Chapter 9

1. What are some of the ways people can be affected with E. coli O157:H7?

People can get infected by E. coli O157:H7 by drinking contaminated water, swimming in contaminated lakes, playing at a contaminated water park, or crawling on a contaminated carpet, but the most common is from eating undercooked ground beef.

2. What kinds of things are fed to cattle, things that might facilitate to the spread of pathogens?

Cattle are fed livestock wastes, the rendered remains of dead cattle and sheep, dead cats, and dead dogs. This was stopped in 1997 when when Great Britan suggested that this was the responsibility for mad cow disease. Now only dead pigs, horses and chickens can be fed to cattle.

Chapter 8

1. What kind of injuries do workers in meat packing plants typically suffer?

Meat packers normally stab themselves or someone around them. There is a possible chance of Tendinitis, and cumulative trauma disorders. They also tend to develop back problems, shoulder problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, and "trigger finger".

2. What is the impact on workers of speeding up the line in meat packing plants?

When the lines speed up, the workers are put under more pressure and this leads to accidental cuts and stabbings. The workers tend to neglect sharpening there knives since they want to keep up with the lines, and that puts stress on their bodies. So not only are they stabbing themselves, and even others, but there also stressing themselves out.

Chapter 7!!!!!!!

1. Why were newer meat packing plants located in rural areas rather than in cities?

They put the newer slaughter houses in rural areas, and far away from the urban strongholds of the nations labor unions because the new interstate highway system made it possible to rely upon trucks, rather than railroads, to ship meat.

2. Where do meat packing companies go to recruit new employees? What is the "new industrial migrant"?

Meat packing companies recruit refugees, asylum-seekers, and homeless peopleliving in shelters. They are recruiting these people because they have realized that will work for lower wages than a regular American citizen. IBP was among the first to recognize this fact, and one of the first to take advantage of it.

Chapter 6!!

1. What are some of the problems facing cattle ranchers?

Ranchers are currently facing a mess load of economic problems such as rising land prices, stagnant beef prices, over supplies of cattle, increased shipments of live cattle from Canada and Mexico, development pressures, inheritance taxes, and health scares about beef. This honestly does not surprise me that cattle ranchers are facing these kinds of problems, what with the economy and how far down the drain it has fallen.

2. What are "captive supplies" of cattle?

"Captive supplies" of cattle are cattle that are either maintained in company-owned feedlots or purchased in advanced through forward contracts. So when the prices of cattle start to rise, then the large meatpackers can flood the market with their own captive supplies, driving prices back down. Also, they can obtain cattle through confidential agreements with wealthy ranchers, never revealing the true price being paid.