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This statistical brief provides a follow-up assessment of the changing demographic and economic landscape of the Midwest between 1980 and 1990. Latino population growth in the Midwest during the 1980s was modest, but since the region's other groups experienced minimal or negative growth, Latino growth accounted for over half the Midwest's total population growth. The bulk of Latino population growth was in the Chicago metropolitan area and was overwhelmingly due to Mexican immigration. Latinos sustained a significant decrease in real income and a correspondingly significant increase in poverty during the decade, while the region's Whites experienced a more moderate economic decline, and Blacks sustained a devastating blow. The Midwest suffered a severe economic setback during the period; median household income in the Midwest began the 1980s higher than that for the nation but ended the decade lower. While Latinos continued to trail Blacks and Whites in educational attainment, the data were downwardly biased by the inclusion of large numbers of lesser-educated recent immigrants. Since 1990, immigration and internal migration have brought large numbers of Latinos to rural areas, suggesting that Chicago may be losing its traditional attraction for such migrants. This shift was due to the growth of the meat processing industry in the rural Midwest. (Contains 11 references, 31 charts and figures based on census reports, and notes. Five figures deal with percentage of high school graduates for racial groups and Hispanic subgroups in the Midwest and United States.) (TD)

This publication provides an introduction to meat processing for adult students in vocational and technical education programs. Organized in four chapters, the booklet provides a brief overview of the meat processing industry and the techniques of meat processing and butchering. The first chapter introduces the meat processing industry and addresses concerns about the need for meat processors in the future and techniques used in the slaughterhouse, as well as providing diagrams of meat cuts. Chapter 2 describes what happens to meat after it reaches the retail market and explains necessary hygiene procedures. Chapters 3 and 4 cover the evaluation and grading of beef and pork, with illustrative photos. Each chapter contains evaluation questions at the end. The final pages of the publication contain a photo essay on the behind-the-counter activities of a retail meat market. (KC)