Fact Sheets

INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE

• The United States Meat Industry (Download Pocketbook PDF)
• The Economic Impact of the Meat Industry in the United States
  

ANIMAL HANDLING AND WELFARE

• Animal Welfare in Packing Plants: An Overview
• Products Derived From Animals
• Religious Slaughter

ANIMAL HEALTH

• Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or "Mad Cow Disease")
• BSE Questions and Answers About Beef Safety
• Testing BSE: What It Can and Cannot Accomplish
• Timeline of European and U.S. BSE Developments
• Chart: U.S. BSE Prevention Strategies
• Q&A: Safety of Beef Products Containing Bone or Bone Fragments
• Avian Influenza: Questions and Answers
• Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)

CURED AND PROCESSED MEAT SAFETY

• Diet and Cancer Research
• Sodium Nitrite: The Facts
• Salt Use in Meat and Poultry Products

INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

• Livestock Marketing
• Studies of U.S. Red Meat Industry Structure: A Summary
• Ten Key Facts About the Proposed GIPSA Rule
• Case Studies in the Potential Consequences of the GIPSA Proposed Rule
• Competition in the Livestock and Meat Industry: What the Courts Have Said
  

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• The U.S. Meat and Poultry Industry
• European Union
• Latin America
• Asia
• Korea US Free Trade Agreement
  

LABELING

• Country of Origin Labeling
  

PACKAGING AND SHELF LIFE 

• Ground Beef Shelf Life Guide
• Carbon Monoxide in Meat Packaging: Myths and Facts
• Case Ready Meats/Modified Atmosphere Packaging
• Statements from Scientists Concerning the Safety and Quality of Low Oxygen Modified Atmosphere Packaging with Carbon Monoxide

FOOD SAFETY

• Campylobacter
• E. coli O157:H7
• Listeria
• Yersinia enterocolitica
• Non-O157:H7 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli
• Microbiological Testing
• Pathogen Control in Ground Beef
• Interventions to Ensure Meat Safety
• National Residue Program
• Food Defense in the Meat and Poultry Industry
• Grilling and Hetrocyclic Amines
• Irradiation
• Sanitary Equipment Design
• U.S. Meat and Poultry Inspection System Overview
• Questions and Answers About Ground Beef, Hamburger and Patties

EMPLOYMENT

• Employment and Wages in the Meat Industry
• Facts About E-Verify Program
• Foreign-Born Workers in the Meat and Poultry Industry

WORKER SAFETY

• Line Speeds in Meat and Poultry Plants
• Worker Safety in the Meat and Poultry Industry

ETHANOL

• Ethanol and Biofuels

NUTRITION/CONSUMPTION

• U.S. Meat and Poultry Consumption Overview

PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

• Corn-Fed Versus Grass-Fed Beef
• Antibiotic Use in Livestock Production: Ensuring Animal Health
• Questions and Answers About Mechanically Tenderized Meats
• Growth Promotants in Meat Production
• Organic and Natural Meat Products
• Meat Derived By Advanced Meat Recovery
• Questions and Answers About Lean Finely Textured Beef
• USDA Fact Sheet on Lean, Finely Textured Beef
• Facts About Transglutaminase
• Transglutaminase and Beef Fibrin: Facts, Figures & Falsehoods

ENVIRONMENT

• Climate Change and Animal Agriculture: The Facts (Download PDF)
• Animal Agriculture and GHG Emissions: Fact Versus Fallacy