Chapter 1: Introduction To The Meat Industry

This chapter covers the dawn of the meat industry in Canada starting with meat processing and the industrialization of the meat packing industry beginning in the late 1800s. Our history covers the major packinghouse players of the time, their contribution to the international and domestic markets, their impact on the workforce and the role our independent butcher shops had serving the local populace.

As the meat industry developed and progressed in their advancement so did concerns of food safety and inspection. Our history shows the establishment of meat inspection along with public health concerns regarding food safety for export, which eventually cleared the path toward domestic food safety concerns and inspection.