Killing living beings is not something most people want to do. Yet slaughterhouses are places that authorize workers to kill. The places where animals are killed for food are often very dangerous for the people who work there, and the animals are put to horrible deaths.
Beef is big business in the United States. In 2020 alone 26.2 billion pounds of beef and veal were produced in the U.S., generating over $72 billion in sales. With Americans consuming on average 57 pounds of beef per person per year, it’s clear that beef plays a major role in the country’s food system.
But when you sit down to enjoy your burger or steak do you ever think about where that beef is coming from? The journey from pasture to plate involves a complex supply chain with meat processing playing a key role. Let’s take a look at how consolidated the U.S. beef slaughter industry has become and discuss the major players dominating beef production today.
Consolidation of U.S. Beef Slaughterhouses
Over the past few decades the meat processing industry has undergone extreme consolidation reducing competition in beef slaughtering. Here are some key stats
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In 1977, the four largest beef packers controlled only 25% of the market. Today, the top 4 control 85% of the market: Cargill, JBS, Tyson Foods, and National Beef Packing.
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The number of operational slaughterhouses dropped from over 600 in 1977 to around 150 in 2020.
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The top 4 companies process 75-85% of U.S. beef at 54 facilities combined.
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Cargill and JBS together control over 60% of all U.S. beef processing.
This level of concentration and reduction in competitors has allowed a few giants to dominate pricing and control markets. Critics argue this monopolization creates opportunities for price manipulation and unfair practices that hurt independent producers and consumers.
The Top 4 Beef Slaughterhouses in the U.S.
Let’s take a closer look at the 4 beef slaughtering behemoths mentioned above that process the vast majority of U.S. beef today:
1. Cargill
- Processes 6 million cattle per year
- Operates 6 beef processing facilities
- Provides 25% of U.S. beef
- Privately owned, family-controlled business
2. JBS USA
- Processes 5.5 million cattle per year
- Operates 9 U.S. beef plants
- Supplies nearly 20% of U.S. beef
- Subsidiary of Brazilian company JBS S.A.
3. Tyson Foods
- Processes 5 million cattle annually
- Operates 5 beef plants
- Supplies 17-20% of U.S. beef
- Major publicly traded meat company
4. National Beef Packing
- Processes 1.9 million head of cattle per year
- Operates 3 processing facilities
- Supplies 12-15% of U.S. beef
- Subsidiary of Brazilian meatpacker Marfrig Global Foods
Effects of Consolidation on Beef Markets
While these huge companies have captured the majority of beef processing, there are still over 100 other smaller beef slaughter plants in the U.S. But the concentration of power in just 4 companies has concerning implications, including:
- Reduction in competition, giving power to set prices
- Lower cattle prices paid to ranchers and farmers
- Increased beef prices for consumers
- Limited options for producers to sell cattle
- Decreased resilience in case of shutdowns or shortages
The beef processing sector will likely remain highly consolidated among a few major players for the foreseeable future. But understanding how concentrated the system has become can help inform discussions around creating fairer, more competitive and resilient beef supply chains.
Psychological Trauma and PTSD in Slaughterhouse Workers
People who kill animals in slaughterhouses have been found to have higher self-reported rates of “somatization, anxiety, anger hostility, phobic anxiety, and psychotism,” than office workers and retail meat-packing workers.
Perpetration-induced traumatic stress is a subcategory of post-traumatic stress disorder that is known to occur among animal care workers, veterinarians, lab workers, veterans, and police officers. Academic researchers are increasingly interested in this specific form of PTSD when discussing the psychologically debilitating nature of slaughterhouse work.
Animals Are Brutally Beaten in Slaughterhouses
Beating animals is not an uncommon occurrence in the world of meat production. In one of their many investigations, Mercy for Animals found that pigs on U. S. factory farms had their testicles ripped out without any pain relief. They then grabbed some baby pigs by their back legs, threw them high into the air, and killed them by hitting the ground with their heads. According to a 2018 Animal Aid investigation video, a worker slammed a gate shut on an animal’s head, and a cow was beaten as she was being led to her death. ”.
AMAZING FRESH BEEF FACTORY PROCESSING LINE-MODERN TECHNOLOGY LIVESTOCK SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FOOD PROCESS
FAQ
What state slaughters the most beef?
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Characteristic
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Number in thousands
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Nebraska
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7,452.2
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Kansas
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6,436.7
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Texas
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5,858.5
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Colorado
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2,469.3
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Where are the major slaughterhouses in the US?
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Company
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City
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State
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Tyson Fresh Meats
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Amarillo
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TX
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Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc.
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Dakota City
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NE
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Cargill, Inc.
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Wayzata
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MN
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JBS
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Grand Island
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NE
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How much meat is slaughtered a year?
On-farm slaughter totaled 94.3 million pounds. Beef production totaled 27.2 billion pounds, up slightly from the previous year. Veal production totaled 69.3 million pounds, down 13 percent from last year. Pork production, at 28.3 billion pounds, was 2 percent above the previous year.
How many slaughterhouses are there in the United States?
There are approximately 800 federally inspected slaughterhouses in the United States. However, a relatively small number of them account for the vast majority of production.
What percentage of cattle are slaughtered?
Steers comprised 49.3 percent of the total federally inspected cattle slaughter, heifers 29.4 percent, dairy cows 9.5 percent, other cows 10.2 percent, and bulls 1.6 percent. Commercial calf slaughter totaled 456,400 head, 22 percent lower than a year ago with 97.9 percent under federal inspection.
Where are the biggest slaughterhouses in America?
The zoomed-out version shows you how the biggest slaughterhouses are spread mostly throughout the Midwest (including two in Wisconsin) and the South. Zooming in, using the tools on the map’s top left, you can see how the slaughterhouses tend to be in tiny population clusters, surrounded by more rural areas.