Farmers deserve the right to process their own animals on their farms, but the federal government has done its best to take this right away and most states haven’t done much to counter it.
One exception is New Hampshire. Earlier this year, it passed a bill for on-farm processing, HB 396, but the governor bowed to the monopoly meat-processors’ aggressive lobbying and vetoed it. The legislature can still override the governor’s veto, but they won’t do that unless they hear from constituents about how badly this bill is needed.
Every state should follow New Hampshire’s lead.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Legislators to Recognize Farmers’ Right to Process Their Own Animals!
New Hampshire’s innovative bill would allow limited non-USDA-certified on-farm processing of cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats for in-state sale. It permits the slaughter and processing of three cows, five pigs, or 10 sheep/goats per month. It includes provisions for humane slaughter, food safety, record keeping, and menu/labeling requirements. Then, the meat can be sold directly from the farm, at farm stands or farmers markets, and to restaurants and retailers.
It’s not complete deregulation, but it is a step in the right direction. It could save family farms while getting healthy grass-fed and pasture-raised meat to more people.
How did farmers lose their right to slaughter their own animals?
In 1967, Congress passed the Wholesome Meat Act, ushering in the consolidation of the meat industry by requiring producers to use a USDA-inspected facility if they sell meat across state lines. At that time, there were 9,627 USDA-approved livestock slaughtering establishments in the U.S. By 1980, there were just 1,627. Today, there are about 800. Those 800 federally inspected plants produce over 95 percent of the meat in this country. The other five percent is butchered by 1,900 non-federal, state-inspected “custom” processors—meat that isn’t allowed to be sold across state lines.
The map of slaughterhouses by state in a 2016 USDA report says it all. If you live in or near Pennsylvania, you’re in luck—Pennsylvania has the largest number of federally inspected slaughter plants with 83. But too bad if you live in states with very few. That map hasn’t been updated, but here’s a current list.
The distance from farm to slaughterhouse makes a big difference in price and quality. This is largely due to injuries, trauma, and death suffered by animals during transport, which according to the Food & Agriculture Organization is “the most stressful and injurious stage in the chain of operations between farm and slaughterhouse and contributes significantly to poor animal welfare and loss of production.”
Just because there’s a USDA-inspected slaughterhouse within a reasonable distance from a farm doesn’t mean it’s actually available. Small-scale farmers regularly report that they have trouble finding meat processors that can take them and that when they find one that will, the wait can be a year or more.
Under current regulations, local farmers who commit to a higher standard of care for their animals are forced to either close up shop, or expose their animals to the low standards and food safety problems of industrial factory farm facilities.
It doesn’t have to be this way. States need to stand up to support small independent farmers and ranchers by respecting their right to slaughter their animals on their farms.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Your State Legislators to Recognize Farmers’ Right to Process Their Own Animals!