Editing Gustavus Franklin Swift (section)

==Chicago and the birth of the meat-packing industry==
Following the end of the [[American Civil War]], Chicago emerged as a major [[railway]] center, making it an ideal point for the [[Distribution (business)|distribution]] of livestock raised on the [[Great Plains]] to Eastern markets.<ref>Boyle and Estrada</ref> Getting the animals to market required herds to be driven distances of up to {{convert|1,200|mi|km}} to [[railhead]]s in [[Kansas City, Missouri]], where they were loaded into [[Stock car (rail)|stock car]]s and [[transport]]ed live (on the hoof) to regional [[Food processing|processing]] centers. Driving cattle across the plains led to tremendous weight loss, and a number of animals died in transit. Upon arrival at the local processing facility, livestock were either [[Animal slaughter|slaughtered]] by wholesalers and delivered fresh to nearby butcher shops for retail sale, smoked, or packed for shipment in barrels of salt.

Certain inefficiencies were inherent in the process of transporting live animals by rail, particularly due to the fact that approximately 60% of the animal's mass is inedible. Many animals weakened by the long drive died in transit, further increasing the per-unit shipping cost. Swift's solution to these problems was to devise a method to ship dressed meats from his packing plant in Chicago to the East.