Denver Councilman Watson 0pposes 309 slaughterhouse ban
Denver voters will be asked to cast a vote on Initiative 309, which would ban slaughterhouses in the City and County of Denver. A diverse group of stakeholders convened Wednesday on the steps of Denver City and County Building to oppose the ban.
The question posed to voters: Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt an ordinance prohibiting slaughterhouses, and, in connection, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, prohibiting the construction, maintenance, or use of slaughterhouses within the city; and requiring the city to prioritize residents whose employment is affected by the ordinance in workforce training or employment assistance programs?
While the question suggests multiple slaughterhouses, there is one operating in Denver, Superior Farms. The Halal-certified facility has been in the neighborhood for over 70 years and is the only business targeted by the proposition. The proposition is backed by Pro-Animal Future, a self-described citizen-led movement away from the exploitation, animal cruelty, and environmental pollution of factory farming, and towards a brighter future based on a more just, sustainable, and compassionate food system. It is the same group promoting a fur ban in Denver.
ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP INVOLVEMENT
Councilman Darrell Watson, who represents District 9 where Superior Farms is located, said the proposal was not borne from the community and the animal rights group behind it sought no input from stakeholders in the community. It will, he said, hurt his constituents. He said leaders of the Globeville community including Armando Payan, Anthony Garcia, Carla Padilla and Sandra Ruiz have endorsed a no vote on this ban in their personal capacities.
Watson said Globeville is a primarily Latino neighborhood with a long history as such.
“What’s unique about Superior Farms is it is employee owned so it’s not only a pillar and an important business within the community, it’s owned by the employees that work there,” Watson said. “These are amazingly good paying jobs and they’re generational jobs. Grandparents, children and grandchildren all work at Superior Farms, and are able to purchase and live in homes in the Globeville community where they love and choose to be.”
Watson called 309 both poorly written and ill conceived and said the passage of the initiative would hurt the employee owners and the families they support. In contrast to those families, he said the proponents have no commitment to the City and County of Denver or to the Globeville community
Watson said the group that came to Denver to place the question on the ballot are claiming it is an environmental benefit by closing the plant. He said if they are successful in closing the business, lamb will still be eaten in Colorado, but it will be imported from overseas.
“The environmental impact of this one decision will harm all of us in the state,” he said. “Not only is their impact on individual families, the individual business, and the community but there is a direct environmental impact which I think is ironic because the group leading this believes they’re doing so on an environmental plank.”
Watson said the proponents did not reach out to him as the elected official representing the district he has called home for 30 years.
IMPACT ON FAMILIES
“The cynicism of the bill is in one of the last lines,” he said. “They say if it passes, it’ll be the responsibility of the City and County of Denver to find jobs for the 160 families that are now going to be dealing with housing instability, a lack of work, in a very tight economy for folks whose only business has been to work in this employee-owned business. I find the cynicism to be the other shoe that drops on this because not caring about these families in Globeville and putting this forward with very little discussion with community and absolutely zero conversation with the council member, myself, who is elected to serve this community.”
Webster said the owner employees have achieved generation stability and have been able to send their children or grandchildren to college and the like. He said one of the vice presidents of the company began there as a janitor and worked her way up alongside generations of her family.
“We should not have individuals coming into counties and targeting businesses to put them out of business,” Watson said. “This is not something that should be tolerated and folks across the state should be concerned. Because you have the power to run an initiative, doesn’t mean you have the right to remove the livelihood of 160 families and put a functioning, necessary business out of business because of your ideology.”
Watson anticipates Denver voters will side with their neighbors and vote the initiative down.
“This does not only impact Superior Farms here in Globeville, you know if this is successful here, they’re coming to a county near you,” he said. “They’re main objective is no one should be eating any meat in the state of Colorado, which is insane. If folks don’t want to eat lamb, they shouldn’t but they shouldn’t be trying to take this business out.”
THE OPPOSITION
Two-time James Beard Award Semifinalist Chef Jose Avila of La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal said he opposes the ban.
“I value the hard work and dedication of the Superior Farms workers, 80% of whom are Latino/Latina, many of whom have been at the plant for decades, and who shouldn’t have to be here fighting for their jobs because of a ballot measure,” Avila said.
CEO of the National Western Stock Show Paul Andrews voiced his opposition to the measure.
“I encourage everyone to think for a minute, if you haven’t already, about where your meat comes from,” Andrews said. “The meat you buy in the store, at the Whole Foods, or at a restaurant. Right here in Denver, we are lucky enough to have a local food producer of high-quality lamb, with 160 workers who are skilled at their jobs and who take pride in their work, pride in their company, and pride in their product. I oppose it, and I encourage Denver voters to oppose it too.”
Kenny Rogers, immediate past president of the Colorado Livestock Association said the measure unfairly targets a single, employee-owned Denver business — Superior Farms, a large meat processor — and forces it to shut down, eliminating jobs for nearly 200 people who have worked in this industry for multiple decades and who will struggle to find a similar occupation with a comparable wage and employee-ownership benefits to support their families. Rogers said the effect of the potential ban reaches far outside of Denver and affects thousands of jobs.
Isabel Bautista, operations manager and an employee-owner of Superior Farms said her ownership stake in Superior Farms allows her to participate in the financial success of the business.
“As an employee-owner, I have made retirement investments here,” she said. “This job means financial security to me and my family, but it’s also a job I love.”
The 160 workers at Denver’s only slaughterhouse will lose their jobs and benefits, but Initiated Ordinance 309 could also threaten more than 2,700 jobs including independent ranchers, truckers, distributors, retailers, butchers, and restaurant owners and employees, according to a recent study from Colorado State University.
