8 Unexpected Consequences
sure their section of the line kept pace. Profitability was measured in
volume, volume was measured in efficiency, and efficiency was measured
by ensuring no worker slowed down the line. High rates of injury made
meat-packing one of the most dangerous jobs. Whenever a worker was
injured, a “floater” was quickly brought in as a replacement.
As we moved along, I watched workers synchronize their movements
with a machine that peeled the hide from each carcass. Afterward,
another person reached deep into the cavity and eviscerated the animal
by cutting away the connective tissues without puncturing the viscera
and spilling out its contents, which would contaminate the carcass.
Other workers cut off the heads, split each carcass into halves and
washed each with antimicrobials to neutralize fecal matter that may
have landed on the meat.
A bit farther along, we watched as a different line wound around
us carrying the suspended skulls. Then, without any warning, the power
went out, engulfing us in darkness. We stood motionless in the sudden
silence and stillness. Moments later, flashlights darted about and emer-
gency exit lights blinked on in the distance. The light cast a long shadow
across the line of cattle skulls, highlighting their red skeletal tissues, and
illuminating their still-fibrillating eyeballs—twitching about, as if to
remind us they were still alive.
As I stared into the darkness while maintenance workers were
scrambling about, I realized why line speed meant everything. Once
workers were at their duty stations, any line stoppage instantly cut into
profits. But the opposite was also true: increasing line speed beyond the
break-even threshold was pure profit. For a plant turning out millions
of pounds of finished beef each day, the connection between pushing
workers to do more and higher returns was obvious. I understood why
volume was idolized, why line speed had continually been ratcheted
up over time, and why who determines whether or not meat is safe had
always been problematic.
FSIS’s mandate includes “assuring that meat and meat food products
are wholesome, not adulterated, and properly marked, labeled, and
packaged” [italics added]. For nine decades, meatpacking plants were