Meatpacking

Abstract

The meatpacking industry has long been an important part of the American economy. By the mid-nineteenth century, meatpacking was central to national economic development. This chapter highlights meatpacking's significant contributions to American agricultural history in four areas: industrial evolution; workers and labor unions; effects on the environment; and ethical implications. These four areas encompass historians' most important concerns and also illustrate the breadth and depth of historical literature on meatpacking. Pollution has always accompanied meat production. In early American history, the most notable environmental concern regarding livestock was damage from free-roaming hogs. Concerns about the ethics of meat-eating emerged in the United States during the first third of the nineteenth century. Literature on meatpacking's industrial evolution is scattered and piecemeal for early American history.