Martinez, Mariana, 13
Mauch, Marvin, 115, 120
Mauch, Shelly, 113, 132, 133, 136, 141
Mayo Clinic, 50, 73, 92, 147, 160
workers’ illness at QPP, 50, 51–52
Pain Management Program, 148
McBeth, Daryn, 139
McCain, John, 137
McCarthy, Gina, 227
McCoy, Peterson & Jorstad, 72
McKichan, David, 151–52
McLain, Bill, 167–68
McLeod County Farmers’ Union, 140
MDH (Minnesota Department of Health), 39, 40–41, 51, 72
meat industry, xiv, 3–4, 9–10. See also labor unions; specific corporations and states decentralizing production and inspections, 264
E. coli outbreak (1993), 26
federal regulators, 21
food safety violations at HIMP plants, 255–57
government subsidies for, 59
Hispanic workforce, 69, 167
Hormel salary system, 61
illegals working in, 6–7, 67, 83 (see also Hormel Foods; QPP)
industrialization, 100–101, 102, 103
largest meat processing plant, 102
line speed and, xiii–xvi, 4, 22–23, 26, 32–35, 51, 69
lobbying groups, 99, 126, 137, 204
Neill-Reynolds Report, 22
USDA HIMP pilot program of reduced inspections, xv, 27–28, 30–35, 69, 104, 180, 255–57, 264
pork sales to Asia, 214
post-war rise in demand, 59
public complicity in cheap meat production, xvi
Roosevelt’s reforms, 22, 27
as seasonal, pre–World War II, 100
self-regulating, problems with, 139
Sinclair’s exposé (1906), 21, 22–23
small town settings sought, 60
supply chain (vertical integration), 62, 98, 101–2, 108, 194, 209–10
technological changes, 25
wages, 42 (see also specific plants)
white workers rejecting jobs in, 69
meat inspectors union, 30–31
Meat Trust, 102
Mertz, Dolores, 216
Meshbesher & Spence, 73
Mexican drug cartels, 68
Miller, Tom, 103, 209
Minnesota. See also Albert Lea, Minnesota; Austin, Minnesota
agri-business and legislature, 137
Family Farm Protection Act, 101
hog production in, 118
Hormel and swine testing station, 105
Hormel’s relationship with legislature, 105
immigration reform in, 138
JOBZ initiative, 179
Republic National Convention in, 137, 140
Wilson strike (1959), 177
Minnesota Agri-Growth Council, 136–39, 140
Minnesota Corn Growers Association, 137
Minnesota Milk Producers Assn., 137
Minnesota Pork Board, 99, 138
Minnesota Pork Producers Assn., 99
MinnSIR (Minnesotans Seeking Immigration Reform), 83–85, 173
Monty Python skit, 7, 16
Moore, Jay, 217–18, 227, 231, 232, 234–35
MowMar Farms (now Faircreek)
animal abuse, 99–100, 108–12, 127–29, 131–33, 134, 135–36, 140–41
Hormel and, 136
improved care of hogs at, 142–43
PETA undercover investigators, 113–16, 120–23, 128–29, 134
MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), 117, 193, 203–4, 205
Murphy-Brown (hog farm), 102–3
Murphy Family Ventures, 124
Nachminovitch, Daphna, 131, 134–35
National Farmers Organization, 212
National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, 30
National Pork Board, 99, 133
National Pork Producers Council, 204
Neary, Joe, 231
Nebraska
anti-immigration laws, 80, 163
Dream Act, 163
Family Farm Protection Act, 101
ICE agreement for Secure Communities, 163
Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, xiv, xv, 76, 165, 259
Nebraska Justice Center, 165
Neill, Charles P., 22
Neilon, Patrick, 174–75, 179, 180, 181, 185, 186–87
Nelson, Ben, 57
New Fashion Pork, 193–97, 209–23, 227
Nixon, Richard, 212
NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), 185, 187
NPPII (Natural Pork Production II), 98, 109–10, 111, 112, 113, 116, 119–20
NSM (National Socialist Movement), 152, 173
Obama, Barack, 174, 227
Ocean View Farms, North Carolina, 102
Ollman, Joe, 9, 10
Olmedo-Hernandez, Roberto, 91–92
Olsen, Daryl, 109, 112, 119, 135
Oscar Mayer, 28
OSHA (U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration), xv, 260
Ostrom, Kristin, 165, 167, 168, 169, 239–40, 242, 245
Ottumwa, Iowa, Hormel plant, 42, 64
Paden, Dan, 142
Patterson, Thomas, 147
Pawlenty, Tim, 83–85, 179
Paz, Humberto, 160
PEDv (porcine epidemic diarrhea virus), 193, 232
Perciasepe, Bob, 227
Perpich, Rudy, 64
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), 123–27
conviction of Shawn Lyons, 141
hog abuse video, 99, 129, 138
Hormel and suppression, 125, 126–27
MowMar Farms and animal cruelty, 97–100, 112–16, 127–29
undercover investigators, 113–16, 120–23, 124
Peterson, Alan E., 170
Peterson, Ray, 72
Pflanz, Norm, 76, 77
Pillsbury, 26
PIN (progressive inflammatory neuropathy ), 51, 71, 74, 78, 91, 153, 156, 159, 188, 265–66
Policy Management Interests LLC, 216
poultry industry, 139
Prescott, Matt, 97, 99
Prestage-Stoecker Farms, 102–3
Progressive Processing, Dubuque, Iowa, 262
Public Citizen, 264
QPP (Quality Pork Processors Inc.)
