Meat Processing Alters the Rural South

The expansion of the meat-processing industry in the rural South has served as a magnet for low-skill Hispanic workers who are, in turn, is remaking the demographic profile of many rural communities. This is the conclusion of research article that appeared in the June 2006 Amber Waves, a publication of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The article argues that the combination of changing consumer preferences, technological developments, industry concentration and relocation to rural areas has increased the demand for meat products and meat-processing employees. Between 1981 and 2000, for instance, the number of meat-processing employees in the South expanded to 225,026 from 115,856. Much of this growth occurred in rural areas like North Carolina’s Sampson County, and today some 75 percent of the South’s meat-processing jobs are in rural areas.

While employment in the meat-processing industry has grown, wages have not. The combination of low-wages and dangerous working conditions has led to most jobs being taken by low-skilled Hispanic workers, most of whom are foreign born.

The influx of Hispanic workers is changing the demographic profile of rural communities and presents communities with a mix of costs and benefits. On the one hand, Hispanic workers continue to feed the growth of the meat-processing industry – one of the few manufacturing industries that has expanded. Moreover, Hispanic workers use their earnings to stimulate local rural economies. On the other hand, questions abound about the cost, if any, of providing social services to Hispanic workers and how to integrate new workers into the life of the community.