I don’t really even know where to begin. I know I have had my rants on the toy-recall-debacle and on some other government-neglected safety issues…but this one just tops it all.
The USDA has announced the largest beef recall in history, 143 million lbs of beef (translated to = roughly 204,000 cows). Sick cows. And more disturbing, in the videos the cows are "dairy cows." Okay so, I am not a farmer, but I always thought that "dairy" cows were for milk and "beef" cows were for beef…call me naïve…but that is what I always thought.
In the video taken by an undercover investigator for an animal welfare group last year – it shows these cows being electrocuted, pushed with forklifts and waterboarding in an attempt to get the sick cows to stand-up for inspection. (If you can stomach your way through it, ‘cause to be honest – I tried and just couldn’t, the Humane Society has the video on their site). And to rewind a bit, your eyes are not fooling you, this all happened last year, and that is how long it took for our government to finally step-in.
Not only is this an issue about animal cruelty…but health safety. This meat was tainted as far back as 2006…and oh by the way, some of it was already eaten or drank for that matter. What?
But be assured, no one reported being sick.
Oh and the recalled meat was eaten by school children? Apparently the meat was being served in school (unknowingly of course) – hamburgers, tacos and spaghetti sauce - and really milk products should be included too.
According to the reports "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 since they typically wallow in feces and their immune systems are often weak." Nice.
So again, what is the government doing to protect your child today? This was only one incident – one company caught – makes one wonder, should I just switch to organic or turn vegan?
Cause the USDA label certainly doesn't make me trust the product.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
I am utterly appalled!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
I can't watch it for sure. I would cry for days. I once watched a video called meet your meat. I immediately became a vegetarian. Unfortunately, these poor animals have been treated like this for a very long time. My dad who is the meat industry said that the government buys up this meat and and puts its in warehouses for the schools. Can you imagine that there would even be anything left from 2006?
Coincidentally, I gave up all meat (except for seafood) for lent as an act that would inconvenience me (and make me more aware of my diet) and it did! You see, I am living in a house where even the veggie soup is loaded with beef. In turn Bug eats more veggies and less meat. I can't even listen to accounts of this video without feeling sick so I know that I can't watch it. It is a horrible thing that has fallen through and it does make you wonder what hasn't been caught. It also makes me want to live on a self sustaining farm!
Sheri -- It is so hard to swallow any of this...I figure this is just a snapshot of something much larger.
mb - I am about to join that bandwagon...except the farm thing...I don't think I could handle it! ;)
So...I have been reading about this, and brought it up with my class as a current events topic. It was especially current because our school is getting rid of a whole bunch of meat from this source. Well, the kids didn't really seem to care, and that upset me. At lunchtime, I complained about the kids' attitude about animal cruelty and our food supply to some of the other teachers. They didn't see my point at all. They were all like, "Well, it's dead, so who cares." I was so disgusted. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you post about this.
Thanks bloggrrl, I think it is just easier for people to look away than face reality sometimes.
Post a Comment