The Beef Industry in Texas
Texas seems to be synonymous with beef. Indeed, it comes as no surprise that Texas holds the most cattle of all US states (National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, 2019). The culture of cattle goes back well into the 1730s when the Spanish first brought beef into what is now Texas (Richardson & Hinton, n.d.). The cattle industry boomed in the 1920s, was hurt in the 30s, and began growing to what we know today in the 1950s with expanding commercial feedlots and improving technology (Richardson & Hinton, n.d.). However, linked with this rich history of beef in Texas are ethical concerns for factory workers, the cattle processed, the overall health of the globe, and the physical health of Texans.
The Texan beef industry is perpetuated through the continued consumption of cows within Texas and abroad. And in some ways consumers may not first think, dairy products as well are linked to the beef industry and the veal industry (USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, 2011). Within the dairy industry in the US, cattle born in the impregnation process used to get dairy cows to produce milk are either used for veal or taken and raised for beef. Alongside this, the dairy cow herself once spent will also often be turned into beef (The Cattle Site, 2014). The effects of the Texan beef industry are multifaceted, but a few highlights of the continuation of this industry include the poor conditions of meatpacking workers, the inhumane treatment of Texan cows, the degradation of the environment, and the promotion of dangerously unhealthy foods to the public.
Our use of cattle can be seen in the daily lives of many. In most grocery stores and restaurants, you’re bound to see some form of cow product. From milk and cheese to ground beef to steak, beef is everywhere. However, the darker aspects of the industry are often out of sight for the greater public, though some striking undercover footage can be found to visualize the pains of Texan cattle and the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the poor treatment of floor workers in the meat processing industry. Alongside the poor treatment of other farm animals, the documentary Dominion shows the hard-to-watch realities of cow slaughtering and milk production (Farm Transparency Project, 2018). This combined with news coverage revealing meat processing giants such as JBS who have a large presence in Texas are quick to deny worker’s compensations for meat-packers and have largely kept employees in work environments where COVID-19 can easily and quickly spread (National Public Radio, 2020).
Unfortunately, cattle also naturally produce a significant amount of methane, a known greenhouse gas that is more potent than dioxide (Okshevsky, 2020). With climate change being a well-known issue, this added methane only puts the foot on the literal gas of worsening the global temperatures already being effected by fossil fuel emissions.
For fellow Texans reading this, I am sure you are well-aware of the meat culture here. I would love to dine on my steak and ‘taters, a favorite feast of mine. I remember the succulent tastes of a perfectly done beef brisket, having also enjoyed this food as a treat in my childhood. From barbie-ques to steak houses, Texas is well-known for its love of meat. But this love for meat may have more consequences than just what’s on the dinner plate.
Growing up in America, I myself have also seen many of my family members struggle with clogged arteries, diabetes, and cancer. Strokes, heart attacks, stints, insulin injections, blood sugar levels, and lost family are all familiar to me. Insidiously, beef seems to have a connection.While only one source of cholesterol and saturated fat in the standard American diet, a 3.5 oz serving of lean ground beef has 78 mg of cholesterol and 7 grams of saturated fat (UCSF Health, n.d.). Most people know about how a lot of cholesterol and saturated fat in one’s diet contributes to heart disease, but the long-chain saturated fatty acids present in beef is also linked as well to insulin resistance (Milanski et al., 2009). As this implies, there are studies linking meat consumption to a greatly increased risk of diabetes (Barnard et al., 2014). In 2019 in Texas 12.2% of the adult population showed to have diabetes, with this percentage generally increasing over time and showing to be higher than the national average of 10.8% in that same year (America’s Health Rankings, 2020).
Diabetes is a prevalent disease affecting Texan consumers, and beef and dairy are likely only helping keep this life-changing ailment widespread through their regular consumption. Topping this off, the World Health Organization lists red meats as probable carcinogens and processed meats of all kinds, such as all-beef hot dogs, as a Group 1 carcinogen, specifically stating that “eating processed meat causes colorectal cancer” (World Health Organization, 2015). Not only does the beef industry endanger the lives of workers, but also it would seem us the consumers.
Some solutions are being attempted to fix some of the issues sprung by the beef industry. Most recently, the US Congress launched an investigation on the poor safety conditions of meat-packers during the COVID-19 pandemic and is holding OSHA accountable for having failed to better working conditions for these workers (Yeung & Grabell, 2021). Alongside this, research is being done to determine which parts of cattle factory farms emit the most greenhouse gasses and find ways to reduce total emissions (Borhan et al., 2011).
