March 14, 2007

Workers, environmentalists to fight increased Smithfield slaughter
 

North Carolina-based Smithfield Packing bid to increase its annual hog slaughter by 12 percent will undergo the scrutiny of a state environmental panel, not to mention slaughterhouse workers and environmentalists, at a hearing slated for Thursday (March15).

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union says workers will be on hand to testify about the dangers and injuries they already incur on production lines, partly stemming from the absence of manpower caused by immigration raids at Tar Heel.

Adding 1 million more hogs to the annual slaughter, to 9.5 million per year from about 8.5 million, will only exacerbate the problem, the union contends.

Meanwhile, environmentalists fear that upping annual slaughter will increase waste discharge into groundwater and rivers; further tax the state's aquifer; and require more open cesspools and spray fields to accommodate the additional hog farms.

Smithfield spokesman Dennis Pittman could not be reached for comment.