Final answer:
Food Inc. does not specify current numbers but highlights a reduction in slaughterhouses from the 1970s due to industry consolidation. US manufacturing has evolved over the years, facing new challenges. The fast food industry is both criticized for its negative impacts and recognized for providing jobs and convenience.
Step-by-step explanation:
The documentary Food Inc. does not provide a current number of slaughterhouses in the United States; however, industry consolidation has led to a significant decrease from the 1970s to today. In the 1970s, there were numerous smaller, regional slaughterhouses, but advances in transportation and refrigeration, as mentioned in the historical context of Union Stockyards in 1947, have resulted in the predominant model of large-scale, centralized meatpacking facilities. The exact number of these facilities has greatly diminished over the decades. Comparatively, nowadays, just a handful of companies control a vast majority of the meat processing market. Considering the impact of US manufacturing globally, contemporary practices differ greatly from earlier decades. US manufacturing once set the standard for production and economic prosperity, whereas today, it faces challenges such as automation, global competition, and changing consumer habits. The fast food industry has recently come under scrutiny for its contribution to societal issues like obesity, environmental impacts, and poor labor practices. However, it also provides convenient, affordable meals and numerous jobs. Questions posed in Allen Ginsberg's poem A Supermarket in California reflect on the disconnection between consumers and the origins of their food, which remains largely true in modern consumer America. Workers in a supermarket might not be able to fully trace the path from farm to fork, emphasizing the disconnect that exists in the globalized food system.