Anderson, Jordan, 112, 115, 116, 128, 132, 133, 141
Angeles, Miriam, 7, 49, 50, 74, 92, 158, 160
animal welfare, xv. See also MowMar Farms
CAFOs and, 101–2, 232, 234
cattle mistreatment, 124
gag laws, 104, 125–26, 139
hog abuse, 97–100, 108–12, 120–23, 127–29, 134, 141–42
meatpackers and rules of care, 103
turkey abuse, 139
antibiotics, 196–201
hog farming and, 103, 107, 110, 196, 198–201, 203, 205
resistant bacteria and hog waste pits, 194, 196–97, 201, 203–5, 226
soil contamination by, 194, 200–201
weight gain and, 199, 200–201
Arizona, 164, 240, 241
Armour, 22, 60
Armour-Eckrich plant, St. James, Minnesota, 83
Ashcroft, John, 57
Austin, Minnesota, 3–7, 23–34, 35, 86, 87, 155, 188, 265–66. See also QPP
anti-immigration activists, 83–85, 152
Centro Campesino, 49, 91, 158
exodus of illegals from, 188–89
immigration laws enforced in, 85
Hormel plant, 7, 23, 61, 64
immigrants in, 77, 84–85, 150–52
National Barrow Show, 104–5
picketers against Hormel, 91
strike of 1985–1986, 42
Austin Labor Center, 42
Austin Medical Center, 17, 38, 39–40, 50, 73, 77, 92
Ayala, Gabby, 165
Ballesta, Emiliano, 7, 11–12, 50, 153–56, 158, 160, 188
Becker, Julie, 99, 117
Becker, Larry, 117
Becker, Lonny, 117
Becker, Lynn, 97–100, 135, 142
family farm history, 116–20
Himle Horner and, 99, 133–34, 137
MowMar Farms and, 99–100, 108–12, 119–20, 122–23, 127
PETA charges, 97–100, 129, 131, 133–36
“thumping runts,” 123
Becker, Walter, 116–17
Beloit, Wisconsin, 264
Berman, Richard “Dr. Evil,” 126
Bixby, Jennifer, 249
Blaine Jay Corporation, 41, 157
Block, John Rusling, 137
Boote, Mary, 216
Bower, Carole, 17, 38, 40, 45–47, 49, 72–73, 155, 156, 159
Boyle, J. Patrick, 26–27, 29–30
Brand, Gordon, 229, 230
Branstad, Monroe, 217
Branstad, Terry, 214, 215–16, 227, 232
Branstad Farms, 217
Brewer, Jan, 164
Bruning, Jon, 82
Butz, Earl, 212
Butz, Tim, 246–47
Cabrera, Leopoldo, 67
CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding
operations). See agribusiness; hog farming; specific farms
Cargill, 67, 137, 250
exemptions for, 103, 104, 110, 209
Carpenter, Lawrence E., 198, 199
Carrel, Margaret, 204
Carrillo-Velasquez, Rosaura, 161–62
Carter, Jimmy, 213
Casey, Marie, 86
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), 51, 71, 196–97, 204
Center for Consumer Freedom, 126
Center for Science in the Public Interest, 196–97
Chavez, Jonathan, 251–53
Chichihualco, Mexico, 58, 65, 66–67, 80, 81, 252
Chidester, Dale, 42, 45, 47, 48, 64, 86, 261–62
Chilpancingo, Mexico, 66, 67, 68
Chipault, Jacques R., 198
Christensen Family Farms, 138, 140
exemptions for, 104
CIDP (chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy), 3–6, 11–12, 17–19
Clinefelter, Jeremy, 152
Columbus, Nebraska, 67
Contreras, Victor, 49
Cooney, James A., 177
Copenhaver, John, 89, 90
Corbo, Tony, 259
Corn, Craig, 245
Craven, Julie H., 7
Craven, Julie Henderson, 133–36
Cunningham, Cindy, 99, 133, 134
Cunningham, Don, 232–35
Dahl, Steven, 170
Dahlberg, Paul, 73–74
Daigneau, Kenneth, 15
DeCoster, Jack, 139
del Jesus, Rafael, 242–45
Derfler, Philip, 257
Des Moines, Iowa
drinking water issue, 210, 223
Water Works (DMWW), 205, 225–30
DeVries, Aaron, 39–41
Díaz, José, 160
Dubuque, Iowa, 262–64
Duggar, Benjamin, 198–200
Dyck, P. James B., 50, 51, 52, 148
Eaton, Jean, 179
E. coli, 26, 201, 205, 210, 217, 225
Edwards, Skip, 75, 76–77, 82, 89
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 15
Ellis, Frank, 9, 10, 87, 178
environmental safety, xv, 110
