Cruelty and Suffering in Cold Storage: 2.5 Billion Pounds of Meat Piled-up in U.S. Warehouses

The USDA projects the industry will produce a record 102.7 billion pounds of meat this year. Cold-storage warehouses are filling up as a result.

JACOB BUNGE: ‘Meat is piling up in U.S. cold-storage warehouses, fueled by a surge in supplies and trade disputes that are eroding demand… Federal data show a record level of beef, pork, poultry and turkey being stockpiled in U.S. facilities, rising above 2.5 billion pounds, according to agricultural analysts… The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects the industry will produce a record 102.7 billion pounds of meat this year. Cold-storage warehouses are filling up as a result. The USDA last month estimated a total 2.5 billion pounds of red meat and poultry in U.S. cold-storage facilities as of the end of May, running 8% above the prior year period — and just slightly below the record.

U.S. consumers’ appetite for meat is growing, but not fast enough to keep up with record production of hogs and chickens. That leaves the U.S. meat industry increasingly reliant on exports, but Mexico and China—among the largest foreign buyers of U.S. meat—have both set tariffs on U.S. pork products in response to U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and other goods. U.S. hams, chops and livers have become sharply more expensive in those markets, which is starting to slow sales, industry officials say’. SOURCE…

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