Pork group asks USDA to support faster slaughterhouse speeds

A trade group for pig farmers is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to appeal a recent federal judge's order that struck down a federal rule allowing pork processing plants to speed up processing

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A group representing slaughterhouses urged the federal government Tuesday to let them continue an effort to speed up the processing of pigs into bacon and ham despite a union’s claim that the increased volume endangers workers. The National Pork Producers Council, an industry trade group, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture calling on the agency to appeal a ruling by a federal judge that it argued would needlessly slow production and hurt farmers still recovering from problems associated with the coronavirus pandemic. “The U.S. pork production system, the most advanced in the world, is characterized by robust competition, innovation and efficiency. With the stroke of a judge’s pen, the lives of many hog farmers will be upended if this misguided ruling takes effect,” said NPPC President Jen Sorenson, communications director for Iowa Select Farms, the state's largest pork producer based in West Des Moines. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which represents 33,000 pork slaughterhouse workers, said the judge's ruling recognized that the USDA failed to consider worker safety when it finalized the faster production speeds.