“blue baby” syndrome, 226
CAFOs as public health hazard, 202
Des Moines River pollution, 208, 210, 215, 217, 221, 222, 225, 229–30
hog waste and, 102, 194, 203, 204–5, 207–23, 225–31, 228
Raccoon River pollution, 210, 217, 228, 229, 230
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
Clean Water Act, 203, 215, 216, 222, 226–27
Iowa water quality problem, 215
Iowa politics and, 225–26
Renewable Fuel Standard, 214
Erickson, Emily, 193, 194–95
Estherville, Iowa, 207, 208–9, 210, 231
agribusiness and, 208, 217–18, 231
New Fashion Pork, 210, 218, 220–21, 222–23, 232–35
Ettinger, Jeffrey M., 35, 125, 126, 262
Excel Corporation, Beardstown, Illinois, 30, 34
FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform), 80, 84, 90–91
Fair Housing Center, 246
Fairmont, Minnesota, 98
Family Farm Protection Act, 101, 103, 201
Famous Dave’s, 35, 180
Farmer John, Vernon, California, 30, 34
Farmland Industries, 178
Federal Crop Insurance Act, 213
Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906, 22, 23, 30–31
Federal Trade Commission’s identity thief database, 161, 162
Fitzgibbons, Joe, 217–18
Florida, gag laws, 139
FLRA (Federal Labor Relations Authority), 30
Food & Water Watch, 256, 259
food safety, xv, 23, 26, 27, 31, 197, 255, 256. See also USDA
HIMP pilot program and, xiv, 31
violations at HIMP plants, 255–62
Franken, Al, 173
Freeman, Orville, 177
Freking, Brad, 194, 218–22, 231–32, 235
Freking, Meg, 219
Fremont, Nebraska, 88, 89, 169, 239–54
anti-immigrant tensions, 79–82, 163, 166, 244, 249–50
anti-immigration ordinance, 69, 75–77, 79–82, 88–91, 152, 162–72, 240–53 (see also ACLU)
exodus of illegals from, 165, 242
Hormel’s influence, 75, 165, 167–69
HUD funding and, 246–48
immigrant community in, 68, 75, 80–81, 166, 169, 245–46
Nebraskans Advisory Group, 79–80
One Fremont, One Future, 79, 165, 166, 169
Regency II trailer park and, 166, 169, 250, 252
Fremont, Nebraska Hormel plant, 30, 59–61, 68, 161, 172
food safety issues, 34, 255–57
HIMP pilot program at, 31–34
immigrants at, 55–56, 69, 75, 76, 90, 162–63, 166, 251, 252, 253–54
kill floor, 56
labor unions at, 32–33, 61, 62, 64–65
line speed increases, 32–34, 104, 260
location of, 165, 168
number of hogs processed, 255, 261
plant expansion, 35, 259
Rinaker at, 31–34
wage cuts (1980s), effect of, 61–62
worker safety, xiii, xiv–xv, 34, 50, 252, 258
Fremont Beef, 67, 90, 161–62, 166, 168
Garcia, Matthew, 3–6, 13, 17–18, 37–38, 48, 50, 51–52, 155, 158–59, 160, 188
General Foods, 28
General Mills, 137
Getzschman, Scott, 245, 247, 249, 250
Goodner, David, 203
Government Accountability Project, 138–39
Gran, David, 161–62
Great Depression, 219
Hormel and, 8–9
Hormel black workforce, 86–88
sale of family farms, 208–9
soil loss projects, 211
Hackler, Greg, 127–28, 129, 132, 141
Hallmark/Westland plant, Chino, California, 124
Hamilton, Rod, 138, 140
Harper, Blake, 169–72, 251
Harper, Harold, 62, 64, 65, 169
Hart, Cindy, 171, 245
Hart, Jerry, 82, 89, 90, 162, 171, 245, 247–48
Hatfield Quality Meats, Hatfield, Pennsylvania, 30, 34
Hazleton, Pennsylvania, 57, 241
Heater, Tom, 99–100, 131, 135–36
Heickley, Travis, 181
Heineman, Dave, 80, 163
Hendrycks, Ruthie, 83–85, 173
Hendrycks, Scott, 83
Hester, Robert, 152
Hethmon, Michael, 164
Hidalgo, Carol, 17
Hill, Dennis, 228, 229
Himle, John, 133, 137–38
Himle Horner, 99, 133–34, 137
Hitt, Amanda, 138–39
Hoffman, Russell, 131–32, 133
hog farming, xv. See also animal welfare; specific farms, states
