Slaughterhouse Abuse Was Not Rare

The disturbing images of from an undercover camera that brought down the Westland/Hallmark slaughterhouse and prompted the biggest meat recall in U.S. history did not reveal anything that hadn't happened at slaughterhouses around the country, according to USDA documents just made public.

One in 10 humane-slaughter violations concerned pushing so-called downer cattle that were too sick or weak to walk toward the slaughterhouse, according to the data, crunched by the Animal Welfare Institute and reported by USA Today. The most recent data is four years old, however, so it's impossible to draw conclusions about current practices or comparisons with earlier dates.

People rarely want to think about the death of animals when they buy meat, but consumers expect the food they buy to be both safe and ethically produced. Moving cows with forklifts, water hoses or electric prods fails both those tests. A cow that can't stand is more likely to be diseased or contaminated with animal waste, and one need not watch the entire Humane Society undercover video to see that cattle haven't always treated with anything like respect on their way to becoming a hamburger.

The USDA has vowed to step up inspections and crack down on any problems at the nation's 900 slaughterhouses. Meat-eaters concerned about the latest news could consider buying locally raised and slaughtered meat, so that they can ask questions of the farmers or butchers who have seen the process from start to finish.

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