A Mark of Wholesome Meat

A Mark of Wholesome Meat is a short film from 1964 released on 16mm. It is held in the Prelinger Archives collection.

Explains what it takes to earn the right to display USDA stamp of approval.

A Mark of Wholesome Meat
Produced by	U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Motion Picture Service
Production companies	U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Motion Picture Service
Distributed by	U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Motion Picture Service
Release date	1964
Running time	18:19
Language	English

Thumbnail

https://archive.org/download/0614_Mark_of_Wholesome_Meat_A_05_21_53_00

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Shot List

Explains what it takes to earn the right to display the "stamp of approval" given by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on packages. Describes how under the watchful eyes of federal meat inspectors in stockyards and processing plants and chemists, microbiologists, bacteriologists and histopathologists in USDA laboratories, American foreign meats must attain rigid standards before receiving the mark of wholesome meat.

List

• 16:45:50 LS pan from city street to building construction
• 17:01:35 LS man in hard hat (supposed to be ironworker or construction worker) sits on bright red girder of building against blue sky, takes out huge sandwich from lunch box and eats (camera zoom to CU)
• 17:25:82 CU red table cloth and place setting, blue plate with large ham slice set down
• 17:30:45 MS man, woman (facing camera) at table in restaurant
• 17:35:27 MCU man, woman in crowd at sporting event, he gives V sign with hand and catches a hot dog wrapped in paper
• 17:40:93 MS hot dog vendor in crowd throws hot dog
• 17:43:87 CU woman bites hot dog looks over to (slight pan reveals) man she says (silent) It s good
• 17:50:65 MS man, woman he raises hand in a wave
• 17:52:27 MCU hot dog vendor s hands catching coins against blue sky and crowd, down to putting change into pocket
• 17:57:33 CU radio (pan to) picnic basket with hands of man, woman and child groping for food, woman pats away hand of child, woman hands unwraps salami package (with voice over: Easy to serve prepared meats are an accepted part of our everyday life, no more grinding, mixing, slicing or even cooking at home unless you want to
• 18:13:15 LS woman, man and three kids at picnic table
• 18:17:62 CU bologna on white bread with slices of square pastrami hand (woman) placed on top
• 18:31:90 CU labels of meat packages: Gerber s (baby logo visible), Hood Tamales with Sauce , Spaghetti with meat balls
• 19:11:15 LS woman, man and four kids at picnic table TO MS of same TO CU of little boys eating sandwich
• 19:22:38 XLS above cattle feed lot (force-fed concentration camp)
• 19:26:90 CU distressed cows herded through lot corridor to slaughter
• 19:32:87 LS of one section of the feed lot, two men (white man in overalls, African American man in white coat and hat - USDA inspector) and many cows 19:39:55 MS cows in feed lot
• 19:42:42 MS farmer and USDA inspector
• 19:46:80 LS farmer separates cow from others in the pen
• 19:58:05 LS another two men (African American and chubby white guy - USDA inspector) in feed lot, scatter sheep
• 20:04:95 LS shiny metal conveyor in slaughterhouse, two men white and hard hats inspect equipment
• 20:19:96 MLS pan two men in white inspect equipment
• 20:28:13 MS two men in white talking, one holding metal hook
• 20:34:30 MCU carcass of cow, man inspecting
• 20:45:10 CU fat of cow, United States Inspector stamp stamped
• 20:56:65 CU Asian man in white hard hat motioning with hand
• 21:00:50 CU U.S. Retained tag on carcass, stamped U.S. inspected and condemned
• 21:04:76 LS dead pigs hung by hind legs, enter in CU man pushing more pigs displaying disemboweled animal split chest cavity
• 21:17:71 MS man in white and hard hat inspects cow carcass
• 21:21:58 MS white man inspects cow carcass pushes cow away revealing another man inspector
• 21:25:70 LS two men inspect pigs
• 21:32:90 LS meat processing line to CU of meat on line
• 21:53:90 LS meat line, trimming the fat
