What it’s like to cover the meatpacking industry

Joe Pinsker of The Atlantic interviewed Lisa Keefe, the editor of Meatingplace, which covers the meatpacking industry.

Here is an excerpt:

Pinsker: What do people say when they hear what you do for a living?

Keefe: People don’t ever ask me about my work! I tell people I work for a meat magazine and the conversation ends. So there’s a little bit of pent-up energy in talking about what we do.

Pinsker: What do you think is at the bottom of that?

Keefe: Well, it’s a squeamish process. Have you ever seen the eyelashes on a cow? I mean, they’re just adorable. Big eyes, and these long lashes — how can you do anything to harm this little creature? I get it. Even people who really love meat don’t want to talk about how it gets to their plate.

Read more here.