PowerPoint PresentationSlide 2Slide 3Slide 4The Cattle KingdomSlide 6Slide 7Slide 8Slide 9Slide 10The End to a Way of LifeSlide 12Slide 13Drawing ConclusionsThe Beef IndustryCh. 2, Slaughterhouse Blues From Roundup to Restructuring:Branding is a communal activity on the Flying W RanchSocial event after a long winterNeighbors come together to work, eat, and share storiesTake turns going to nearby farmsWhole families participate, everyone has a jobRanching is not a job but a way of lifeBranding Day on the RanchRopers chase calves into corral and rope them- most prestigious taskRastlers (usually children) hold calf downBranded, tagged, vaccinated, and castrated by menWorkers are gentle, care about animalsCalves are more frightened then harmedThe ProcessTechnology changed the branding processInstead of today’s butane fire, ranchers used wood fire to heat the brandsInstead of ear tags, numbers were carved into flesh with a knifeNo hormone implants were usedSome outfits try to recreate these old methodsTransition…Beef industry began in Texas, spread quickly after the Civil WarBetween 1866-1880 millions of cattle were driven from Texas to Kansas and other statesProcessed in Chicago and Eastern states1827-Chicago’s first slaughterhouse Became prosperous with outlets through the Great Lakes, Erie Canal, and later, Rail RoadsThe “Yards”- could held 21,000 cattle, 22,000 sheep, 75,000 hogsWithin a decade the Great Plains became dominated by free-range cattle1874-First barbed wire in U.S- no more free-range cattle1870s- invention of windmill and spread of irrigation systems turned SW states into a new corn belt Increased production of corn encouraged grain-fed cattleBy the 20th century, the cowboy era disappearedCattle ranching was still profitablePrevious to the 1900’s, cattle were not slaughtered until they were 4-5 years old, then was pushed back to 2 yearsChain grocery stores of the1940’s increased demand for meat and supported the trend to “baby beef”In 1960, half the cattle on feed in the US were in the Corn Belt; shift to PlainsGo West, Young Steer, Go WestCalves are weaned at 300 lbs. “Transient” cattle go to the prairie to fatten up before going to the feedlotThey graze and eat corn stubble until they reach “feeder weight”- 600-800 lbs.Some calves are broken into trough feeding earlyCattle stay in feedlots 4-5 monthsSlaughtered at 1,100-1,300 lbs., about 14-18 months oldHome on the Range: The Short, Happy Life of a Beef CowFeedlots buy cattle from ranchers, or raise them as “custom feeders”Custom Feeders are cattle boarded by feeldlots- “Bovine Hotels”Cattle are transported in 18-wheel trucksUnloaded at feedlot into metal pens holding up to 500 headTransportation causes loss in body weight- 5-6% for long hauls and 2-3% for short haulsHome on the Range: The Short, Happy Life of a Beef CowFeedlots market cattle when they are “finished” or ready for slaughterOwners are charged either a flat rate, or a mark-up of the food and medicine that the feedlot supplies (currently $1.60/day in Kansas to board a cow)Home on the Range: The Short, Happy Life of a Beef CowToday, less than 2 out of 100 Americans work on farms or ranches, yet beef production is the largest part of the agricultural economyIt takes 1 person to tend 1,000 head of cattle in a conventional feedlotFeedlots maximize growth rate: Cattle in a feedlot eat 24-32 lbs. & are given hormones, gaining about 3 lbs./dayFeedlot cattle produce up to 30 lbs. of manure/dayManure is spread on fields to fertilize the crops or dumped into manure lagoonsUrban Industry- problem of smellsIndustry began with packing pork in barrels for export to West IndiesTechnology redefined the meat packing industry with refrigeration, the railroad, and machinery (problem of preservation) Meat packing industry became dominated by corporations The “big 5”- Swift, Armour, Morris, Cudahy and Wilson--actually 3- IBP, ConAgra and Smithfield From Hogsheads to Disassembly LinesMeat Packing Industry has low profit margins, must be efficientPreviously butchers were skilled craftsmen, paid wellDeveloped the disassembly line, involving individual repetitive jobs and deskilling of the labor forceLowering of wages (unskilled labor)Plant capacity became the key to cutting costs; cost is cut in half switching from to 25 head to 325 head an hour production ratesThe Rise of the Meatpacking IndustryComparison between the family operated ranch and corporate owned feed lotsNo communityNo skillsNo relationship to the animalJust a jobDegradation of environment as well as social status of workersTreatment of