A cool letter to the Toronto Star

[Guest guest]

This is a letter to the Toronto Star that someone wrote regarding their

investigations into a makeshift Slaughterhouse operation and the meat industry.

I thought it was well said. The only thing Id change is at the end- where I

think that we -the consumers ARE TOTALLY responsible of what is in demand (and

ofcourse of what isn't).

Bliss

--------------------------

 

The slaughter lines show no signs of slowing

 

I would like to applaud The Star's recent investigations of the Ontario meat

industry. The abhorrent conditions of slaughterhouses affecting the safety of

consumers and workers alike is too often ignored.

 

Your investigators reported on the unsanitary conditions inside provincially

licensed slaughterhouses as well as the appalling conditions of an illegal

slaughterhouse in Vaughan. Before one seeks safety assurance by buying meat with

the federal stamp of approval, here are some points to consider: More than 600

million animals are slaughtered every year in this country to satisfy the

meat-based diet.

 

There are only 643 federal inspectors employed full-time to monitor this.

 

Some of the inspectors are responsible for checking an animal's health prior to

slaughter while the other inspectors examine the quality of the carcass during

the processing stages.

 

Over the last 15 years, line speeds have tripled, so that 90 birds may pass an

inspector every minute. The line rarely stops, even for the birds that are not

stunned properly. In an alarming precedent, one federally licensed chicken

slaughterhouse has increased its line speed by 40 per cent, so that it can

eliminate the night shift and still make quota.

 

The faster pace of the industry is of no benefit to workers who must perform the

same repetitive task at a quicker rate. Worker injury rates have increased; the

meat industry is one of the most dangerous working environments. Little wonder

that the average annual employee turnover rate is 60 per cent. Though lines

speeds have increased, the number of inspectors has decreased. Does it then

surprise anyone that 2 million Canadians get sick every year from food-borne

pathogens?

 

Warning labels telling us how to handle and cook meat are an easy way for the

industry and government to pass off the responsibility to the consumer.

 

Though, in some ways, we are all responsible for the unhealthy and inhumane

nature of this industry if we choose to consume its products.

 

- Melissa Tkachyk, Toronto

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[Guest guest]

The same person who wrote this letter also wrote this poem

http://www.tao.ca/~vegans/poetry/victim.html

 

 

 

> Though, in some ways, we are all responsible for the unhealthy and inhumane

nature of this industry if we choose to consume its products.

>

> - Melissa Tkachyk, Toronto

--

 

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