ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the concealed nature of the facilities in which we kill and butcher the animals eaten in the United States not only has a severely negative impact on the welfare of the animals, but also the people who make their living by killing them. This secrecy raises not just ethical concerns but also legal ones. The chapter discusses the multiple human rights violations that face many slaughterhouse and meat processing plant laborers in the United States. It also discusses some of the major human rights issues concerning slaughterhouses and meat processing workers across the United States. this chapter will move to discuss two other areas of concern for meat industry workers. The chapter focuses on some of the Environmental Justice concerns regarding the communities in which these facilities are placed. It presents some of the psychological and social impacts of these facilities on both individual workers and their wider communities.
