Faster Meat, Fewer Inspectors: How USDA Cuts Are Poisoning Our Food
Slashed inspections, corporate greed, and an avian flu crisis—what could go wrong?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is moving to make faster poultry processing speeds permanent while simultaneously slashing staff, including critical food safety inspectors and avian flu experts. These changes—pushed forward under President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—are not addressing a supply crisis but actively creating new risks that endanger public health.
At a time when foodborne illnesses are already on the rise, avian flu is spreading across the country, and past studies have linked faster processing to worker injuries and contamination risks, the administration’s priorities seem dangerously out of touch. So why are they doing this? And who benefits?
See our reporting on rising food costs here:
Faster Processing, Higher Risk – And No Real Justification
The Trump administration’s USDA announced on March 17, 2025, that it would permanently allow poultry plants to operate at speeds of 175 birds per minute (bpm), up from the previous limit of 140 bpm. This is being framed as an efficiency measure to meet consumer demand—but there’s just one problem:
There is no poultry shortage.
According to the USDA’s own forecasts, U.S. poultry production is actually increasing, with broiler production expected to grow by 1% in 2025. If there’s no supply crisis, why rush to speed things up?
Follow the money. This change overwhelmingly benefits large meatpacking corporations, which stand to increase profits by pushing more products through their plants faster, no matter the cost to worker safety or public health.
Faster Processing Has Already Proven Dangerous. Why Are We Ignoring the Data?
This isn’t the first time the USDA has experimented with higher line speeds. Past pilot programs and studies have already exposed serious risks, including:
Increased Contamination Risks – Faster speeds reduce inspectors' time to detect sick or contaminated birds, making it easier for Salmonella, E. coli, and avian flu-infected poultry to slip through.
More Worker Injuries – A USDA-funded study found that 81% of poultry workers faced higher risks of musculoskeletal disorders, including carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injuries, under increased line speeds.
Industry Cover-Up of Worker Dangers – The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union has repeatedly warned that faster processing speeds result in more amputations, repetitive motion injuries, and worker exhaustion. Many of these jobs are held by low-wage immigrant workers, who are afraid to report injuries for fear of losing their jobs.
And yet, despite documented evidence that faster processing is dangerous, the administration is pushing forward anyway, all while gutting the agency responsible for food safety oversight.
See our reporting on health and safety here:
Who Really Benefits? (Hint: Not Consumers, Not Workers, and Not Public Health)
If there’s no supply shortage, why is the administration forcing this policy through? The answer is simple: corporate profits.
Tyson Foods, JBS, Smithfield, and other major meatpacking giants stand to rake in billions in extra profits by speeding up production, reducing labor costs, and limiting regulatory oversight.
These companies have spent millions lobbying to remove USDA-imposed line speed limits. The National Chicken Council, a trade group representing Big Poultry, has long pushed for deregulation, arguing that companies should set their own speed limits.
Consumer Safety Is Not Their Priority – Tyson, for example, has a long history of worker safety violations, environmental pollution, and food contamination issues. Their goal isn’t to provide safer, healthier food; it’s to maximize output and profit.
This is deregulation for the sake of profit, not public good. And history shows that when we let Big Meat regulate itself, disaster follows.
Food Safety Disasters—We've Been Here Before
This is not the first time weak food safety enforcement has led to widespread illness and deaths. Consider these significant outbreaks:
1993 Jack in the Box E. coli Outbreak – One of U.S. history's deadliest food safety failures. Four children died, and hundreds suffered kidney failure after eating undercooked, contaminated beef. The outbreak led to major USDA reforms, which are now being undone.
2018 Romaine Lettuce E. coli Outbreak – 210 cases across 36 states were linked to lettuce grown in contaminated water, a problem the USDA monitors less due to budget cuts.
2021 Tyson Chicken Recall – Over 8.5 million pounds of Tyson chicken were recalled due to Listeria contamination caused by lax safety standards.
The lesson is clear: When oversight is cut, people get sick and sometimes die.
Food Safety Was Already in Decline—Now It’s About to Get Worse
Before these USDA cuts were even implemented, foodborne illnesses were already increasing. Recent reports show:
Foodborne illnesses jumped from 1,118 cases in 2023 to 1,392 in 2024—a 25% increase. Hospitalizations more than doubled.
