Little Change: The raid on the Agriprocessors kosher meat plant spurred the launch of Magen Tzadek. But four years later, what is there to show for it? Image by getty images

What is Agriprocessors?

Agriprocessors was the name of the kosher slaughterhouse and meatpacking factory in Postville, Iowa, owned by Sholom Rubashkin. Purchased in 1897 by Aaron Rubashkin, who passed down the company to his sons, Heshy and Sholom Rubashkin, the company eventually became the largest kosher meat-packing plant in the United States.

Agriprocessors’ history of legal woes.

Agriprocessors was no stranger to bad press, facing accusations of mistreatment of cattle, pollution, undocumented immigrants, anti-competitive practices and breaking labor laws. An expose done by the Forward dragged some of these issues into the open and prompted a national outcry. Rabbis pledged to monitor plant conditions and ensure ethical treatment for workers with a “Tzedek Hechsher” certification.

In May 2008, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement staged a raid of the plant, the largest in U.S. history at the time, arresting almost 400 employees. Most of the arrested undocumented immigrants served a five-month sentence before being deported.

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Agriprocessors files for bankruptcy.

On November 5, 2008, Agriprocessors filed for bankruptcy, citing workforce loss after the raid, declined public interest in Agriprocessors’ products and increased production costs.

Agriprocessors’ eventual shutdown led to a shorter of kosher meat in America and raised prices by other kosher meat manufacturers. Empire Kosher, the largest kosher meat producer in America, doubled its production rate in response. The CEO of Agriprocessors was sent to prison for bank fraud.

Agriprocessors is reborn as Agri Star.

A July 2009 auction run by SHF Industries put Agriprocessors on the market. The company was purchased by Jewish Orthodox billionaire Hershey Friedman, who spent millions on upgrades to rebuild the plant. Friedman called running Agri Star “a chesed [charity]. It’s not losing money, but it’s not a business I’m in to make lots of money. Rubashkin did well in it.”

Agriprocessors may be gone, but the memory of the biggest kosher meatpacking factory in America, besieged with constant legal battles, lives on.

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