PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Smithfield Foods, Smithfield, Va.
Don Butler, director of government relations, was appointed by North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory to the newly created N.C. Food Manufacturing Task Force. Butler began his career in the pork industry in 1991 with Carroll's Foods, which was acquired by Smithfield in 1999. There, he developed an environmental management system (EMS) designed to meet ISO 14001 standards. Butler also owns and operates a contract pig nursery operation. He is past president and board member of the N.C. Pork Council and served as president for the National Pork Producers Council.