DENVER — As Election Day continues, the meat industry will be looking toward one ballot measure in Denver, Colo., that could affect a significant portion of lamb production in the United States. 

The measure states that Denver would prohibit “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.” The move would ban meat processing plants starting in 2026.

Last month, the Democratic party in Denver came out against the ballot measure. 

The deadline for voting is 7 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on Nov. 5. 

The slaughterhouse initiative would currently affect one individual business — Superior Farms. The Denver lamb packing plant is the largest in the United States, with about 1,500 head of lamb processed daily. The facility covers harvest, fabrication and case-ready production. 

The company employs 160 people, of which nearly 80% are residents of Denver.

An opposition group named “Stop the Ban, Protect Jobs” formed a campaign saying the ban unfairly targets a 70-year-old employee-owned business. The campaign stresses that 160 workers will lose their jobs if the initiative succeeds and the cost of shipping meat out of state will increase.

A recent study in May by Colorado State University laid out how the ban could reduce Colorado economic activity by $861 million and affect more than 2,700 jobs.

The Colorado State study pointed out that Superior Farms’ plant in Denver accounts for 15-20% of the total lamb harvesting in the United States.

Pro-Animal Denver, the group in favor of the ballot measure, raised around $339,000 for its side of the campaign. Stop the Ban, Protect Jobs raised more than $2.4 million in contributions from the Meat Institute ($250,000), Superior Farms ($171,058), the National Pork Producers Council ($60,000), the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association ($65,000), the Colorado Livestock Association ($103,000), The American Sheep Industry Association ($80,000) and the United Food & Commercial Workers International ($25,000) among others.