it's probably to encourage something like this segment from the documentary 'food inc.'. it really kicks in around 2:30 *not for the squeamish*

sure would be great to return farming to the individual/family farmers, and not to the mega-subsidized big corp farming industry :'(

For those who may be interested, here's the link to the NPR companion article: Want To Open A Slaughterhouse? Go To Meat School

There are links to other similar articles that can be found by Googling "Mobile Slaughterhouse"

well this finally couldn't seem more appropriate:



precedent

Very interesting. Thanks for the links. I looked but I couldn't find any specific info on the grants.

All of this media about food production is interesting to me. Contrary to what outlets like Food Inc would have you believe, the family farms are not dead and gone, they are just keeping the good stuff for themselves. And the pendulum swings...

Here ya go, straw ...

USDA Grants

US SBA Program

... couple of links you might find interesting.

This post reminded me that some of Corbusier's first experiments with some of the elements of his "five points" were with the design of two unbuilt slaughterhouses in 1917. I always thought that was a really interesting building type to begin with considering the eventual idea about buildings being "machines for living."

are you single andmylegsarelong?

i hope you see where this is all going --- i hope you connect the dots --- the intent may be that these are about keeping industrialized meat packing in check or encouraging local.....blah, blah, blah

but the real market?

man, tell you what, these babies will go like hot cakes, customized of course, as the perfect compliment to your 3 axle tailgating grill and 2 axle tailgating deep fryer for SEC/ACC/Big 12/Big 10 football saturdays

nothing says you're a real tailgater like rolling up with your own mobile slaughterhouse, going right out into the cow pasture of your local land grant, picking off a bovine, and then lugging it into your own private, customized slaughter house and doing the deed before cooking up the burgers, steaks and sausage

i smell a design opportunity --- who will customize these things --- i even see a reality tv special about customizing them

the only question is, which one of us will be the lucky designer to be the face of that program?

I'm not going to even tough the community development aspect-- a.k.a. localized economies not even being able to support having essentially a concrete and metal box with a drain in the floor.



But I'm worried/concerned/intrigued about some key points:

1) Health and meat inspection--

If these units cross city, county and state lines, who does the regular inspection?
Are they inspected before or after every use in a new location?
Who pays for the permitting and inspection?
Will there also be traveling USDA specialists monitoring these slaughter houses?
Will the slaughter houses be required to submit samples?
Will there be grading by the USDA when the meat goes to sale?
Will the slaughter houses be required to test for prion-based diseases (mad cow, spongiform encephalitis et cetera)?

2) Cross-contamination

Are there any safeguards in place when it comes to the possibility of cross contamination?
Is there an inherent danger in spread foreign pathogens from area to area?
How will these slaughter houses be tracked if a food bourne illness is trace back to a slaughter house?
How large could potential quarantine zones be if the contamination is severe enough?
Who will pay for any variety of emergency response, recall or other potential liability?

3) Waste disposal

How will they be disposing of waste?
Who will pay for the waste disposal if done in various municipalities?
Are the locations where the slaughter happens even able to process refuse from such an activity?
If required to carry waste, how will it be stored and how will it be disposed of?

...

Are there also mobile rendering plants, glue factories et cetera? *smirk(