Writing Alert! Hallmark slaughter update 2/22-2/24/08

[Guest guest]

NOTE: See Yellow Highlights for email addresses to whom to write to thank these media outlets for this important story. We know Hallmark is not an isolated incident and that abuse is pervasive in animal agriculture. Let's be sure the public knows, too. Thank you. Margaret*************************I send a brief update on the Hallmark slaughter plant story, as it continues to make big news. The latest good news, reported in the Saturday, February 23, Wall Street Journal by David Desmodel, is headed, "Meatpacker to Shut Down In Wake of Massive Recall."You'll find that story on line at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120378150987388423.htmland can respond with a letter to the editor sent to wsj.ltrsThere have been many strong editorials on the issue. (Note: an editorial, as opposed to an

op-ed or a column, is the official opinion of the newspaper's editorial page.) One of the strongest is from the Saturday, February 23, Houston Chronicle. The heading is "Downers: Video and massive beef recall reveal cost of stinting on food safety and basic humanity."The editorial calls the video "stomach-churning" and tells us:"The workers beat, dragged and jabbed the animals' eyes, hoping pain would make them stagger to their feet. They sprayed a powerful water hose into one sick cow's nose."Their motive? A cow that can't stand up is a cow that won't make money."And it tells us:"The California abattoir where this savagery occurred was cited in 2005 for animal cruelty. But what made the case most shocking is the fact it probably isn't unique."According to the worker for the Humane Society of the United States, who secretly filmed the slaughterhouse abuse, no one there took any care

to hide it. Like all meat processing plants, the facility was supervised by federal inspectors."And because the plant reportedly was chosen randomly, there's little reason to doubt that what happened there has been repeated elsewhere."Certainly, what horrified viewers saw on the Humane Society's Web site failed to surprise animal welfare workers, who complained consistently that the beef industry is undersupervised."You'll find the full article on line at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5563692.htmlYou can send an appreciative letter to the editor to viewpointsThe paper has a fun and informative page about its letters policy at:

http://webadv.chron.com/ads/ads_i/insidestory/your_letter.htmlOn Friday, January 22, HSUS's president Wayne Pacelle was interviewed on the NPR show "On the Media." You can listen to that interview (7 minutes) on line at http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2008/02/22/06 . Or the transcript will be available on that page on Monday. Here is the blurb describing the story:"Meat Marketing -- February 22, 2008An undercover video of a downer cow being dragged into a slaughterhouse at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Company was featured in thousands of news stories this week. Humane Society of the United States CEO Wayne Pacelle explains why these images so successfully captured the media’s attention."Pacelle suggests that the video was exactly graphic enough -- people were moved by it but could stand to watch it. While that is surely true, my own take is that the success of this story had just as much to do with timing. In the last year we have

seen a real shift in public interest and media coverage. With books like The Omnivore's Delight and Skinny Bitch topping the bestseller lists, the media knows, finally, that their readers and viewers care about these issues. Let's make sure they don't forget! It is only because the media covered the story that the USDA finally took action. So please:Thank NPR for this interview at http://www.onthemedia.org/contact/email/form or post a comment on it at:http://www.onthemedia.org/episodes/2008/02/22/segments/94043Most importantly, help keep the story alive in your local media with letters to the editor and appreciative comments to stations that cover it. Those enjoying plant based can take this opportunity to sing their praises, perhaps reminding readers that the cows we saw being electric

prodded were dairy cows -- and that dairy cows eventually become hamburgers in school lunches. Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published. And please be sure not to use any exact comments or phrases from me or from any other alerts in your letters. Editors are looking for original responses from their readers.Yours and the animals',Karen Dawn(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is

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