Ten years ago, in Washington State, fifteen farmers raising sheep and other livestock formed a cooperative. Their group, the Island Grown Farmers Cooperative, wanted to build a traditional slaughterhouse.
But neighbors objected. So the farmers designed a slaughterhouse on wheels. The Department of Agriculture approved the first mobile slaughter unit in two thousand two.
There are now forty-four farmers in that cooperative. And mobile units are being used around the country not just for sheep and cattle.
A group in Alaska uses a mobile slaughterhouse for reindeer. And an organization in South Dakota has a mobile unit for buffalo.
The United States has a limited number of federal meat inspectors. Some farm co-ops operate with state inspectors. But red meat and meat that will be sold in other states must have federal inspection.
Right now, officials say nine groups are operating federally approved mobile units. They say these slaughterhouses on wheels are not only a way to build local food systems, but also to help local economies.
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For more reports, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Bob Doughty.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
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2013-11-25