In February, the United States Department of Agriculture announced two proposed changes to federal regulations governing production rates at meat processing plants – a move advocates say would endanger workers, public health and the environment. A proposed amendment would increase the maximum line speed in poultry slaughter from 140 birds per minute to 175 for chicken and from 55 birds per minute to 60 for turkey. For pig slaughter, the agency proposes that there will be no limits on line speed.
Last week, the public comment period for the proposed amendments ended. If finalized, these changes would “reduce production costs and create greater sustainability in our food system” as well as “help keep groceries more affordable,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in February.
The proposals are in line with other Trump administration policies that encourage greater meat consumption among Americans — such as a revised food pyramid that emphasizes eating more protein. But despite the promise of lower costs and higher efficiency, experts say these proposed rollbacks pose more risks than benefits to the public.
“This is a double whammy on an already broken and polluting food system,” said Dani Replogle, staff attorney at Food & Water Watch, an environmental nonprofit that submitted public comments against the proposed rules.
The USDA will need time to review the thousands of comments submitted, but the United Food and Commercial Workers, or UFCW, a union that represents workers in the food supply chain, estimates that more than 22,000 comments oppose the poultry rule, as well as more than 20,000 opposing the pork rule.
The union—which successfully sued and blocked the USDA from making similar changes to swine line speeds in 2021—insisted that increasing line speeds in meat processing would lead to more injuries to workers. While various parts of the line are automated in these facilities, the beginning of the line – where the animals are herded into the plants – is extremely difficult and dangerous work. For chickens, the workers who hang the birds by their feet are often covered in feces; In pig slaughterhouses, workers working on the “kill floor” move pigs into stunning chambers. In both scenarios, unlike climate-controlled sections of the line, workers are exposed to the elements and suffer heat stress on very hot days.
The USDA disputes this finding. In its proposed rule for poultry slaughter, the USDA says that a study funded by the agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service determined that increased line speeds during the removal section of the line – where internal organs are removed from dead animals – are “not associated” with a higher risk of musculoskeletal disorders. However, the study’s authors have since said that the proposed rule “They fundamentally misunderstand and mischaracterize the scope and results of their research.
“The potential for injury to these workers is something people can’t deny,” said Mark Lauritsen, who leads UFCW’s food processing, packaging and manufacturing division. “To be honest, the line speeds are a lot faster now.”
In response to a request for comment, a USDA spokesperson said, “Decades of data prove that plants can run at higher speeds while maintaining process controls and meeting every federal food safety standard.” He also said federal inspectors at meat processing plants are still able to slow down lines if they find a problem.
Ultimately, the spokesperson said, “USDA’s legal authority is limited to ensuring food safety and process controls; we do not have the power to regulate piece rates or how private companies manage their employees.” (Piece rate refers to the number of items – such as whole birds or parts – handled by one worker per minute.)
When it comes to meat processing, going faster “is not good for the environment either,” Lauritsen said.
Slaughterhouses are incredibly water-intensive operations, as these facilities need to be regularly sprayed to maintain sanitary conditions during the processing of animals. In turn, they also produce a lot of waste – yes, in the form of contaminated water, but also in the form of blood, intestines and fecal matter from animal carcasses. Both labor and environmental advocates argue that increasing line speeds in slaughterhouses will necessarily increase the amount of water used and the amount of waste released into local ecosystems.
In written comments submitted to USDA, the Center for Biological Diversity said: “Increasing line speed slaughter rates will increase slaughter efficiency […] And this will cause further harm to the environment, wildlife, animal welfare, worker safety and public health (including food safety).
Replogle, the Food & Water Watch lawyer, also believes that if slaughterhouses expand rapidly, factory farms will decide to raise more animals. These farms, known as confined animal feeding operations or CAFOs, are another huge source of “water pollution and nitrate pollution in particular” as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Across the US, CAFOs are also linked to higher levels of air pollution in uninsured and Latino communities.
In its proposed rule for poultry slaughter, the USDA says that increasing line speeds “will not affect consumer demand for the establishment’s products” and will only affect “expected sales of poultry products.” […] Production levels in establishments will determine.” But the demand for meat in the US is already high, with most Americans eating 1.5 times more protein than they require daily.
It’s also unclear whether increasing line speeds will actually lower the price of chicken and pork at the grocery store. Agricultural economist David Ortega, a professor at Michigan State University, said increased slaughter capacity would lower poultry and pork prices at the grocery store if slaughterhouses pass their savings “through the supply chain.” This result would run counter to slaughterhouses’ economic incentives, Ortega said.
For some workers, the proposal of increased line speeds has already been made real. Magali Lisoli is a labor organizer based in Springdale, Arkansas, where Tyson Foods, the largest American meat corporation, is headquartered. He said poultry workers at companies in Northwest Arkansas, which he did not name, say they have already been told to work faster. “We had meetings with employees from different companies. And they all said line speeds have increased,” Lisoli said.
A USDA spokesperson said, “The safety and well-being of the workforce is essential to a stable food supply; however, worker safety is overseen by the Department of Labor, not USDA. The law is very clear on this.” He also said meat processing plants have long been able to obtain line speed waivers, which allows facilities to operate at higher speeds — and may explain what workers are reporting to Lisoli.
Debbie Berkowitz, a worker safety and health expert at Georgetown University, argued that increasing line speeds ultimately puts profits above everything else. “I think the issue of line speed is not about selling more chicken or pork, but about being able to exploit workers and get them to do even more work and faster. That’s how companies save money,” Berkowitz said. In such cases, Berkowitz argues that workers and the environment are considered expendable. “It’s just churning through workers,” she said. In other words: “Exploitation 101.”
This article originally appeared on Grist at https://grist.org/food-and-agriculture/trumps-plan-for-ultrafast-meat-processing-would-be-a-disaster-for-workers-and-the-environment/. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and an equitable future. Learn more at Grist.org.
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