Re: Sick Cattle Used to Feed School Children

The only important thing in the end is, are people dying from these "downers" or not.

"Harry Hope" <rivrvu@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:9c62q31vrm30agrburd6ngdbdjbqq7tu33@xxxxxxxxxx

Slaughtering such sick cattle - known as "downers" - also is banned to
protect humans from contracting mad cow disease.

The USDA considers its enforcement of the ban aggressive;

HSUS says it's actually riddled with holes.

"Downed animals may be falling through the cracks as a result of poor
oversight, anemic enforcement, and a loophole created by inconsistent
agency regulations," the group says.

....................................................................................................

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, one of the most vocal critics of the nation's food
safety program in Congress, e-mailed reporters today with a threat to
hold a hearing that looks into "USDA policies" that "are allowing
slaughtering and processing plants to use the National School Lunch
Program as a dumping ground for bad meat."



From ABC News, 1/30/08:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4218056&page=1

Sick Cattle Used to Feed School Children

Hidden Camera Investigation Finds Slaughterhouse Used Banned 'Downed
Animals'

By BRIAN HARTMAN

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30, 2008


A hidden camera investigation by an animal rights group has uncovered
disturbing treatment of ailing cows at a California slaughterhouse
that provides meat for school lunches.

The video, obtained during what the Humane Society of the United
States said was a six-week undercover investigation, shows a sickly
cow being dragged by a chain before being poked, prodded, rolled and
lifted with a forklift.

Workers also are seen hosing the faces of cows in a manner that HSUS
described as "torture, right out of a waterboarding manual."

An HSUS official said its investigator confirmed that at least some of
the animals in the video were "spent dairy cows," allegedly sold for
meat after they had grown too old and sick to produce milk, and that
they were slaughtered for use in the human food supply.

HSUS says Westland Meat Company, which owns the slaughterhouse in
Chino, Calif., is the No. 2 supplier of beef to a USDA program that
"distributes the beef to needy families, the elderly, and also to
schools, through the National School Lunch Program."

According to documents provided by HSUS, Westland was named a USDA
"supplier of the year" for 2004-05.

HSUS says the company "has delivered beef to schools in 36 states.
More than 100,000 schools and child care facilities nationwide receive
meat through the lunch program."

Such treatment of cows is generally considered abuse and is
prohibited.

But slaughtering such sick cattle - known as "downers" - also is
banned to protect humans from contracting mad cow disease.

The USDA considers its enforcement of the ban aggressive;

HSUS says it's actually riddled with holes.

"Downed animals may be falling through the cracks as a result of poor
oversight, anemic enforcement, and a loophole created by inconsistent
agency regulations," the group says.

Both the USDA and the meat packer responded quickly to the
allegations.

The president of Westland and of Hallmark Meat Packing Co., where the
video was recorded, said today two employees were fired, and a
supervisor was suspended "pending his explanation."

"We are shocked, saddened and sickened by what we have seen today,"
Westland's president Steve Mendell said in a prepared statement posted
on the company's Web site.

"Operations have been immediately suspended until we can meet with all
of our employees, and be assured these sorts of activities never again
happen at our facility."

Mendell's plant is now under investigation by the USDA.

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer has asked the USDA's inspector
general to look into violations at the facility, but he assured the
public that the episode was not reason for public alarm.

In the interim, Schafer said he has "indefinitely suspended" Westland
Meat Company from supplying meat to federal food programs, and all
food from Westland that is already in the pipeline has been placed "on
administrative hold."

In a prepared statement released late today, Schafer said he's "deeply
concerned" about the allegations.

But he's also disappointed in the Humane Society.

"It is unfortunate that the Humane Society of the United States did
not present this information to us when these alleged violations
occurred in the fall of 2007," Schafer said.

"Had we known at the time the alleged violations occurred, we would
have initiated our investigation sooner, and taken appropriate actions
at that time."

Humane Society officials said they did take action.

"The HSUS turned over, to appropriate California law enforcement
officials, extensive videotape evidence, once the investigation was
concluded," Wayne Pacelle, president of the group, responded to
Schafer's barb.

"Local authorities asked for extra time before public release of the
information."

Pacelle also asked the USDA to go further than just suspending
operations at Westland, and is calling for the plant to be "locked up
and shut down."

Westland and the USDA also may be forced to answer questions on
Capitol Hill.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, one of the most vocal critics of the nation's food
safety program in Congress, e-mailed reporters today with a threat to
hold a hearing that looks into "USDA policies" that "are allowing
slaughtering and processing plants to use the National School Lunch
Program as a dumping ground for bad meat."

_________________________________________________

Harry

.

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