The World’s Safest Food food-production system. The National Football League’s Green Bay
Packers, for example, took their name from the Acme [Meat] Packing
Company. In the 980 s, the meat industry successfully broke the union
hold on meat workers. Shifting to immigrant laborers, who went along
with approved higher line speeds with few complaints about working
conditions, allowed companies to cut hourly compensation by almost
one-half.
Food providers have also profited by steering toward more imports.
Benefits of trade are commonly sold to the public in terms of reciprocal
benefits—for instance, Central America ships bananas while the United
States sends walnuts. The 9 0 s and ’ 80 s was an era of global expansion
through trade and promised prosperity. So-called free-trade agreements
encouraged the outsourcing of entire food product lines because off-
shore labor costs were lower.
In recent decades, much of America’s food imports are “value-added
products,” owing to additional processing or related services. Food
imports are growing faster than are exports because value-added prod-
ucts take advantage of cheaper offshore labor, ingredients, and other
production factors. Over 90 percent of the seafood consumed in the
United States is now imported, though most is caught by American
fisherman, exported to Asia for processing, then shipped back to the
United States.
For domestic meat slaughter and processing, the largest operating
expense is labor. Though it was cut by half through mostly immigrant
labor, by 20 average meatpacking wages had crept up to $ 3 per hour.
By comparison, hourly compensation in China in 20 was $3. 0 , a dif-
ference of $9. 0 per worker per hour.
In 20 3 , FSIS representatives traveled to China to determine whether
food-safety practices in four Chinese plants were equivalent to United
States standards. A positive finding would mean that chickens raised
in the United States could be eviscerated, frozen, shipped to China,
processed into parts, and reshipped as cooked product to the United
States. (Because China is not recognized as free of two poultry diseases,
shipping uncooked poultry to the United States is not allowed.)
When questioned about using Chinese labor to increase profits,
a spokesperson for the National Chicken Council scoffed at the idea,
saying, “Economically, it doesn’t make much sense.... I don’t know