write a essay about Genetically Modified Organizms (GMOs)

Group 4

Food & Beverage Industry

Food safety is all about protecting food from contamination and primarily there are three forms of food contamination. Food contamination is the occurrence in food of harmful chemicals and microorganisms, which can cause consumer illness. Production means growing the plants we harvest or raising the animals we use for food. The food we eat can be contaminated as soon as production stages, which most food comes from, domesticated animals and plants. However some foods are caught or harvested from the wild, such as some fish or mushrooms, regardless of where our food come from, there is a possibility our food can still be contaminated. For example, the fish we eat can acquire a toxin from smaller sea critters they eat or the fruit and vegetables that are harvested could be sprayed with pesticides causing, both of which can cause human hazards. Processing food can be just as harmful if food is not properly kept in clean and sanitary areas, the water can be contaminated when trying to wash and pack fruits. While slaughtering meats and poultry, you may find pathogens that came from the intestines and can carry over to the final product.

Sometimes, by the time a food causes illness, it has been mishandled in several ways along the food production chain. Once contamination occurs, further mishandling of food, such as undercooking the food or leaving it out on the counter at unsafe temperatures, can make an outbreak more likely. Many pathogens grow quickly in food held at room temperature; a tiny number can grow to a large number in just a few hours. Reheating or boiling food after it has been left at room temperature for a long time does not always make it safe because some pathogens produce toxins that are not destroyed by heating. Restaurants usually have a huge problem with food poising and are likely to be caused E. Coli or norovirus, which can be very harmful to humans and can even be fatal. When foodborne illness occurs major restaurants can be affected in the form of a company’s reputation, like restaurants Chipotle, McDonald’s, and Jack In The Box. Companies are forced to close down locations because the illness was so bad. In today’s world more and more people are turning over to what’s trending in the world, a popular trend seems to be eating raw sushi. The problem with raw sushi is when you consume raw fish that has become too warm before serving or been contaminated with an infectious organism. The Social Culture is popularizing places where exotic fishes are main dishes that of which contain high levels of mercury. Our environment is also a factor in the food and beverage industry in which can run contamination. A Company such as General Mills was involved in a scandal that drove the food industry to fall foul of past environmental actions. General Mills was improperly disposing of their waste causing trichloroethylene to be found in products by Kraft Foods, Dr. Pepper, and Post Holdings. Food contamination if dealt on a massive scale can lead to serious legal issues. Regulations have to be followed in order to maintain a clean and sanitary environment in the food and beverage industry.

Meat/Animal Products Industry – PESTEL Analysis

The United States meat and poultry industry – which comprise the United States meat industry, is the largest segment of United States’ agriculture. As at 2012, the total meat and poultry production had reached more than 93 billion bounds (Meat Institute, 2013). Data from 2013 shows that the meat and poultry industry processed 8.6 billion chickens, 33.2 million cattle, 2.3 million sheep and lambs, 239.4 million turkeys, and 112 hogs. During the same year, meat companies in the United States produced 25.8 billion pounds of beef, 23.2 billion pounds of pork, 38.4 billion pounds of chicken, 286 million pounds of veal, lamb and mutton, and 5.8 billion pounds of turkey.

The top livestock and poultry slaughtering states are Nebraska, Kansas and Texas for cattle, Iowa, North Carolina, and Minnesota for hogs, Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama for chicken, and Minnesota, North Carolina, and Arkansas for Turkey. There are a total of more than 6,278 federally inspected meat and poultry slaughtering and processing plants. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines of Americans recommends that each person eats 5.7 ounces of meat per day, as part of a healthy, balanced diet (Meat Institute, 2013). Meat is a great source of magnesium, iron, zinc, niacin, selenium, B-vitamins, and riboflavin which are very beneficial for your body.

There are new studies which show that meat is also beneficial in facilitating weight loss, because it provides a sense of satisfaction which helps to control appetite and metabolize food more efficiently (Meat Institute, 2013).

Political Factors

The meat industry has been subject to government actions on the remote as well as the macro-environment of business. Arguably the most significant political external factors affecting the meat industry include the increasing international trade agreements which present opportunities for the meat industry to reach a wider market, pending tax reforms which present an opportunity for the meat industry to enjoy tax breaks, and evolving public health bodies. The later is both a threat and an opportunity, because changes in health policies may affect the industry both negatively, as well as positively (Greenspan, 2017).

The meat industry has the opportunity to expand business based on improved international trade, which could potentially enhance global supply chains. The meat industry has also been presented with opportunities to reform their strategies and practices to lessen the impact of taxation on related businesses without being in violation of the law (Greenspan, 2017). The political external factors within this environment hold more opportunities than threats.

The meat industry provides employment for more than 482,100 workers who are employed in the meat and poultry packaging and processing, with a combined salary of more than 19 billion dollars. the meat and poultry industry impacts firms in all 509 sectors of the United States economy, t in every Congressional district, and in every state in the country through its production and distribution linkages. In all these companies which are involved n meat production, coupled with distributors, suppliers, retailers, and ancillary industries, a total of more than 6.2 million people gain employment in the United States, with a total of about 200 billion dollars in wages (Meat Institute, 2013).

