The Horrors of Women in the Animal Agriculture Industry
From unequal pay to sexual abuse, women in the ‘meat-packing’ industry have experienced it all.
Nonhuman animals aren’t the only beings harmed within the walls of slaughterhouses and ‘meat-packing’ buildings. The industry that profits from stabbing living beings in the throat also treats the women of the industry in disturbing and violent ways.
Many women who work in slaughterhouses have revealed the disgusting mistreatment they have faced on the clock. The male-dominated industry regularly gets away with what victims have referred to as “the most extreme acts of sexual harassment.”
Women in this industry live paycheck to paycheck. The animal agriculture industry does not pay livable wages, and the women who are forced into this industry can’t risk losing the little income they make. Victims are afraid to come forward as the guaranteed backlash is far worse than the possible benefit of justice. Workers who report inappropriate treatment are often disciplined and fired by bosses and supervisors who hold “grudges.”
The men working in these plants with the women who have come forward have been accused of brushing their genitals against the women and grabbing their breasts and behinds. Some supervisors even went as far as promising a promotion and a "cheap car” to women who would perform sexual favors for them.
One of the women working at the largest pig slaughtering company, Marquesses Foreman, reported that she had been consistently harassed by her supervisor on a weekly basis for over a year. She alleged that the man showed her pictures of his penis, smacked her with rolled-up paper, and groped her breasts. He also allegedly told Foreman, a black woman, that he should fire all of his black employees and replace them with Hispanic ones who “could get the job done for less pay.”
Speaking of which, slaughterhouse workers are predominantly people of color and immigrants. To learn about how people of color and immigrants are treated within the animal agriculture industry, read “The Racism Within Slaughterhouse Walls.”
When women come forward about the abuse, their hours are cut, their pay is decreased, and their mistreatment often doubles. That is, if they aren’t let go from their positions. Many women have said that they were fired immediately after reporting the sexual harassment.
This information was collected from In These Times, which interviewed several women from Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pig slaughtering company. Their interviews and research are very in-depth and important to this conversation. I highly recommend reading their full exposé.
Due to Ag-Gag laws and the fear these women experience for their lives and incomes, there is little discussion about their mistreatment. As more details about this issue come to light, we will be right there to support these women and inform as many people as we can about their injustice.