• 21:57:51 CU man, USDA on hard hat
• 22:00:65 MS over shoulder of man inspecting gnarled meat
• 22:05:38 LS meatgrinder, man dumping salt into mixture TO CU of ground meat, man s hands dump salt in
• 22:18:02 MS over the shoulder of woman working at hot dog machine, long strands of frankfurters wriggle out, another woman collects them
• 22:25:55 CU hotdog machine pan to woamn hanging dogs
• 22:39:73 MS two inspector men looking into huge vat
• 22:43:78 CU vat with orange powder dumped in
• 22:53:95 CU inspector man looks back and forth (camera below)
• 22:59:91 CU bologna line
• 23:07:45 CU bacon packaging machine
• 23:13:89 CU sausage patty packing machine
• 23:20:62 CU bacon machine TO bacon package machine
• 23:34:25 MS over the shoulder of woman trimming bacon on line
• 23:40:78 MS woman and inspector man at square meat patty line
• 23:46:87 LS two woman, enter inspector man looks at wiener TO CU of man s hands at waist level holding hot dog
• 23:50:95 MS over the shoulder of man packing meat sample TO CU packing box
• 23:16:36 MS laboratory man puts meat patty on scale
• 24:27:07 CU patty put onscale TO cutting patty TO puts in blender TO MS lab man and blender
• 24:52:71 CU blenders and petri dishes being filled with mixture
• 25:09:80 XCU petri dish, tweezers holding paper sample mix (pan to another dish) TO petri dish from above
• 25:37:76 XCU lab man with test tubes
• 25:47:36 MS lab man holding test tube (pan to) another lab man
• 26:04:91 MCU lab man with Bunsen burner and petri dish
• 26:30:16 MS African American man at magnified image machine TO CU of magnified image
• 26:43:98 CU lab man at microscope
• 26:57:62 MS *stock shots* chemist testing for proteins at machine (tilt up) to glass beakers TO CU hands and boiling liquid in beakers
• 27:24:78 MS lab man at lie detector like machine with voice over about determining the species of the meat
• 27:43:85 CU species detector machine
• 27:59:64 MS over the shoulder of woman opening cans of meat in laboratory kitchen
• 28:08:44 XCU woman s hands opening can of meat
• 28:24:38 MS lab man techno looking oven, pours fat TO CU pouring
• 28:34:69 CU hands pouring beakers
• 28:43:11 MS lab man at desk TO CO of chromatic paper
• 28:54:29 MS lab man exposing paper to ultraviolet light
• 29:15:30 MS lab man at gas chromatograph TO CU hands inserting into machine TO CU ofhand machine dials
• 29:35:78 CU graph
• 29:47:25 MS African American inspector man checking for radioactive particle on cow carcasses
• 29:57:80 CU African American inspector man checking for radioactive particle (shot through) cow carcasses
• 30:08:11 VS CU of anti-coincidence scaler (beta counter)
• 30:36:35 MS two men in white on canning line
• 30:44:73 CU canning equipment
• 31:04:50 CU *stock shot* Chili with Beans can held by woman s hands on electric can opener
• 31:07:20 XCU ingredients of Chili with Beans
• 31:20:70 MS woman in kitchen at stove emptying contents of can into pan
• 31:28:27 XCU Chili con Carne with Beans being stirred with wooden spoon TO pork with BBQ
• 31:56:40 CU Regulations Governing The Meat Inspection of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
• 32:16:38 LS office TO MS of woman and afro american man in office TO CCU man using index file
• 32:31:98 CU Fiesta Brand frozen dinners
• 32:37:33 XCU Philadelphia Style Scrapple , Georgia Hash , Spaghetti and Meatballs cans
• 32:46:50 XCU Quick Frozen Beef Stew label
• 32:56:49 LS two women in lab coats in lab kitchen TO MS opening cabinet of cans, hands to other woman
• 33:11:20 XCU bacon package on notepad, woman hand writing TO CU pan frying Bacon TO plate with bacon being sliced
• 33:54:13 MS businessman at desk looking at graphic illustration of package TO MS man, man and woman discussing presumably illustration
• 34:07:50 CU man stamping documents TO CU approved stamp of USDA
• 34:17:65 MS *stock shot* children receiving lunches at schol lunch counter
• 34:34:20 CU plate with hot dog chips
• 34:37:29 MS man preparing cold meat platter
• 34:43:67 LS meat section of grocery woman pushing cart with child
• 34:52:76 XLS above grocery store