Despite this, food recalls decreased from 313 in 2023 to 296 in 2024—suggesting that fewer contaminated products were caught before reaching consumers.
Recent recalls include:
Metal found in oyster crackers and canned green beans
Raw chicken cat food recalled due to bird flu contamination
Listeria outbreaks traced back to improperly handled meat
These numbers prove that food safety oversight was already failing before the USDA slashed inspectors and accelerated processing. With fewer resources and weaker regulations, things will only worsen.
Avian Flu: The Pandemic Threat We’re Ignoring
The USDA, via DOGE, fired its avian flu response experts during an outbreak. Despite nearly a month passing since they realized their mistake and tried to rehire them, it seems they have not all been returned to work.
Despite evidence that this could allow infected meat to enter the food supply, the government is increasing poultry processing speeds.
The industry resists poultry vaccinations, even though other countries use them successfully.
Avian flu has already jumped from birds to mammals, and the CDC warns that mutations could allow human transmission. Instead of taking this risk seriously, the administration is actively weakening our defenses.
This Is a Manufactured Crisis, And We Need to Fight Back
This is not about efficiency. This is about corporate greed, deregulation, and putting public safety last.
We must demand answers from lawmakers. Why are these policies being pushed despite the known risks?
We need urgent oversight. Congress and watchdog organizations must hold the USDA accountable for these reckless decisions.
We are the test subjects in this dangerous experiment. It’s time to fight back before it’s too late.
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Bibliography:
"Trump administration aims to make faster meat processing permanent" – Reuters, March 17, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-aims-make-faster-meat-processing-permanent-2025-03-17/
"USDA cuts more than $1bn in local food purchases for schools, food banks" – The Guardian, March 11, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/11/usda-cuts-food-banks-schools
"USDA works to rehire bird flu officials it fired" – Reuters, February 19, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/usda-works-rehire-bird-flu-officials-it-fired-nbc-news-reports-2025-02-19/
"Agriculture Department tries to rehire fired workers tied to bird flu response" – AP News, February 18, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/fdd6495cbe44c96d471ae8c6cf4dd0a8
"US chicken and pork plant workers face higher health risks, USDA studies confirm" – Reuters, January 10, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-chicken-pork-plant-workers-face-higher-health-risks-usda-studies-confirm-2025-01-10/
"PULSE Poultry Study: Evaluating Processing Line Speeds & Worker Safety" – USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, January 9, 2025. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/documents/PULSE_PoultryStudy_250109_Final.pdf
"OSHA Poultry Processing Industry Report on Worker Safety Violations" – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 2024. https://www.osha.gov/poultry-processing
"Foodborne illnesses increased in 2024, severe cases doubled" – Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), March 7, 2025.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/foodborne-disease/report-illnesses-contaminated-food-increased-2024-severe-cases-doubled"Food recalls are down, but food poisoning deaths are up" – Scientific American, February 29, 2025. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/food-recalls-are-down-but-food-poisoning-deaths-are-up/
"FDA escalates oyster cracker recall after potential 'foreign material' discovered" – New York Post, March 18, 2025. https://nypost.com/2025/03/18/business/fda-escalates-oyster-cracker-recall-to-class-ii/
"FDA Announces Recall of Almost 200,000 Cans of Green Beans Due to Potential Foreign Object Contamination" – AllRecipes, March 14, 2025. https://www.allrecipes.com/target-good-and-gather-canned-green-beans-recall-2025-11699119/
"The National Chicken Council’s Fight to Remove Processing Speed Limits" – National Chicken Council, 2024. https://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/usda-announces-plans-for-new-rulemaking-for-chicken-processing-line-speeds/
"Big Meat’s Millions: Lobbying & Political Contributions in 2024" – OpenSecrets, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/totals.php?cycle=2024&ind=A02
All the more reason not to buy American foods!!!🇨🇦
I think too many have been convinced OSHA is just a bad bureaucratic nuisance. Changing the narrative about government being our biggest protector is key. I don’t know the verbiage we need but bureaucracy has negative connotations.