A Meat and Dairy Article from All-Creatures.org

Is it really safe to eat dead animals?

From Hesh Goldstein, Health Talk Hawaii
August 2023

The USDA, which oversees the treatment of animals and birds in the slaughter houses says, “Drastic increases in production speeds, lack of support from supervisors in plants, new inspection policies which significantly reduce our enforcement authority, and little or no access to the areas of the plants where animals are killed, have significantly hampered our ability to ensure compliance with humane regulations.”

There is a saying that “If slaughterhouses had glass walls we all would be vegetarians”. What will be presented in this article is what happens behind those windowless walls. One of two things will happen by the end of this article. One, you will feel sadness and make an attempt to change how and what you eat or two, you will put it aside and continue doing what you have been conditioned to do and live with the reality that you most definitely are what you eat – a compassionless, hard hearted person.

All animals go to slaughterhouses. While there, they can hear, smell and hear the death around them. And while these animals struggle to keep alive, the workers, to not slow down “production”, exhibit impatience to these poor animals.

The government, in their compassion, requires that an animal be stunned prior to its being murdered. How do the do this? With a method called, captive bolt stunning, a gun is put against the animal's head that shoots a metal rod into its brain. What if the animal struggles and the rod misses? Easy. Do it again and again until it hits the right mark.

Then there's, electrical stunning. This electrically zaps the animal creating a grand mal seizure. But, what if the electrical charge is not high enough? Then the animal will become paralyzed but will not lose sensibility. Whatever it takes, right?

Next is ritual slaughter where the animal's throat is cut while fully conscious. Supposedly, the animal will become unconscious within seconds. The reality is that because of blood flow through the back of the neck the animal can remain conscious and bleed up to a minute, all the while screaming in pain.

There was an article in the Washington Post that revealed that hogs are immersed in scalding water after they are stunned to soften their hides for skinning. Given the mental acuity of the employees most of the hogs are scalded and drowned while conscious and kicking and squealing while being lowered in to the water. The same applies to chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese that undergo electric stunning. They are usually conscious as they are boiled or drowned.

Many slaughterhouse employees get their rocks off by punching the animals while alive or ripping the eggs out of a hen's body and then having egg fights or ripping the heads off of turkeys that got their feet stuck in the transport truck cages. If a bird missed the throat-cutting machine a worker simply rips its head off to not slow down production.

Some of the other employee pastimes include throwing live chickens into a wall, picking chickens up by their feet and swinging their heads into walls or the floor, or throwing them on the floor, while alive, and jumping up and down on them.

The USDA, which oversees the treatment of animals and birds in the slaughter houses says, “Drastic increases in production speeds, lack of support from supervisors in plants, new inspection policies which significantly reduce our enforcement authority, and little or no access to the areas of the plants where animals are killed, have significantly hampered our ability to ensure compliance with humane regulations”.

The good news – even when problems are reported to the inspectors, the government ignores them. A case in point was that no action was taken against a Texas beef company for chopping the hooves and ears off of live cattle.

It's up to you to look into your heart and decide if you want to be a part of this or not.

Aloha!

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