PROCESSED MEAT PART III

Homework assignment

Task 1.

Write an ESSAY about the advantages and/or disadvantages of a meatless diet. Is it

healthier than a diet containing meat? What is your eating choice?

Task 2.

Read the following Case Study and then write an ESSAY with the title: “Future trends in meat
processing technology”

This is an interview taken to Bob Grote, the president of Grote Company - the world’s
leading manufacturer of precision slicing and application equipment for the food processing
industry. Bob Grote speaks about current issues in meat processing industry, including how new
technologies, automation, and robotics are shaping the present and the future. Overall, he expects
to see some pretty major technological advances. In particular, he predicts we’ll see the following
three current trends continue to expand and improve.

Machines will become more compact.

This is already happening, and it is reducing the footprint of food processing equipment.
Grote said: “Technology’s allowing us to make the machines smaller, which is always important,
especially as suppliers seek to compete in overseas markets.”

Machines will become smarter.

Food processing equipment and machinery will get even more brain power. “It’s amazing
how much we can store in machines today. I expect this trend to continue.”

Lines will incorporate vision, enabling automated quality control.

Human quality control inspectors may be a thing of the past. Vision, such as in the form of
X-rays and advanced imaging technology, will be incorporated into food processing lines. This
will provide the capability for “go/no go decision-making in the food assembly portion of the
line.”

This technology has already proven successful in other areas of manufacturing, and some
poultry processors are starting to experiment with it. For example, John Daley of the Georgia
Tech Research Institute developed a way to use 3D imaging to determine yield loss in poultry
processing. His machine does in a few seconds what it used to take humans five minutes to do. It
provides instant feedback to human operators, who can adjust their performance to minimize
waste. 3D imaging is also being used to improve the detection of bone fragments in protein
foods, and some companies use X-rays to analyze the fat content of meat products.
 While Grote didn’t give us any details, he did say that Grote Company is actively
contributing to the future via major investments in research and development to develop better
machines and equipment. Grote said: “We aren’t sitting back, saying, ‘We have this answer and
it’s great.’ We are looking forward to the next new thing and what comes after that. We’re also
increasing our diversity by expanding into additional markets.”

When asked about the biggest challenges facing the food processing industry, Grote
echoed the other experts we’ve talked to with his answer, “People, people, people. Our biggest
challenge is finding skilled labor to assemble and run the high-tech equipment. Our workforce is
not properly trained coming in, so we need to do our own training.”

While many people view automation and robotics as taking away jobs, studies have found
that that isn’t exactly true. Instead, the technology trend is creating a different class of jobs. The
PwC survey found that while 28% of U.S. manufacturers expect robots to replace humans in
some jobs, 35% expect they will open up new job opportunities for highly skilled workers. In the
food and beverage industry, those workers are the technicians who assemble and maintain food
processing machinery. These technicians now require knowledge of electronics, electric drives,
and programmable logic controls, in addition to mechanics, hydraulics, and pneumatics.

Needless to say, the challenge of finding qualified workers isn’t a small one. Grote
Company attempts to meet this challenge by encouraging local and regional politicians and
school systems to invest more money and energy in training programs. They work with the career
centers at local schools to supply more training in core skills like welding. Grote Company also
invests directly in the careers of promising technicians. “If someone demonstrates aptitude, we’ll
train them. We need talented workers, so we’ll spend the money to teach them.”

After reading the WHO’s report on the carcinogenicity of the consumption of red meat
and processed meat, give the appropiate answers to the following questions:

Processed meat causes cancer, says WHO

A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) says processed meat causes
cancer. Processed meat includes bacon, hot dogs, ham and sausages, as well as canned meat and
meat-based sauces. The report was made by the International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC). It said it was important to tell the world about the danger of processed meat because of
the large number of people who eat it and get cancer. The report says that eating just 50g of
processed meat a day increases the chance of developing certain types of cancer by 18 per cent.
Fifty grams is just two slices of bacon or one sausage. The WHO also said eating red meat carried
a risk of developing cancer.

Although the WHO warned people about the risk of eating too much processed and red
meat, it did say that meat had health benefits. Meat has many important vitamins and minerals.
The WHO said people should cut down on the amount of processed meat they eat. People should
also eat more food that contains fibre, such as fruit and vegetables, so they have a balanced diet.
The meat industry is not happy with some of the details of the report. It does not like the fact that
the IARC put processed meat in the same group as tobacco and alcohol. A spokesperson said
processed meat is not as harmful as alcohol or tobacco. The North American Meat Institute said
the report would unnecessarily scare people.

1. What are the health benefits of meat?

2. How important is meat for us?
3. Should we not eat processed meat and red meat?
4. Should processed meat carry a health warning like cigarettes?
5. Should we all become vegetarians?
6. Why might vegetarians be healthier than meat eaters?
7. Which is better, chicken or red meat?
8. Are there too many reports that tell us food is bad for us?
9. Why is all the most delicious food bad for us?
10. Should the government give better education about diets?
11. Why do you think the meat industry is “unhappy”?
12. How balanced is your diet?
13. Is it fair to put meat in the same group as alcohol?
14. Do you think this report will "unnecessarily scare people"?