Aeshah Ahmed

After reading “The Way of All Flesh”, from Harper’s magazine, I truly became even more disgusted by the processing and inspection of beef. Personally, as a member of the Hindu community and religion, I don’t consume beef because cows are seen as sacred animals to us. So reading this article genuinely made me uncomfortable, but within the food and beverage hospitality industry, I have to comply with learning these methods. As it is part of the basic curriculum, I, of course, like anyone else, obtain information outside of my comfort zone. The meat processing industry as a whole is clearly somewhat corrupt, and this article intricately goes through the detailed process of how beef is processed daily in these meat plants. From the procurement of the cattle off of the rough transportation trucks to the inspections and, of course, the gruesome details of slaughtering these cows. Despite the USDA regulations being put into effect, the cattle are up to health standards for human consumption. Issues lie in the fact that this is a male-dominated industry. In the article, we read about Carolina, who is one of the only women working at the meat plant and is constantly “whistled at” while working, which is unprofessional but not surprising. Overall, this article detailed every aspect of what it’s like from a slaughter worker’s perspective on work on a day-to-day basis. Though I am not a vegetarian, I don’t eat beef because of my dietary restrictions. I don’t see myself eating beef in the future, especially after reading this article.