Not Just Laborers

This essay focuses on Latina/o claims to belonging in the community and the nation while working and living in Perry, Iowa. Attracted to jobs in the meatpacking industry, Latinas/os made connections to Perry and developed a sense of belonging despite feeling initially unwelcomed by the town’s residents. Among the challenges confronted by Latina/o residents were the policing of their use of Spanish, negative perceptions of a local Spanish-language radio station, and the racialization of Latinas/os as criminals and foreigners. By confronting these challenges and claiming a place in the community, Latinas/os demonstrated the changing nature of the rural heartland. The town’s Latinas/os characterized themselves as integral to the social, economic, and political fabric of their community and the nation.

A Revolutionary and a Puritan

This chapter analyzes Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle to elucidate his sensory politics and his proposed indictment of industrial capitalism. The Jungle is a fictionalized account of Chicago's meatpacking industry and its appalling working conditions. Sinclair's exposés shocked readers' senses, turning their stomachs with descriptions of rats tossed into sausage hoppers. However, his novel also had much to say about how work in the meat factories dulled the senses of their workers. This chapter examines how Sinclair drew lines of class, ethnicity, and race in sensory terms in order to simultaneously express sympathy and solidarity as well as repulsion and social distance from immigrant workers in Back of the Yards. It also considers how Sinclair described the salvation—socialism—of the characters in The Jungle in non-sensory terms, arguing that he neglects to explain how socialism promised to rejuvenate the senses.

American Slaughterhouses and the Need for Speed: An Examination of the Meatpacking-Methamphetamine Hypothesis

In Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser argues that slaughterhouse workers use methamphetamines to manage the harsh physical and emotional demands of the meatpacking industry. Similar ideas have been raised elsewhere; however, empirical tests of this hypothesis are in short supply. In this article, we elaborate on theoretical mechanisms that may explain why the meatpacking industry encourages methamphetamine use and provide a macro-level test of the meatpacking–methamphetamine hypothesis using 11 years (2001-2012) of hospital admission data and information from annual livestock slaughter reports. Decomposition modeling is used to examine variations across states and within states over time. Results show only modest support for the hypothesis. Specifically, a combined measure of meat is positively and statistically significantly associated with methamphetamine use both within and across states. However, the relationships are not consistently positive or statistically significant across all types of meat. In other words, the meatpacking–methamphetamine relationship is varying and complex.

Failures in incentive transmission along Brazil's quality beef chain

Coordination mechanisms are key factors that affect the competitiveness of agrisystems. Brazilian beef chains are associated with less formal contractual relations compared to other food chains, resulting in frequent conflicts between cattle farmers and the processing industry. This study identifies the reasons for this phenomenon, raising the question of whether the observed incentive structures actually promote cooperation between production and industry. The study aims to explore the role of institutions and incentive structures in coordination failures within beef quality programs coordinated by the meatpacking industry. The issue is treated by considering the principal-agent theory and Transaction Costs Economics. We propose a model of incentive structures for the production of quality beef which considers specific investments made by cattle raisers and the meatpacking industry. In addition to specific investments, we also consider the role institutions play in reducing organizational failures. We adopt a mathematical and a strategic model to which game theory is applied. Quality is addressed using a multidimensional approach, since different product attributes are considered. The theoretical model is then validated in a multiple case study with three quality beef programs. The findings suggest that the complexity of designing efficient incentive structures makes the maintenance of beef quality programs an arduous task. The institutional role represented by formal contracts and horizontal coordination is a relevant aspect that has yet to be considered in preventing organizational failures. This study has academic and managerial implications.