The meatpacking industry is one of the most dangerous industrial workplaces in the United States. In 1998, nearly 30% of US meat packing plant workers sustained a work-related injury or illness, making meatpacking the most dangerous job in the country in terms of non-fatal injuries.^[1] Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows (from 2003 -2007) the rate of illnesses and injuries for workers in “animal slaughtering and processing” was over twice as high as the national average, and the rate of illnesses alone was about ten times the national average.^[2]

Some of the potential sources of injuries in the meatpacking industry are:

1. Line speed leading to repetitive injuries. In 1996, meatpackers were listed as having the highest rate of repeat trauma disorders (like carpal tunnel syndrome which develop over long periods of time).^[3]
2. Close-quarters cutting, which can lead to lacerations from the worker's own knives or their neighbors. For example, according to an OSHA publication, one worker in a meatpacking plant was blinded when the knife he was using to pick a ham prior to boning slipped out of the ham, striking him in the face.^[4]
3. Heavy lifting, which can result in back injuries.
4. Long hours leading to fatigue and errors on the job.
5. Inadequate training and equipment.

A very pertinent issue is the underreporting of injuries. Although recorded rates of injury and illness among meatpacking workers are remarkably high, it's likely that the official numbers are still an underestimation of the truth.

Because meatpacking plants are fined when their plants show high injury rates, plant managers and owners have been known to keep false logs that misrepresent the actual occurrence of injury and illness by as much as 1,000%.^[5]

A recent development that points to the hazards that meatpackers are exposed to is the case of the puzzling neurological condition first seen among workers in a meat processing plant in Austin, Minnesota. In 2007, an interpreter with a medical clinic noticed that several patients with different doctors were reporting similar symptoms. After investigations by Mayo Clinic doctors, the Minnesota Department of Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 meatpacking workers in Minnesota, Nebraska and Indiana have been positively diagnosed with this new disease.

The condition is called progressive inflammatory neuropathy and it is characterized by burning, numbness and weakness in the arms and legs. Investigators have proven that this is a new, unique disease caused by antibodies attacking the immune system of the workers. A Minnesota Department of Health epidemiologist, Dr. Aaron DeVries, explains the disease thus: "What happens is our body makes a specific antibody and the antibody is targeting this foreign protein...By accident, it also attaches to a protein within our own body. This is, in a certain sense, collateral damage."^[7]Once this correlation was discovered, the meatpacking plants in question discontinued their use of compressed air to blow out pig brains, pending results of the investigation.

Like a majority of health problems experienced by meatpacking workers, this new disease is related to the the speed of the line. To maximize their profits, meat processing companies constantly strive to increase the speed of the line, consistently running the line at speeds that jeopardize the safety of both workers and the food supply. A former meatpacking plant nurse remarked, "I could always tell the line speed by the number of people with lacerations coming into my office."^[8]For this reason, the single most important way to improve the safety of working conditions and reduce the health problems experienced by meatpacking workers would be to slow down the line speed so that workers are able to process meat without putting themselves or their coworkers at risk of injury.

Recommendations from Human Rights Watch:^[9]

1. Adopt new regulations and standards through collaboration among OSHA,USDA and other relevant agencies to reduce line speed in meat processing plants to level that do not endanger workers  health and safety.
2. Adopt strong, clear, enforceable OSHA ergonomics standard requiring equipment engineering improvements, job rotation, more frequent rest breaks, enhanced training in workers languages, more accurate, and complete recording and reporting of injuries and other measures to reverse the tide of musculoskeletal disorders and other injuries in the meat industry.
3. Restore “OSHA 200” form for reporting workplace injuries and illnesses, or otherwise make reporting requirements and relevant forms, whatever their name or number, more complete and comprehensive so as to fully demonstrate the amount and causes of workplace musculoskeletal disorders, and implement a rigorous auditing system to ensure full, accurate and timely reporting by employers, with effective penalties for failure to comply.
4. Adopt the long-proposed but never implemented Occupational Safety and Health standard calling for employer-paid personal protective equipment for workers required to use such equipment on the job.
5. Take more frequent and forceful action to refer fatality cases at the plant to the Department for Criminal prosecution where willful violations of OSHA standards cause workers’ death.

References:

1. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. "Industries with the Highest Nonfatal Total Cases, Incidence Rates for Injuries and Illnesses, Private Industry, 1998." U.S. Department of Labor. 1999. Cited in Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. New York : Houghton Mifflin Company. 2001, p. 309-310.

2.US Department of Labor, "Total recordable cases, Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers by selected industry, All U.S., private industry, 2003-2007: Animal slaughtering and processing (code 311600)." Bureau of Labor Statistics Database. (data extracted online November 4, 2008).

3. US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Meat Packing Plants Have the Highest Rate of Repeated-Trauma Disorders." August, 1999.

4. Safety and Health Guide for the Meatpacking Industry, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 1988, OSHA 3108.

5. Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. New York : Houghton Mifflin Company. 2001, p 180.

6. Steenhuysen, Julie. 'Doctors still learning from pig brain disorder' Reuters. March 15, 2009.

7. Marcotty, Josephine. Mayo identifies Austin pork-plant disease. Star Tribune. April 17, 2008.

8. Gardner, Timothy. ‘Working conditions in American Slaughterhouses: Worse than you thought.’ Reuters, February 27, 2001. Retrieved from Organic Consumers Association website.

9. Human Rights Watch, “Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers’ Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants.” 2005.

Further reading:

• Fast Food Nation - This best-selling book by Eric Schlosser provides a host of information on the meat packing industry's history and current status.
• Modern Meat - A PBS special discussing a range of issues surrounding meat production in the US.
• Human Rights Watch, “Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers’ Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants.” 2005.
• Sustainable Table Issues: Slaughterhouses and Processing

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