Small farmers like Hank preserved and respected the land, but were barely making it

Runoff from the urbanization in part caused by fast food in colorado springs leads to massive erosion of the land owned by small farmers.

Mergers and acquisitions: problem, problem solved, the problem again

Wave of mergers in 1980s caused severe discrepancies between larger companies & small ranchers

Creation of the chicken mcnugget changes the chicken industry

Tyson uses chicken growers to avoid the costs of owning their own poultry houses

Growers blacklisted if they complain, with limited options to turn to, and often drop out of the industry

What once was a career became a job similar to that of a fast food employee

Jobs that used to provide a very fair salary started paying barely liveable wages

high turnover rate proved to be more profitable for IBP, no longer paid insurance & vacation time

IBP recruits immigrant workers that they know they can take advantage of

Claims that they do not knowingly hire illegal immigrants

GFI america Inc brought in people with a promise of housing and a steady work, and then dropped them off at shelters

Tax breaks were granted via new legislation that greatly affected the meatpacking industry

Colorado became more of a vacation destination than ranchland

Monfort opens a slaughter house in Greeley with a generous union contract

In 1979, monfort wanted to cut labor costs

In 1979, monfort purchased a new slaughter house from Swift & Company, and brought in new workers with a new union to lower labor costs

He sued Excel to halt an acquisition of another company claiming that it would negatively affect the industry

Excel appealed to the supreme court where Reagan administration unsurprisingly overturned the decision, consistent with their lack of action for small cattle ranchers.

Tried to undermine and eliminate the work that had been done by the meatpacking industry since the jungle came out

Started to butcher beef further with their system than done previously

Unionized and skilled butchers started to lose their jobs because of boxed beef

Small processor and wholesalers were put out of business when they invested in a grinder

Secret meetings undermined workers striking for better working conditions against boxed beef to save the industry in New York

Mob ties and bribery allowed IBP to get boxed beef into the new york market

Moved the whole industry out of Chicago, the meat packing capital of the world, to the west for cheaper labor

“The Jungle” uncovered the gruesome work environment in the meatpacking industry

Intensive unionization occurred during world war II, resulting in dramatic increases in the workplace at meatpacking plants

Harold Swift of Swift & Company advocated for his employees

Rancher population is aging, posing risks to their land

Conservation easements are the answer to those problems

Suicide among ranchers is an epidemic, triple the national average