This came accross on CNN breaking news. Is anything safe anymore?:

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is being investigated for mistreating cattle.

Officials said it was the largest beef recall in the United States, surpassing a 1999 ban of 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meats."

Read the entire notice here:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/02/17/usdabeef.recall.ap/index.html

List of affected meat products:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/02/17/usdabeef.recall.list/index.html

Quote out of the article

"Federal regulations call for keeping downed cattle out of the food supply because they may pose a higher risk of contamination from E. coli, salmonella or mad cow disease because they typically wallow in feces and their immune systems are often weak."

But they will put this crap in dog and cat food for our animals to eat.....

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/02/0048.xml


I watched the undercover-made videos of the torture inflicted on these cows to try to get them to the slaughterhouse under their own steam..... forklifts and bulldozers used to try to get dying cows to their feet so they could be deemed "fit for human consumption." Cows rolled over and over by forklifts..... cows dragged by their back foot across the feed lot....

I have absolutely NO confidence in the FDA's comment about this being an isolated thing.

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/02/0048.xml

 Quote:

There are 7,800 inspection personnel that provide inspection to more than 6,200 federally inspected establishments. USDA has continuous presence at all federally inspected slaughter facilities.

When you take into account vacations, sick days and other stuff this is probably one person per plant, who is supposed to be watching everything all the time. Including potential BSE material:

 Quote:

FSIS line inspectors are stationed at designated points along the production line where they are able to directly observe SRM removal activities. Other off-line inspection personnel verify plant SRM removal, segregation and disposition practices.

All cattle at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company passed ante-mortem inspection before slaughter.

Once an animal that is ambulatory has passed ante-mortem inspection and then becomes non-ambulatory disabled, for example with evidence of an acute fracture, such an animal must be re-examined by the Public Health Veterinarian to determine whether the animal can proceed to slaughter.

I find it hard to believe that ALL these cows are going to look healthy and then some just suddenly drop into a non-ambulatory state.

 Quote:

A. Every head of livestock is inspected ante-mortem, before slaughter, by a Public Health Veterinarian (PHV) or other inspection personnel.

They really want to emphasise this.

 Quote:

The PHV or other FSIS in-plant inspectors randomly verify, during each shift, plant humane handling practices before, during and after ante-mortem inspection and will take immediate control action if inhumane handling is observed.

FSIS recognizes that plant employees might be aware of the presence of inspection program personnel, so inspectors are instructed to conduct humane handling verification activities in a way that they are not in plain view of plant employees, when possible.

Plant employees with two way radios stationed at strategic locations....

 Quote:

During ante-mortem inspection, an animal will be condemned once the PHV has determined the animal to be non-ambulatory disabled.

Where were these soon to be abused cattle hiding during the inspection.

 Quote:

The PHV may, on a case by case basis, can make a determination on whether an animal can proceed to slaughter if the animal becomes non-ambulatory after ante-mortem inspection has been performed.

That tells me there should have been an inspector there.

 Quote:

Mechanical means, such as by forklift, to elevate an animal is not considered humane, and would be considered egregious inhumane treatment.

I'm wondering why the inspector didn't notice a forklift in the holding pen.

Anybody read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle? This does remind me of it.

This is the kind of thing that makes me consider being a vegetarian. Not because of the recall. Because of the inhumane treatment of these creatures. We take their lives in order to enjoy a dang steak and in return they are treated with brutality and dishonor. They literally give their lives for our survival and we are heartless toward them. Humanity never ceases to disappoint. As far as the feds go, forget it. They're just employees. They have no vested interest in the treatment of these animals.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

I have absolutely NO confidence in the FDA's comment about this being an isolated thing.

I agree with you. I could not watch the videos and then have to go out and see our cattle at the ranch. Just couldn't do it.

It really pisses me off that we take good care of our cattle and then this s**t might happen to them.

 Quote: connie sutherland

I watched the undercover-made videos of the torture inflicted on these cows to try to get them to the slaughterhouse under their own steam..... forklifts and bulldozers used to try to get dying cows to their feet so they could be deemed "fit for human consumption." Cows rolled over and over by forklifts..... cows dragged by their back foot across the feed lot....

I found the footage as well - and I'm going to feel ill all day for having watched it . This isn't about a right to eat meat or not, it's about a respect for life and compassion for individuals in pain. So much of this industry is driven by pure greed and the cruelty that goes on every day, in the name of the bottom line, is simply sickening.

 Quote: connie sutherland

I have absolutely NO confidence in the FDA's comment about this being an isolated thing.

The other tragedy of course is that the lack of responsibility here is not reserved for the suffering animals on the slaughterhouse feedlots - these people don't care about the quality and safety of their product, nor do they care who eats it (and those in charge of "monitoring" plant activities CLEARLY aren't paying attention, or have their priorities severely confused). If it can't be fed to humans, they'll try to feed it to our pets, and if they can't do that anymore, you can bet they'll find SOMEONE to buy up their mess and keep things moving... remember when they were feeding these cows to other cows??!!!

I know this all strays from the "dog" theme, but if there's one thing that never fails to turn my stomach and send chills through my spine, it's the twisted nature of human beings who have too many dollar signs in their eyes.

~Natalya

This whole mess is an excellent reason to get your meat directly from the farmer/rancher who raises them. The animals are in their own familiar environment until the end. They are stressed very little, if at all. In most cases they can be killed on the farm then taken to a butcher or locker for processing. Otherwise they are hauled 30 miles or so to the locker for slaughter. That is WAY better than the animals being packed on a truck and transported for hours or days to end up at a massive slaughter house and severely stressed the whole time.
If a whole animal is too much for one person/family/dog then find some friends or neighbors to split it with you.
There are people all over the country who raise lamb, goat, hogs and beef. If you buy chickens off the farm many times the birds are killed and dressed for you. If you get their guts, heads and feet that is free food for your dog. (there are raw food suppliers who sell chicken feet and heads for ridiculous prices)
In my experience meat obtained directly from a farm always tastes better than store bought meat.
You could go to/call local feed stores or lockers and ask who raises the animals you want. http://www.eatwild.com list people by state who raise grass fed animals.

I am fortunate enough to pick my own cow/steer when we need it.
And it is an excellent idea to find someone to buy from as well.

I also like the fact that I get to keep what I want for the dogs, which is mainly recreational bones, organs and tripe. I do not feed a lot of beef meat nor do I feed spines nor heads.

On the days that our meat locker slaughters, the inspector is right there to make sure there is nothing wrong. He is very good at what he does and says it makes him sick that other inspectors can be "lazy" when doing their job.

Great link Debbie - and you're right, the only way to seriously reform or end these kinds of practices is to vote intelligently with our wallets and give our money to the farmers and ranchers who are doing it "right". The more people opt for meat (and actually EVERYTHING we eat) that comes from responsible farming, the smaller the market will be for such damaging giant agribusiness. There are benefits to this kind of shift that spread far beyond the welfare of the animals and the quality of the food as well...

I'm looking forward to buying a house in the next year or 2 that will afford me room to keep a chest freezer filled with such locally sourced bulk meats...

~Natalya