When it comes to the development and merchandising of meat and poultry, big is not necessarily better. As cut size increases, shoppers show greater interest in buying smaller portions.

In this video interview, former Butterball COO Joe Nalley discusses how the size of the animal coming into market has increased, how equipment had to change to accommodate that, and how they handled consumer concerns about bigger animals.

The greater use of antibiotics and growth hormones on animals and longer periods in feed lots result in bigger carcasses — and subsequently larger slices of whole-muscle cuts.