antibiotics, 103, 107, 110, 194, 196, 197, 198–201, 203, 204, 205, 226
Becker farms as typical, 116–20
breeding a leaner hog, 105, 106
confinement barns, 101–4, 106, 108, 110–11, 117, 193–97, 231
cruel practices, 99–100, 113–16, 124
demise of the small farmer, 100–103
environmental safety, 209–23, 225–31
exemptions from laws, 219, 231
factory farm model, 107–8, 109–10, 124–25
feed prices, 111–12, 214
herd management techniques, 103, 105–6, 107, 177
history of, 100–103
hog waste pits, 193, 196–97, 201, 205, 207–22, 225–31, 232–33
Hormel and, 33, 97–100, 102, 104–7
improved care of hogs, 142–43
industrialization of, 106, 107, 196, 265–66
Iowa politics and, 216
lack of transparency and, 143
largest producers, 138
MRSA and, 193, 203–4
negative press and, 99–100
North Carolina growth of, 102
prices and “red box,” 106–7
seed-to-slaughter monopolies, 101–2, 103, 209–10, 215, 232
standardization of hogs, 106–7
states’ packer bans, 102–3
traditional methods, 196
Hoppe, Todd, 245, 247, 248–49
Hormel, George A., 7–8, 23, 59, 176
Hormel, Jay, 8–11, 13–16, 24–25, 59, 176, 197–200
Hormel, John, 23
Hormel, Lillian Gleason, 7–8
Hormel Foods, 16, 86. See also Fremont Nebraska Hormel plant; QPP
acquisitions by, 34, 35
AMVC and, 135
antibiotics and pork industry, 197
automation and, 25–26, 33, 43, 51
cheap workforce sought by, 58–59, 65, 69, 86–88, 176, 182–85
demand for hogs and, 100
disconnect with reality at, 261
Ettinger as CEO, 35, 125, 126, 262
exemptions from laws, 103–4, 110, 209
expansion into China, 193–94
export sales, 4, 193, 263
false or hidden corporate identities of, 7, 16, 35, 47, 88, 262
family business becomes Hormel Foods Corporation, 29, 34
Fremont’s anti-immigration ordinance and, 165, 167–69
history of, 7–9
hog farming and suppliers, 33, 97–100, 102, 104, 105–7, 109, 119, 193, 197–200, 209, 218
Iowa and, 100–104
Jay Hormel and, 8–11, 13–16, 24–25, 59, 176, 197–200, 16
Johnson as CEO, 28–30, 35
Knowlton as CEO, 16, 24–25, 43–44, 61, 63
line speed increases, xiii–xvi, 16, 26, 29, 32, 33, 34–35, 43, 51, 69, 104, 260
number of hogs processed, xiii, xiv, 8–9, 33, 37, 69, 104, 264
outsourcing by, 180–81
partnering with other brands, 35
PETA, HSUS, and, 123–25, 133–36
plant closures, 64
plant shutdown (1987), 47
post-war era and, 59–60
products, xiv, 8, 9, 13–14, 35–36, 180, 262 (see also Spam)
profit increases, 65, 193
sales, readymade foods, 35, 36
special workers program, 16
supply chain (vertical integration), 62, 98, 101–2, 108, 194, 209–10
union labor and, 9–10, 16, 25–26, 43–44, 45, 88
union strikes at, 11, 16, 42, 44–45, 47, 63–64, 88
USDA HIMP pilot program and, xv, 28, 29, 30–35, 58, 104, 255–57, 264
wages, 24, 26, 31, 42, 44–45, 48, 60–62, 63, 64–65
worker incentive programs, 10, 24–25
Your Mommy Kills Animals, 125, 126
Hormel Foundation, 198
Horowitz, Roger, 87
HSUS (Humane Society of the United States), 123, 124, 139
HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development), 246–47
Huntingdon Life Sciences, 126
ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), 173
enforcement actions, 75, 84, 161–62
QPP and, 157, 159, 173–76, 181–82, 189
Secure Communities, 163, 242
immigrants, 6–7, 57, 58, 69, 84, 86
anti-immigration activists, 57, 75–77, 79, 83–85, 89–91, 152, 162, 240, 241, 247 (see also Kobach, Kris)
anti-immigration laws, 69–70, 75–77, 79–82, 88–91, 152, 162–65, 169, 240–53 (see also ACLU)
border crossings by, 65–66, 67
Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting and, 241
cost to taxpayers, 83–84
destination in meatpacking states, 67
documents provided to by QPP, 151
drug cartels and, 68
economic advantages of U.S. job, 67
Fair Housing Act and, 76, 90, 171–72, 246
FTC’s identity thief database and, 161, 162
Hormel Foods and, 6–7, 16, 45, 48, 55–59, 75, 83–85, 150–52 (see also specific plants)
injuries unreported by, 258
in Minnesota, 83, 138 (see also specific towns)
Nebraska political race and, 57
Rafael del Jesus’s story, 243–45
Reagan’s amnesty, 66
seasonal workers, 60–61, 66
Indiana Packers Corporation, Delphi, Indiana, 50
Iowa. See also Des Moines, Iowa; New Fashion Pork
agribusiness growth in, 229
exemptions for agribusiness, 105, 219
factory farms in, 110–11, 202–3, 209–23, 215, 225–26, 227
Family Farm Protection Act, 101
Fort Dodge Market Hog Show, 105
gag laws, 139–40
hog waste dangers in, 194
hog population, 228
meatpackers rush to build in, 104
repeal of the vertical integration ban, 102–4, 108, 110–11
water pollution, 209–23
Iowa Angus Association, 140
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, 203
Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship,
216–17
Iowa DNR (Department of Natural Resources), 194, 208
Branstad’s dismantling, 216, 217, 232
hog manure management, 232–33
Master Matrix Plan, 202–3, 215
New Fashion Pork facility and, 232
poor handling of CAFOs, 227
watershed pollution and, 210
Iowa Environmental Protection Commission, 216
Iowa Pork Producers Association, 216
Iowa Poultry Association, 139–40
Iowa State University, Agricultural Extension Service. 105
IRLI (Immigration Reform Law Institute), 74, 80, 163, 164
Jack in the Box restaurants, E. coli outbreak (1993), 26–27, 29
Jacquart, Kayla, 252
Janssen, Charlie, 80, 89–90, 163, 166, 240, 241, 248
Johnson, Joel W., 28–30, 35
Johnson, Samuel, 152
Jukes, Thomas H., 199
Jungle, The (Sinclair), 21, 27, 153, 260–61
Kalbach, Barb, 227
Kansas. See also Kobach, Kris
anti-immigration laws, 80, 164
Family Farm Protection Act, 101
illegals working in, 67
meat processing plants, 66
Karen political refugees, 175–76, 182–85
Kayser, Jeff, 127, 131
Keh Moo, 185–86
Kinman, Linda, 225–26, 227, 228
Knight, Richard C., 47, 180
Knowlton, Richard, 16, 23–29, 44, 45, 48, 61, 63
Kobach, Kris, 57, 80, 90, 91, 163, 164, 167, 240, 241, 254
Kotas, Wanda, 88–89, 90
Kraft Foods Lunchables, 28
Kruse, Susan, 13, 50, 72, 73, 74
Kucinich, Dennis, 126
labor unions, 60. See also UFCW
contract with Knowlton (1978), 62
dirty tricks by meat industry and, 42
Hormel and, 9–10, 16, 25–26, 32, 33, 42, 43–44, 48, 49, 62, 63–64, 180–81
meat industry, organizing in, 87, 88, 182–85
striking stockyard workers, 60
USDA pilot program and, 30
Lachance, Daniel, 18, 39, 40, 50, 51, 52, 74, 77–78, 92, 147, 148, 149–50, 155, 156, 159, 160
Lande, Roger, 216
Land O’Lakes, 137
Lathrop, Steve, 240–41
Lauritsen, Mark, 259
Lausen, Jay, 207–10, 215–18, 220, 222, 235
LB Pork, 98, 100, 117–20
Lederle Laboratories, 198, 199
Leech, Les, 161, 162, 166–67
Lloyd’s Barbeque, 35, 180
Lopez, Bryan, 250
Lopez, Fernando, xiv
Lopez, Maria, xiii, 34
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, 229
Lynfield, Ruth, 40, 41
Lyons, Shawn, 121, 132–33, 136, 140–41, 143
Lyons, Sherri, 136, 141, 143
Magdalena Peñasco, Mexico, 48
Magnus, Doug, 138, 140
MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), 240, 246, 247
Mark D. Sobsey, 228