A solution proposed by some to help solve all issues created by the Texan beef industry, and all animal industries, has been the stopping of all animal product consumption. Through this, individuals are hoping to decrease total profits to industries such as those seen in Texas to help shrink their operations and cause the companies such as JBS perpetuating the problems to go bankrupt or find alternative ways to keep afloat. Anyone aiming to better their health, protest meat-processing plant working conditions, reduce their contribution to global warming, and reduce funding to cattle factory farms may find a plant-based diet is the best approach an individual can take in this situation alongside larger governmental efforts being done to combat specific issues.
The problems of the beef industry will be hard to shake, as the majority of Texans are not going to be quick to abstain from their milk and steak. While vegans abstain from all animal products, they are likely one of the only groups both not consuming beef nor dairy and make for a good reference in showing the relative size of people not funding beef nor dairy industry. From what stats are available, it would seem only around 1–2% of individuals across the US are abstaining from beef and dairy products that would help to de-fund the entire US beef and dairy industry, let alone these industries in Texas (Zampa, 2019). It is hard for a state such as Texas to change its habits, known for its generally stalwart culture. Alongside this, these meat processing companies lobby in the US, putting their money towards sustaining all meat processing industries across the US, including the cow processing done in Texas. In 2020 alone, JBS gave out $125,000 to federal candidates via the JBS USA PAC (OpenSecrets, n.d.). Solving the issues at hand will likely be a challenging and long road for those who want to do so.
Citations
America’s Health Rankings. (2020). Annual Report. https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Diabetes/state/TX
Barnard, N., Levin S., & Trapp C. (2014, February 21). Meat Consumption as a Risk Factor for Type 2 Diabetes. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3942738/
Borhan, M. S., Capareda, S. C., Mukhtar, S., Faulkner, W. B., McGee, R., & Parnell, C. B. (2011). Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ground Level Area Sources in Dairy and Cattle Feedyard Operations. Atmosphere, 2(3), 303–329. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos2030303
The Cattle Site. (2014, June 3). When Dairy Cows Become Beef Cows. https://www.thecattlesite.com/articles/3941/when-dairy-cows-become-beef-cows/
Farm Transparency Project. (2018, October 9). Dominion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQRAfJyEsko&t=3292s
Milanski, M., Degasperi, G., Coope, A., Morari, J., Denis, R., Cintra, D. E., . . . Velloso, L. A. (2009, January 14). Saturated fatty acids produce an inflammatory response predominantly through the activation of tlr4 signaling in hypothalamus: Implications for the pathogenesis of obesity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6664935/
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. (2019, May 30). Beef Industry Overview. https://www.ncba.org/beefindustrystatistics.aspx
National Public Radio. (2020, November 11). Meatpacking Giant JBS Denies Workers’ Coronavirus Claims. https://www.npr.org/2020/11/11/933754519/meatpacking-giant-jbs-denies-workers-coronavirus-claims
Okshevsky, M. (2020, March 15). Cows, Methane, and Climate Change. Let’s Talk Science. https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/stem-in-context/cows-methane-and-climate-change
OpenSecrets. (n.d.). JBS USA PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates. http://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/jbs-usa/C00394650/candidate-recipients/2020
Richardson T.C. & Hinton H.P. (n.d.) Ranching. Handbook of Texas. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/ranching
UCSF Health. (n.d.). Cholesterol Content of Foods. https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/cholesterol-content-of-foods
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. (2011, June). Veal from Farm to Table. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/c1c3ed6a-c1e5-4ad0-ba6c-d53d71d741c6/Veal_from_Farm_to_Table.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
World Health Organization. (2015, October 26). Cancer: Carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat and processed meat. https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/cancer-carcinogenicity-of-the-consumption-of-red-meat-and-processed-meat
Yeung B. & Grabell M. (2021, February 4). After Hundreds of Meatpacking Workers Died From COVID-19, Congress Wants Answers. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/after-hundreds-of-meatpacking-workers-died-from-covid-19-congress-wants-answers
Zampa, M. (2019, May 20). How Many Vegans Are There Really in the U.S.? Sentient Media. https://sentientmedia.org/how-many-vegans-are-there-in-the-u-s/
