A butcher does much more than cut a good steak!
According to Mary Krolizik, owner and operator of a meat market, a diversity
of skills is the prerequisite to success in the meat-processing industry.
Well-known by locals as one of the hardest-working female meat processors
around, Krolizik admits that she has to do it all when it comes to her line
of work.
Inside the bustling retail shop that she shares with her husband, Krolizik
performs an incredible variety of tasks, from quality control to staff management
to marketing to cutting.
Each day as she steps through the door of her shop, Krolizik wonders what
kinds of challenges she will face and overcome. In fact, diversity is what
she loves most about her work. "I enjoy a lot of different things. There is
so much variety, from slicing, to serving customers, to packing," says Krolizik.
There was a time when Krolizik had no idea that she would earn her living
as a meat processor, or that she would love doing it. "I married a sausage-maker,"
says Krolizik. "I had no clue about meats."
Once she opened the shop with her husband, Krolizik learned
everything she knows about meat-processing through direct experience, hard
work and an unforeseen love of the job.
Even though meat processing is demanding on many levels, Krolizik maintains
an extremely positive attitude towards her work. "There's nothing not to like.
When it's your own business, it doesn't matter what comes up!"
While Krolizik is modest about the physical and mental demands of her job,
Ron Smith, professor of meat studies, is extremely candid about some of the
challenges that meat processors face. He discusses the safety hazards that
come with the sharp tools of the trade.
"Meat cutters work with razor-sharp knives and often wear metal mesh suits
for protection. Many of them work with heavy power equipment and need to wear
eye shields."
Of course, metal suits and eye shields are necessary for workers' safety,
but they add weight and resistance to a person's every movement. In order
to comfortably complete a day's work, a meat processor requires both physical
strength and endurance. "Meat-cutting is entirely physical work. It is a very
manual job that involves lots of heavy lifting and repetition throughout the
day."
Smith advises that success in this industry requires confidence and mental
strength. "It is a high-stress industry. You have to be able to monitor quality
control and ensure food safety. If you're involved in sales, speed is essential,
especially if you are working for commission. When you are actually cutting
and processing the meat, you are inside all day in a cold environment. If
you're the kind of person who likes to be in the outdoors, you'd be unhappy
doing this kind of work."
Unlike Krolizik, Smith did not land his job through apprenticeship and
work experience. While Krolizik suggests that a "real sausage-maker" should
work next to an expert in order to learn the tricks of the trade, Smith suggests
an alternate method of entering the meat-processing world: education.
Most of his students have combined their interest in meat with an education
in microbiology, product development or research.
"At the lower levels of meat processing, the slaughtering and butchering
levels, we hire anyone with [a] good work ethic and physical strength. For
upper-level work, such as management and research development, you'll need
a two- to four-year college education with an emphasis on animal or food science,
microbiology or business."
Meat goes through an incredible process before it lands on your grill or
the end of your fork. It takes the combined effort of many kinds of people
with an incredible variety of skills and strengths to bring it to the ready-to-prepare
version that most people see.
"It's about having a variety skills and an ability to do lots of hard work,"
says Smith.