Front Pg LA Times story on slaughter & factory farming

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In a message dated 4/29/2003 9:00:04 PM Pacific Standard Time,

KarenDawn writes:

 

> (Those in California and New Jersey - please be sure to note information

> towards the end of this alert on groundbreaking legislation in your states

> that urgently needs your attention.)

>

> There is an extraordinary story in the press today, Tuesday, April 29;

> extraordinary for its sympathy to farmed animals, its length - 2534 words,

> and for its placement on the front page of the Los Angeles Times. Column

> One

> of the front page is headed, " Killing Them Softly;

> Voluntary reforms in the livestock industry have changed the way animals

> are

> slaughtered. Critics say needless suffering still exists. "

>

> The article, by Stephanie Simon, is a lengthy, detailed, discussion of the

> cruelty in factory farms and slaughterhouses. It discusses improvements,

> but

> focuses equally on the suffering still endured by farmed animals.

>

> Simon opens with,

> " Chained upside down by their hooves, blood spurting from the jugular, the

> hogs were supposed to be dead, or at least unconscious, as the conveyor

> belt

> rolled them along to be gutted.

>

> " Now and then, though, one would rear back and strain to right itself.

>

> " No one made much fuss. The animals would be sliced for sausage within

> minutes. If a few left the kill floor still aware, still kicking -- well,

> that was how slaughterhouses operated. "

>

> Simon tells us that one sausage company owner heard a speech about

> stewardship and decided to make some reforms in his plant. He says,

> " I'm always going to have meat at the center of my plate. I'm always going

> to wear a leather belt. But we can treat these animals with more respect. "

>

> She writes of a revolution improving the lives and deaths of millions of

> farmed animals and notes that most of the reforms are voluntary, i.e. not

> imposed by legislation. Later in the article she mentions the pressure PETA

> and other activists put on the large fast food chains in order to gain the

> voluntary reforms.

>

> She does not imply that things are suddenly rosy:

> " Animal-welfare activists caution that many cows, pigs and especially

> chickens still suffer mightily, trapped in a system that treats animals as

> commodities to be pushed through an assembly line from birth to death and

> onto the dinner plate as cheaply as possible. They decry such practices as

> docking pigs' tails, burning the horns off male cattle and cramming hens

> into bare wire cages as barbaric and unnecessary. "

>

> However she notes that activists can " sense the tide is turning. "

>

> In Simon's discussion of Temple Grandin's work we learn more about the

> horrifying realities of slaughterhouses:

>

> " She announced her visits in advance. Still, she found suffering that

> appalled her. "

>

> " By federal law, animals are supposed to be knocked unconscious so they

> feel

> no pain before slaughter. With cows and pigs, that's often accomplished by

> shooting a retractable bolt into their brains.

>

> " At two-thirds of the beef plants she inspected, Grandin noted that the

> bolt

> guns were not working or not being used properly. Many cows suffered

> repeated shots to the brain -- or remained conscious as they moved down the

> line to be dismembered. Grandin found similar failings in one-third of the

> pork plants.

>

> " Even before they got to the kill floor, animals were in pain, stumbling on

> slippery floors and piling on one another in fear. One plant had to prod

> 80%

> of its hogs with a mild shock to get them walking.

>

> " Grandin realized that it was not enough to tell workers to treat animals

> humanely. They would need quantifiable performance standards: Don't prod

> more than 25% of pigs. Don't let more than 1% of cattle slip. She set those

> benchmarks, based on the highest standards a handler could be expected to

> meet day in and day out. Then she trained workers to measure up. "

>

> I hope Los Angeles Times readers note that Grandin's much improved

> standards

> allow for the electric prodding of 25% of pigs on their way to slaughter.

