---
title: "Will AI Replace Meat? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates meat' exposure to AI as moderate. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+5.7% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-meat"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Meat? (2026)

**Short answer:** Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places meat in its moderate AI exposure category, below the middle of the pack: some of the work overlaps with what AI can do, much of it does not. BLS projects employment to change by +5.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 17,000 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Moderate | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 56/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +5.7% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 17,000 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $38,300 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate (this job) | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Handling and moving objects: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Performing general physical activities: 3.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Time spent on your feet: 5.0/5 (O\*NET work context)

## What AI reaches first

- Repetitive motions: 4.8/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Processing information: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Getting information: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repeating the same tasks: 3.5/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat.
- Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing.
- Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming.
- Separate meats and byproducts into specified containers and seal containers.
- Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than meat

- [Stone Cutter and Carver, Manufacturing](https://nuecareer.com/careers/stone-cutter-and-carver-manufacturing): BLS exposure Low, median $46,170
- [Cabinetmaker and Bench Carpenter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cabinetmaker-and-bench-carpenter): BLS exposure Low, median $46,680
- [Paper Goods Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/paper-goods-machine-setter-operator-and-tender): BLS exposure Low, median $50,270
- [Mixing and Blending Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mixing-and-blending-machine-setter-operator-and-tender): BLS exposure Low, median $48,990
- [Engine and Other Machine Assembler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/engine-and-other-machine-assembler): BLS exposure Low, median $53,710
- [Helpers--Production Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-production-worker): BLS exposure Low, median $39,070; [Will AI replace production worker helpers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-production-worker-helpers)

## FAQ

**Will AI replace meat?**

Unlikely. BLS rates the work's exposure to AI as moderate, below the middle of the pack, and still projects employment to grow faster than average. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +5.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 17,000 openings a year.

**How exposed are meat to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Meat are in the moderate category, alongside 193 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a meat, poultry, and fish cutter and trimmer's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are repetitive motions, processing information and getting information. The parts that hold up best are handling and moving objects, hands-on work with tools and objects and performing general physical activities. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a meat, poultry, and fish cutter and trimmer a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, meat score 56 out of 100, higher than 75% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $38,300 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to meat are less exposed to AI?**

Stone Cutter and Carver, Manufacturing (low exposure, $46,170 median), Cabinetmaker and Bench Carpenter (low exposure, $46,680 median), Paper Goods Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender (low exposure, $50,270 median), Mixing and Blending Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender (low exposure, $48,990 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than meat, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/meat-poultry-and-fish-cutter-and-trimmer.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology