cows

On Sunday, 143 million pounds of beef were recalled. It seems like something is recalled almost every week in this country, whether it's toys or food or cars, it's always something. I don't eat red meat very often, though I did actually eat steak on Sunday night. I was away with M and my sister-in-law and her husband for the weekend and we got back home Monday afternoon, so I didn't catch any news stories about it as it was happening. For all these reasons, I didn't pay much attention to the recall.

Then, this morning, for the first time, I read a couple of articles about it and also saw some of the undercover video footage of the California slaughterhouse that prompted the recall. I was horrified and sickened by it. The awful condition and the treatment of the cows turned my stomach. It is absolutely terrible. One of the articles I read stated that most Americans will ignore and brush off the recall. Probably for some of the same reasons I did. If we don't happen across a story when it's a big headline with some catchy gore or glorification, we shrug it off. No big deal.

I don't claim to be educated about this issue. I don't know what can or should be done about it. I just know that awareness is important. I don't know how common extreme cruelty like this is in US slaughterhouses but I would have to guess that this is not an isolated problem at one slaughterhouse. I understand that cows and other animals raised for slaughter are not treated like pets. I understand the chain of prey and I am not against eating meat. But this kind of cruelty is sick and disturbing. No living thing should be treated this way, ever.

2 comments:

maresi said...

I like a good steak or burger too, but I totally agree... there's got to be a better way to treat these animals. I'd be willing to pay a bit more for meat knowing that the extra $$ went to training employees and improving procedures.

Ma Ma to 3 said...

I agree with mo*reezy on this one. I felt so bad watching that video of how they were treated. Like it isn't bad enough they are going to be killed to feed other people but to treat them that was is horrifying!


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