New deal puts animals, public at risk
Dear Dr. Fox: The USDA is rushing ahead with its “modernization” plan for the slaughter of pigs, turning over key inspection responsibilities to the industry it regulates.
We should all be concerned. While current regulations allow slaughterhouses to kill a staggering 1,106 pigs per hour — or one pig every three seconds — apparently that’s not fast enough for the pork industry. The Trump administration’s new regulations, to be rolled out as early as May, will actually remove that cap. That means meat packers killing 90 percent of the nation’s pigs will be given the go-ahead to operate at unrestricted line speeds, killing pigs as fast, and as recklessly, as they want.
This move is on the heels of a new Trump administration decision to increase processing line speeds for some poultry plants from 140 to 175 birds per minute. In addition, the USDA is working to deregulate slaughter inspections in the beef industry. These irresponsible changes put consumers, workers and animals at grave risk.
Increasing already exorbitant line speeds is being achieved by replacing qualified USDA meat inspectors stationed in the plants with the slaughterhouses’ own personnel, who are “trained” at the discretion of the plants, and subject to disciplinary action if they “impede” meat production. The result of the fox guarding the hen house is the fact that the nation’s large hog plants will increase their line speeds by about 12 percent, and their annual profits by millions of dollars per plant.
The public will be put at risk, as the responsibility for detecting diseased and contaminated product will be delegated to, or shared with, company employees. Workers will suffer the consequences, as injuries and illnesses like carpal tunnel disorder will likely increase dramatically. And animals, the nonexistent concern in most slaughterhouses, will pay the highest price.
When my book “Slaughterhouse” was published in 1997 and updated in 2006, my investigations with the Humane Farming Association (HFA) revealed that pigs at high-volume plants were routinely dragged, beaten, excessively prodded, inadequately stunned, bled, and immersed in the scalding tank (for hair removal) all while fully conscious. This happened because employees at high-speed plants routinely resort to brutality as they struggle to keep the production line moving at ridiculously high speeds.
— Gail Eisnitz, Humane Farming Association,
San Rafael, California
Dear G.E.: Many readers will appreciate your expert testimony on a serious issue where money takes precedence, yet again, over animal welfare and public health and safety. Several years ago when I was investigating slaughter practices, I was told by a government meat inspector that the inspection was termed “organoleptic” — meaning eyeballing the slaughtered animals as they flew past on the conveyor. I also saw some pigs and poultry hanging by shackles and struggling before being “processed,” not having been stunned and killed beforehand. I should add that meat condemned for human consumption from animals diseased, dead, dying and debilitated (called 4-D meat by the industry) go into many pet foods, with better brands indicating “Organically Certified” and “human-grade quality.”
Your dedicated investigations and documentation should be accessed by all involved, and used to stop such insanity.
Write c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106 or email animaldocfox@gmail.com. Visit Dr. Fox’s Web site at www. DrFoxVet.com.