Thursday, November 11, 2021

Another pork-plant line speeds mandate

After a judge scrapped faster line speeds for some pork-packing plants, the United States Department of Agriculture has a new plan under which nine companies may apply to increase line speeds.

The National Pork Producers Council, which speaks for hog farmers, was angry about the judge’s decision because it feared there would be too many market-ready hogs and not enough slaughtering capacity, so hog prices would be pressured lower.


It said hog prices declined by 2.3 per cent after the judge’s decision.


On the other hand, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union said the faster line speeds increased the risk of injuries and Zach Corrigan, senior attorney for Food & Water Watch, said the government is caving in to industry pressure.


It was the administration under former president Donald Trump that granted permission for faster line speeds.