These firms also provide more than 81 billion dollars in revenues to the federal, state, and local government. In fact, the consumption of meat and poultry generates 2.4 billion in state sales taxes. The meat and poultry economic ripple effect has been associated with approximately 864 billion dollars each year to the US economy, which is approximately 6% of the total GDP. Data from 2013 shows that the industry sales amounted to 198 billion dollars (Meat Institute, 2013). The meat industry has the opportunity to grow on the back of slow but steady growth of the United States economy. This reflects a greater purchasing power and a potential increase in meat sales across the industry. The economic factors largely provide opportunities for the industry.

There a significant factors in the social environment that warrants an effective response by the meat industry. Some of the important social factors include increasing cultural diversity, widening wealth gap, and a healthy lifestyle trend. With the widening wealth gap, the meat industry has an opportunity to grow because majority of the market are mostly from medium and low income households. The meat industry has an opportunity to improve their product mix, in order to satisfy a more diverse target market. The health lifestyle trend is however a threat, because majority of red meat products have been criticized for their negative health effects (Greenspan, 2017). Within the sphere of social factors, there are great opportunities for business development.

The success of the meat industry depends on the effective application of technology. Technological trends have a huge effect on the environment of meat industry companies, and therefore, the industry must contend with several technological external factors such as Increasing business automation, Moderate R&D activity in the industry, and Increasing sales through mobile devices. The meat industry has an opportunity to expand its research and development investments, in order to improve business efficiency and effectiveness. Majority of these firms in the meat industry can also apply automation in order to maximize productivity, particularly based on the external factor of increasing business automation. These firms can also explore the mobile services niche, to reach more consumers through their mobile apps and/or websites. In the technological aspect if this analysis, the industry has major opportunities for growth (Greenspan, 2017).

Ecological factors have a significant impact on the performance of firms in the meat industry. Some of the most significant external factors include climate change, increased emphasis on sustainable business strategies, and rising interests for companies to engage in corporate environmental programs. Climate change remains a major threat because of the negative effects its has on farms, and therefore on the meat production supply chain. The environmental factors shows some opportunities for the firms in the meat industry, to engage in corporate social responsibility opportunities, but these firms need to consider further diversification of their supply chains, in order to counter the effects of climate change (Greenspan, 2017).

Like any other industry, the meat industry has to follows the legal requirements within the external environment. This mainly revolves around the impact of laws and regulations on firms. Some of the most significant legal external factors include animal welfare regulation, new legal minimum wage levels in the United States, and local health regulations in workplaces and schools. Firms in the meat industry face risks of higher minimum wages, which will result in higher costs and prices. Additionally, local health regulations have significant effects on the consumption of meat in workplaces and schools, which could reduce the company’s revenues from these areas. The players in the meat industry need to address animal welfare regulatory effects on supply chains, through adopting new policies which ensure animal welfare among meat producers. The meat industry faces threats on legal environment factors, based on this analysis.

The analysis shows that there are some significant opportunities for industry growth. The firms within this industry can capitalize on technological strategies, in order to enhance productivity and efficiency. These forms however need to address socio-cultural and political external factors about health. Overall, the meat industry needs to be adaptive to the opportunities and threats, in order to enhance productivity and efficiency.

References (APA)

1. Heneghan, C. (2017, January 04). 9 food and beverage experts identify the industry's biggest challenges in 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017, from http://www.fooddive.com/news/food-and-beverage-biggest-challenges-2017/433164/

2. Heneghan, C. (2016, January 06). 8 major challenges facing the food and beverage industry in 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2017, from http://www.fooddive.com/news/8-major-challenges-facing-the-food-and-beverage-industry-in-2016/411408/

3. McKewen, E. (2016, April 21). CMTC Manufacturing Blog. Retrieved May 15, 2017, from https://www.cmtc.com/blog/food-and-beverage-manufacturing-trends-and-challenges-2016

4. Greenspan, R. (2017). McDonald’s PESTEL/PESTLE Analysis and Recommendations. Panmore Institute. Retrieved from http://panmore.com/mcdonalds-pestel-pestle-analysis-recommendations

5. Meat Institute. (2013).The United States meat industry at a glance. North American Meat Institute. Retrieved from https://www.meatinstitute.org/index.php?ht=d/sp/i/47465/pid/47465

6. The Food Production Chain - How Food Gets Contaminated. (2015, March 24). Retrieved May 19, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/outbreaks/investigating-outbreaks/production-chain.html

7. Whitworth, J. J. (2013, November 25). Changing landscape: Environmental issues for food firms. Retrieved May 20, 2017, from http://www.foodqualitynews.com/Regulation-and-safety/Changing-landscape-Environmental-issues-for-food-firms