The Slaughterhouse Environment

    In the informative chapter, " The Most Dangerous Job"(2002), Eric Schlosser gives readers a closer look at the environment and work conducted inside of a slaughterhouse. He organizes the chapter in a sequence of encounters he witnesses while in the plant. Schlosser writes this detailed chapter in order to inform the audience about the process and working conditions of a cattle slaughtering plant. His audience is aimed toward American consumers. 

    When I first read the title, I thought it would either be something involving nuclear reactors or being a teacher. But when I realized it was about slaughterhouse workers, my curiosity turned to disgust. My personal feelings of reading this story were disgust and remorse because this is how the food business actually is. I remember reading a book about the terrible conditions slaughterhouse and meat factory workers experience and it was really sad and depressing. So every time I eat at a fast-food restaurant, the terrible thought of the meat being processed in a dirty slaughterhouse is always in the back of my mind.

    The author, Eric Schlosser, uses his personal experiences of touring a slaughterhouse to inform his audience of the conditions and operations happening within the slaughterhouse. He starts off by explaining the harsh conditions of the workers in the facility and what they have to put on for their own protection. He states, “Workers on the line wear about eight pounds of chain mail beneath their white coats, shiny steel armor that covers their hands, wrists, stomach, and back. The chain mail’s designed to protect workers from cutting themselves and from being cut by other workers. But knives somehow manage to get past it”( Schlosser pg.1). Continuing on with his tour through the facility he goes about and mentions the harsh working conditions within the slaughterhouse. The author “notice[s] that a few of the women near me are sweating, even though the place is freezing cold”( Schlosser pg.3). Schlosser also mentions he’s, “struck by how many workers there are, hundreds of them, pressed close together, constantly moving, slicing (Schlosser pg.3). Overall, Schlosser enlightens his audience on the reality of what proceeds in these slaughterhouses.

Works Cited

Eric Schlosser, "The Most Dangerous Job", Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-

    American Meal, 2002. Launchpad Solo Readers and Writers, 2017. Macmillan 

    Education. macmillanhighered.com.