Armour Food Source Map

The Greatness of the United States is founded on…Agriculture.

This pictorial promotional map, attributed to an artist named Lenhardt, was issued by the Public Relations Department of Chicago-based Armour and Company in the late 1960s. The meatpacking titan had a long history of carefully curating its public image to counter recurring controversies over labor abuses, poor sanitation, and price-fixing accusations. While Armour had issued several brightly colored promotional maps starting in the early 1920s, this black-and-white iteration functioned as a cost-effective reprint of a larger, full-color version from circa 1960. The regulatory and public relations fallout from the Wholesome Meat Act of 1967 likely prompted this specific reissue.

The muted, monochrome composition is dotted with vignettes celebrating America’s agricultural abundance, highlighting products ranging from flax and sorghum to dates and sugar beets. A featured list of packing plants emphasizes the company’s nationwide footprint – though notably, its historic Chicago plant is omitted, having ceased slaughtering operations in 1959. Omaha is also absent, having closed just prior to publication. Accompanying text carefully positions Armour as the vital anchor of a seamlessly integrated agricultural system, framing the company as a cornerstone of American economic greatness. On the verso, additional text and photographs outline the century-long history of livestock raising alongside the rapid modernization of the meatpacking industry.