author visits, 45–47, 265–66
brain machine, 3–4, 5, 13, 18, 40–41
“chiseling” job at, 153–55
corporate headquarters, 7
creation of, as union-busting, 47–48
documents given illegals by, 151
employee meetings, as response to outbreak of illness, 46, 49, 50
fair labor laws violation, 30
food safety violations, 256–57
hidden identity of, 7, 16, 47, 88
as HIMP plant, 30, 34
ICE crackdown, 173–76, 189
ICE threats, 92–93
immigrants at, 6–7, 16, 45, 48, 74, 150–52, 153, 157–60, 173–76, 181
Karen refugees at, 176, 182–85
kill floor, 3–4
labor union and, 49
line speed increases, 19, 37, 51
MDH environmental assessment, 40–41
meat inspection at, 37
number of hogs processed at, 37, 266
plant expansion, Austin, 35
sale to Blaine Jay Corp., 41, 157
secrecy at, 45
as Select Foods in Albert Lea, 35, 179
settlement offers, 74, 79, 160
tactic to avoid MDH and ICE scrutiny, 157
treatment of sick workers, 50, 153–55, 157–58, 159
wages, 12, 64, 154
worker compensation claims, 72, 73, 92, 159–60
worker illnesses, 3–6, 12–13, 17–19, 36–38, 39–41, 49–51, 77–79, 91–92, 153–56, 159
worker protests, 91–92
worker safety, 3–4, 40, 154
workers’ fear of speaking out, 49
workers fired for filing claims, 160
workers’ insurance claims r
ejected, 71–74
workers’ law suits, 72, 73–74, 149–50
Quality Ag Builders, 216
Raccoon River Watershed Assn., 203
Rachleff, Peter, 43
Ralston, Richard, 115–16, 120–21, 129, 131–32, 141
Rastetter, Brent, 216
Reagan, Ronald, 66, 137
Register, Cheri, 177
Rettig, Alan, 121–22, 123, 127–29, 131, 132, 133, 141
Reynolds, James Bronson, 22
Rezac, Joseph, 32
Ricketts, Pete, 57
Rinaker, Nick, 31
Rodriguez-Sanchez, Patricia, 150–52
Roe, Steve, 203
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 60–61, 211
Roosevelt, Theodore, 21–22, 27, 102, 231
Rosenbaum, Adina H., 264
Ruderman, Robert, 113–16, 128–29, 135
Ruiz, Pablo, 36–38, 77–79, 92–93, 147–50, 160, 188
Sanchez-Hernandez, Delfino, 150–52
Schindler, Richard, 17, 38, 40
Schnatz, Andy, 79
immigrants and, 55–56, 57–58, 67, 162, 163, 253
meatpacking plants, 67, 250
Schwan Food Company, 137
Schwartz, Walter, 17, 188
Seckman, Mark, 263
Select Foods, Albert Lea, Minnesota, 35, 152, 174, 175, 179
illegals working at, 181
Karen refugees working at, 183–87
line speed increases, 184
union and, 181, 185–87
Shuanghui International, 194
Sidrak, Hany, 260
Simpson, Wilton, 139
Sinclair, Upton, 21, 22, 102
Skokan, Dean, 75–77, 80, 90
Smith, Tara, 204
Smith Camp, Laurie, 241–42, 246
Smithfield Foods, 102–3, 104, 124, 194
exemptions from laws, 104, 110, 209
Snee, Jim, 194
Solberg, Linus, 231
Sorensen, Sally Jo, 140
Southern Poverty Law Center, xiv
Spam, xiv, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13–16, 25, 28, 29, 194, 261
Dubuque plant expansion, 263
fat trimmings needed for, 261–62
formula for, 261
Fremont plant expansion, 259
Johnson and, 28, 35
line speed increases and, 29
Monty Python skit, 7, 16
Museum, 7, 9, 86
reason for creating, 13–14
sales, 35–36, 259, 263
Steinberg, Michael, 120–23, 128–29, 134
St. Mary’s Hospital, Rochester, Minnesota, 5, 77
Suidae Health & Production, 98, 120, 127, 128, 131
Sunnycrest Inc., 216
supply chain (vertical integration), 62, 98, 101–2, 108, 194, 209–10
exemptions from laws regulating, 219
New Fashion Pork and, 219–20
Swedberg, Joe C., 137, 138
Sweeney, Annette, 140
Swift & Company, 22, 47, 83, 84, 173
Syngenta seeds, 137
Tarrant, Roxanne, 74, 77, 147, 156, 159
Temperley, Don, 166, 167
Treviño, Lupe, 160
Tha Wah, 183–85, 186
Thome, Gary, 119, 123, 135
3M, 65, 171
Tillery, Ron, 166, 168
Tony Downs Foods, St. James, Minnesota, 262
Triumph Foods, St. Joseph, Missouri, 189, 219
Tromanhauser, Darcy, 259, 260
Tully, Susan, 84
Tyson, 67, 83, 109
exemptions from laws, 104
UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers), 62–63, 88, 185, 259
UFCW Local 6 (Albert Lea), 174, 177, 181, 184–87
UFCW Local 9 (Austin), 42, 43–44
Hormel creation of QQP and, 47–48
Hormel outsourcing to avoid, 180–81
lack of support for sick workers at QQP, 49
