Denver Slaughterhouse Measure Reveals Impacts of Meat Industry

Denver County voters rejected a ballot measure that would have closed a slaughterhouse in the Globeville neighborhood that processes 15 to 20 percent of the total lamb slaughter capacity in the country.

According to research by Jennifer Martin, an associate professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University, “Our report found that a closure of the Denver facility would require most of the sheep harvested there to instead be harvested in other states.” If the measure had passed, it could have had a 2 percent impact on livestock production nationwide. “The effects, which have been observed after closures of meat-processing facilities in other regions, would have included fewer sheep produced and a decline in the economic value of live sheep. Additionally, the closure would have resulted in a loss of livestock employment opportunities and a transition away from sheep production toward other enterprises.”

Martin explains how “The ballot measure highlighted the complexities of the meat supply chain and the challenges sheep producers face in getting lamb meat to consumers.” The meat industry is global, Martin notes, and “Balancing the value of the export market with imports from other countries underpins the profitability of livestock and meat producers across the globe.”