MeatingPod

The machines in a meat processing plant are getting ever more sophisticated, efficient and programmable — but hacking them can be as easy as sending an email. Cyber attacks on companies, especially manufacturers, are picking up speed and food companies are a favorite target for bad actors looking to make high-profile trouble or arrange a ransomware payday. Paul Kafer of Anabasis Consulting has been writing and advising on how to manage that electronic portal for hackers for years. In most cas...

Sustainability in the meat supply chain is everybody’s business, and everybody needs to do their part to move the industry forward in this regard. Coordinating the efforts of every link in the domestic poultry chain, from feed to final sale, is the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry & Eggs. This group organizes the discussions — and ultimately the agreements — among more than 100 members, ranging from the Environmental Defense Fund to Cargill to Jollibee. Executive director Ryan Benn...

It’s the time of year when turkey is, understandably, top of mind, but of course turkey protein has worked its way into our year-round diets, in the form of turkey burgers, deli slices, turkey bacon and the like. So the issues facing the turkey supply chain are front and center for consumers every day often in the form of higher prices. Dr. Lindy Froebel is the still-new senior vice president of science and policy for the National Turkey Federation. She joins MeatingPod today to parse the cha...

Planning ahead properly for major capital investments faces many barriers, from day-to-day challenges that make it hard to focus on long-term horizons to the shiny new technologies rolled out at trade shows that promise labor savings and soaring profitability. Proper long-term planning needs focused attention, air and space, and the right people in the room from the beginning, Judson Armentrout says. The founder and principal consultant with Building Block Solutions has guided many protein pr...

As storied as the history of the meat business is in the United States, the “old ways” are falling by the wayside now. They are being replaced by technology and training. Meanwhile, the meat industry’s workforce also is seeing upheaval. While traditional sources of labor are coming under fire, processors also are having trouble finding a new breed of employee, who can manage the electronics that are filling up the space in the once-humble meat plant. In this episode of MeatingPod, the editors...

It seems a time comes when a meatcutter or rancher wants to take their passion for feeding their communities to a new level, and start up a processing plant. Most of them will need the advice and guidance of someone like David Zarling. The food manufacturing and operations consultant, and program manager for the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network of Oregon State University Extension, has for years led enthusiastic but financially naive meat pros to adopt what he calls a “manufacturing mi...

Most U.S. companies have stopped talking about their DEI initiatives, corporate social responsibility and sustainability efforts. Nevertheless, sustainability, in particular, remains a vital part of food companies’ relationships with their customers and end consumers. Pursuing greater sustainability and communicating those programs authentically are key steps to fostering consumer trust, and as Nancy Himmelfarb puts it, “trust sells.” She joins MeatingPod for a wide-ranging discussion o...

Meat snacks and sticks, particularly in the better-for-you market space, are soaring in popularity, but not all brands are benefitting the same way. Archer has reached aggressively across distribution channels with statistics that not only tell the obvious story — “stock us, we’re better” — but also educates retail buyers on exactly how the meat snack category performs for them vis-a-vis competitors and what they can do to boost their sell-through, as Archer’s Vice President of Marketing Andr...

What goes into the decision to fight — or settle — accusations of price-fixing and collusion? The calculation is different for each company, but the fallout of the antitrust cases filed against meat and poultry processors still rains on the industry, and will do so for years. Meatingplace News Editor Chris Moore joins MeatingPod for the second episode of a deep dive into the raft of antitrust cases filed against processors over the last nine years. In this installment, we tackle the hid...

Pork is enjoying a moment in the sun, after a bumpy post-pandemic ride. Affordable feed and expensive beef are fueling demand for the red meat, even as upheaval around tariffs and the offsetting changes in the value of the US dollar work to sow uncertainty in the market. In this MeatingPod episode, Mark Jordan, executive director and senior livestock economist for LEAP Market Analytics, discusses these and many other factors that are steering the U.S. pork market into the second half of 2025.

Consumers often say they would buy more meat and poultry if they knew it was more sustainable. At the same time, nearly as many shoppers say they don’t know exactly what steps protein companies have taken to improve sustainability. One of the fastest ways to get a sustainability message to customers and consumers is through the packaging that’s around the product. Research in sustainable packaging is exploding with new technologies, as our guest, Dr. Eva Almenar of Michigan State’s School of ...

Good old-fashioned meat from livestock is enjoying renewed popularity, a shift in the zeitgeist fueled by consumers’ demand for simpler, more natural, and less- or unprocessed food products. Add to that a social backlash against plant-based meat substitutes, and a renewed connection in people’s minds between meat and masculinity. Meat advocates and companies no doubt are enjoying the break from years of unrelenting criticism. But don’t get too comfortable. According to MeatingPod guest Kevin ...