strike of 1985–1986, 44–45, 47, 63–64, 88
UFCW Locals 22 and 293 (Fremont), 61, 63, 64, 256, 258
UFCW Local 431 (Ottumwa), 64
United Packinghouse Workers of America, 60
University of Minnesota, Hormel Institute, 198, 199–200
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), xv
author’s FOIA request unfilled, 264
beef recall, Hallmark/Westland, 124
Conservation Reserve Program, 207–8, 210
Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906, 22, 23, 30
FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service), 23, 26, 255–57, 260, 264
HIMP (HACCP-based inspection models program), xv, 27–28, 30–35, 69, 104, 180, 255–57, 264
Hormel’s plan to decentralize production and inspections, 264
illusion of safety, 261
“Inspection and Enforcement Activities at Swine Slaughter Plants” report, 255–57
line speed increases and, xv, 26, 104
meat inspection by, xv, 21, 22, 37
Vaughan, Randy, 128, 134, 135, 136
Vazquez, Miguela, 55–56, 59, 254
Vazquez, Raul, 55–56, 57–58, 59, 65–66, 68, 69–70, 162, 253–54
Velez, Alfredo, 68, 80–81
Ver Steeg, Eugene, 216
Wadding, Kelly, 7, 30, 40, 49, 180
advance knowledge of MDH visit, 41
author interview with, 156–58, 160
brain machine removal and, 41, 72
defense of hiring practices, 153
denial of insurance coverage for workers and, 73
ICE crackdown and, 175
Karen political refugees and, 183
QPP purchased, 180
QQP sale to Blaine Jay and, 41–42
Select Foods and, 179, 187
undocumented workers and, 181
Wadleigh, April, 242–43, 244
Wallace, Henry A., 211
Wal-Mart, 106
Warner, Bob, 75–77, 80, 90, 247, 249
Weihs, Gary, 108–11, 142
Welcome, Minnesota, 98
Wicks, Dale, 40, 92, 148, 153, 157, 158–59
Wiegert, John, 82, 88–91, 171, 247
Wiegert, Marilyn, 171
Williamson, Rick, 263, 264
Willmar Poultry Company, 139
Wilson, Thomas E., 176–77
Wilson Foods, Albert Lea, Minnesota, 42, 177–78
Wimmer’s, 67
Winkels, Casper, 86–88
Winkels, John, 9, 87, 178
Winkels, Pete, 88, 178
worker safety, xiii–xvi, 36–38. See also specific plants
CIDP at QQP plant, 3–6, 11–12, 17–19, 39–41
HIMP plants and, 258–59
Hispanic underreporting of injuries, 258–59
line speed increases, consequences of, xiii–xvi, 3–6, 43, 259–60
repetitive motion injuries, xv, 5, 18, 19, 29, 38, 43, 154, 155, 259
unsafe conditions at QPP, 3–6
Whizard knives and, 5, 155
Your Mommy Kills Animals (film), 125, 126
Zapata, Santa, 13, 18, 160
Zarate, Maggie, 79
Zelle, Mark, 263–64
Zillgitt, Julius A., 14, 261
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TED GENOWAYS served as the editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review from 2003 to 2012, during which time the magazine won six National Magazine Awards. He is a contributing editor at Mother Jones and editor-at-large at OnEarth, and his essays and poetry have appeared in The Atlantic, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Harper’s, The Nation, The New Republic, Outside, and The Washington Post Book World. He is a winner of a National Press Club Award, the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism and the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. He is a fourth-generation Nebraskan and currently lives in Lincoln.
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CREDITS
Cover illustration by Kelsey Dake
Cover design by Milan Bozic
COPYRIGHT
THE CHAIN. Copyright © 2014 by Ted Genoways. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
Photographs by Mary Anne Andrei
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Genoways, Ted.
The chain : farm factory / Ted Genoways.—First edition.
pages cm
Farm factory
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-06-228875-2
EPub Edition OCTOBER 2014 ISBN 9780062288776
1. Meat industry and trade—United States. 2. Food processing plants—United States. 3. Factory farms. 4. Industrial safety. 5. Hormel Foods Corporation. I. Title. II. Title: Farm factory.
HD9415.G46 2014
338.7'664920973—dc23
2014019018
14 15 16 17 18 OV/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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