[kerkeslager]

Could you go into what regulations you think are wrong? I am by no means an expert on the topic, but I'm under the impression that meat packing regulations exist because the meat packing industry was causing massive harm to workers, consumers, the environment, etc. I mean, high schoolers read The Jungle for a reason.

One thing that has changed in the past few years is that programs to help local farmers get organic certifications has made organic certification much more accessible to local farmers. Could there be similar programs to help smaller meat packers comply with regulation?

I'm not saying you are wrong, but there are a lot more people on Hacker News who are just against all regulation, than there are people who actually know why specific regulations exist and are against them for informed reasons.