‘A visit to the factory farm’ post isn’t the typical for me here but recently this story has been in the mainstream media, receiving lots of attention and is being discussed in all circles, affecting so many. I wanted to follow up with some additional reading.
Yesterday, CNN reported the USDA recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef on Sunday from the slaughterhouse Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Co., of Southern California, where two employees are being charged for mistreating cattle and further inspections of the company are under way. Thanks to the HSUS’ undercover work and concerned citizens from all over that took action by informing themselves, watching the undercover video, signing petitions, writing letters of concern to government officials and business owners, and who passed it along to loved ones, this became front page news. Read the entire CNN article here and if you can stomach the torture, then I suggest you watch the video too. Truly disturbing footage which will remain engraved in my head forever.
Well this may be an isolated case, I have a strong suspicion this sort of behavior goes on more than we know of. And, this is only the mistreatment with forklifting, prodding, and shocking, what about the other mistreatments? Their hormone and antibiotic pumped bodies, their separation from family too soon, their unnatural rate of growth, the stress they endure during the forced travels when they are sold from the original grass grazing farms to the feedlots. That is abuse too ya know?
One other point I’d like to make is that this is a slaughterhouse but the cattle that end up here aren’t just raised for beef, a large number are dairy cows as well.
“”Culls” are dairy cows that are removed from the milking herds for any reason, most commonly because they’re not producing enough milk to justify their upkeep. In New York, the nation’s third largest dairy state, about one-third of the dairy herd — about 175,000 cows — are culled each year. Because meat from older dairy cows is not tender and marbled enough to be prime cuts of beef, much is ground for hamburger.
“Cull cows are a huge resource of hamburger in this country, where 50 percent of the beef we consume is hamburger,” said Ted C. Perry, the beef cattle extension associate in Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. New York’s culled dairy cows account for three-quarters of all beef produced in the state; most of the 10.5 million pounds of hamburger eaten by New Yorkers each year comes from former dairy cows.”
Read entire article by Roger Segelken here.
Just the other day I flipped through our latest issue of Mother Earth News and in it they have a wonderful article titled ‘What You Need To Know About The Beef You Eat’.
Inform yourself by reading your labels. Speak up and ask questions. Shop smart. Pass this information along!
February 19, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Nice post, Vegan Lady.
For something a bit lighter, head over to Jill’s Blog on Animals Asia. Today’s entry is adorable.
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February 19, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Oops, forgot the URL for Jill’s Blog: http://www.animalsasia.org/blog/
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February 19, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Thanks and thanks for the cross-post. I love Agathon’s mittens. Way to go Dorothy!
March 28, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Great info and nicely written. Thinking about what you eat is a great step for environmentalist to take. Go veg!
March 7, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Just found your blog and it is terrific. Bringing awareness to wrong-doings — you spell it out! As my kids used to say when they were hearing the right words tumble out of a women’s mouth “You Go Girl.”