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Slaughterhouse Rules: Animal Uniformity and Regulating for Food Safety in Meat Packing

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  • Hennessy, David A.

Abstract

Meat retailers express demand for a more uniform product, and technical innovations are allowing an increasingly uniform supply. Packers can promote uniformity through pre-slaughter sorting, or earlier through contracts. Emphasizing effort on the packing line, we develop a model whereby packers gain from carcass handling efficiencies when animal uniformity increases. Whether optimally regulated or not, equilibrium food safety declines with increased uniformity. A line speed regulation can increase welfare in the presence of food safety externalities by reducing the opportunity cost of allocating effort toward promoting food safety. The regulation also reduces packer demand for more uniform animals.

Suggested Citation

  • Hennessy, David A., 2003. "Slaughterhouse Rules: Animal Uniformity and Regulating for Food Safety in Meat Packing," Staff General Research Papers Archive 10839, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:isu:genres:10839
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    Cited by:

    1. Diana Stuart & Michelle Worosz, 2012. "Risk, anti-reflexivity, and ethical neutralization in industrial food processing," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(3), pages 287-301, September.
    2. David A. Hennessy & Tong Wang, 2012. "Animal Disease and the Industrialization of Agriculture," Natural Resource Management and Policy, in: David Zilberman & Joachim Otte & David Roland-Holst & Dirk Pfeiffer (ed.), Health and Animal Agriculture in Developing Countries, edition 1, chapter 0, pages 77-99, Springer.
    3. John Bovay, 2023. "Food safety, reputation, and regulation," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(2), pages 684-704, June.
    4. Link, David J. & Almas, Lal K. & Brown, Michael S. & Lawrence, Ty E., 2011. "The Beneficial Impact of Sorting Heavy Cattle at Re-Implant," 2011 Annual Meeting, February 5-8, 2011, Corpus Christi, Texas 98732, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    5. Saitone, Tina L. & Aleks Schaefer, K. & Scheitrum, Daniel P., 2021. "COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in U.S. meatpacking counties," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

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