Slaughterhouse Shortage

Apparently, there has been a big decrease in slaughterhouses, from 1,211 in 1992 down to 809 in 2008. At the same, the number of small farmers has increased by 108,000. This is making local eating difficult and more expensive and is a burden on the small farmers. A New York Times article discusses the problem and a blogger provides an anecdotal story. This is one of those problems that just never would have crossed my mind, but it's an interesting read. Acknowledging that I know nothing about this sort of thing, it seems like a place where a few jobs could be created and the farmer and the consumer could be helped out as well.