In editing our August magazine issue, I realized the repeated use of the prefix “re.”

Pure Prairie Poultry is (re)starting a chicken plant in Charles City, Iowa, which (re)vitalizes a rural economy. Human resources departments are (re)structuring their approaches to training, especially at the upper plant level, to better (re)tain skilled people. It’s time to take a fresh look at halal, which is a $1.4 trillion and rapidly growing global market, and perhaps (re)assess your participation. USDA-FSIS officials are (re)iterating their commitment to safe food in America.

“Re” is a rather powerful, everyday prefix that has various but similar meanings: among those are “again,” “back,” “repeat,” “backward.” It reminds us that all things are worth reevaluating. It reminds us that some things are worth repeating, and some are not. Either way, the important thing is we learn from the “re” process to find another way, to move forward and improve.

Sane minds might not have argued if the Pure Prairie Poultry team left alone the Charles City plant, which had suffered at least two bankruptcies. But, lest history be repeated, they came up with a new plan. This one draws on their deep experience of processing fundamentals and a more manageable operational footprint to re-establish a regional economy over time.

Packers like Kenosha, Wis.-based Birchwood Foods are trying to make more manageable the industry’s pervasive labor challenges. It’s clear that those will continue, while the traditional generation-to-generation rotation of people onto the plant floor will not. Thus, they’re retooling how they recruit, train and retain labor, and relying on artificial intelligence to help address worker preferences that are becoming worker must-haves.

Meanwhile, the preferences of Muslim consumers worldwide for halal meat products increasingly mirror those of mainstream American consumers. Think sausages, hot dogs, pastrami, bologna, and portion-controlled products that are ready to take home and cook. As the standardization of requirements for halal certification gains momentum, it’s worth reevaluating entry into a promising market expected to reach $3.2 trillion by 2027.

Standardization is central also to the work of Paul Kiecker, administrator of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), who has been in the meat regulation game for nearly four decades. The last decade, in particular, has entailed major changes to how the agency inspects poultry, swine, and cattle, though they effectively mark a return to and reiteration of the original intent of HACCP principles that arose out of the Jack in the Box tragedy.

In the throes of a tumultuous political climate, the Supreme Court’s resetting of the legal landscape, and an unprecedented presidential election, the ground seems as unstable as ever. The implications for the meat industry are likely to be as consequential as ever, too.

But above and beyond the vitriol and division that has permeated our population, our friend groups and even families, there is an important reminder: We all must eat, and we must have the functionality and flexibility of food providers to do so.

We hope that refreshing commitment reads loud and clear here.

Editor's note: This article ran as the Editorial in the August print issue of Meatingplace.

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