducing Fat in Meat Animals (1991).
Images and text from: 1998 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia http://gi.grolier.com