>

> And improvements on the farms still leave animals suffering. Simon writes:

> " The egg industry, for instance, lets producers put an 'animal care

> certified' logo on packages if they give their hens more cage space, moving

> from the standard 48 square inches per bird to 67. Industry backers say

> that's all the space a hen needs. But activists point out that 67 square

> inches is smaller than a piece of paper. "

>

> She quotes PETA's Bruce Friedrich,

> " The level of abuse is still such that it would horrify any compassionate

> person. "

>

> And Compassion Over Killing's Paul Shapiro:

> " Those hens can never flap their wings, never touch earth, never see

> sunlight. For the industry to treat this as the end of the debate is

> irresponsible. "

>

> There is a hard-hitting section on the slaughter of chickens, (animals

> entirely exempt from the Humane Slaughter Act):

> " The standard method for slaughtering chickens -- at a rate of 11,000 birds

> an hour -- involves shackling them upside down from a conveyor belt that

> runs along the ceiling. Their heads are dunked in a shallow 'stun bath' to

> anesthetize them. A revolving blade then slices their necks.

> ...But activists contend that many chickens are not properly stunned or

> sliced, and end up boiling to death in the scalding tank meant to loosen

> their feathers.

>

> She quotes Virgil Butler, a former employee of a chicken plant in Arkansas:

> " I've stood there on the kill floor and seen how they look at you. They try

> everything in their power to get away. They may not be able to read and

> write, but they know what's going on. "

>

> Simon notes that while some restaurant groups, under pressure from

> activists, are pushing for reforms, the powerful groups that represent the

> farmers and ranchers " argue there's no scientific proof that chickens need

> sunlight or that pregnant sows need space to move. They complain that

> activists are inappropriately treating livestock like pets when they call

> for poultry to be given toys to ease the boredom of confinement, or calves

> to be given painkillers before castration. "

>

> Transport to the slaughterhouse is also discussed. A plant manager from a

> slaughterhouse in Little Rock has made some improvements:

> " Just a few years ago, he said, he thought nothing of letting hogs sit for

> hours in the trailers that transported them, stifling in summer, freezing

> in

> winter. Those that arrived too lame to walk were dragged across the yard.

> Those that balked at the steep ramp to the holding pens were shocked with

> prods.

>

> " And yes, some pigs 'came back to life' after they were supposed to be

> insensible. A few even staggered off the conveyor belt and charged at the

> kill floor workers. "

>

> She tells us that slaughterhouse " does things differently now. Hogs are

> unloaded as soon as they arrive, into cool pens with long troughs of water.

> If they can't walk, they are euthanized on the spot. "

>

> Once again, I hope the Los Angeles Times readers are savvy enough to note

> that this slaughterhouse is the exception; the habits of a few years ago,

> described above, are still the industry rule.

>

> I have saved the most important point for last. Early in the article Simon

> notes,

> " Politicians too are taking up the issue. In California, the Assembly

> Agricultural Committee will vote this week on a bill that would outlaw the

> common practice of confining pregnant sows and veal calves in crates so

> cramped that they cannot turn around. A similar bill is pending in New

> Jersey. "

>

> Californians! This bill goes to the Agriculture Committee this Thursday,

> May

> 1. We have Wednesday to email, fax, or call the committee members. Email is

> generally not the best way to contact legislators, but for State, as

> opposed

> to Federal legislators, it is not bad because they receive a lower volume.

> At this late date it is 100 times better than nothing. Phone calls are

> terrific. Community input is vital. Every note and call matters. You will

> find information on the bill and contact information at:

> http://www.farmsanctuary.org/actionalerts/CA_bills.htm

>

> New Jersey! Please go to <A

HREF= " http://www.njfarms.org/pr_njveal.htm " >http://www.njfarms.org/pr_njveal.htm\

</A> to find out

> how you can help.

>

> You'll find the Los Angeles Times story, " Killing Them Softly, " at:

>

>

> http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-slaughter29apr29,1,4943

> 129.story

>

> I suspect that long URL may get broken up when I send it, so you might have

> to paste the address and then add the last few characters manually into

> your

> browser. Or try clicking this one instead:

>

> <A HREF= " http://tinyurl.com/amac " >http://tinyurl.com/amac</A>

>

> You may need to register at the LA Times website to read the story.

> Registration is easy and free.

>

> Most of us in the animal protection field have no interest in encouraging

> the eating of animals regardless of any improvements in their care. Any

> dietician will say that Americans need to eat more fruits and vegetables

> and

> less meat. Pork, for example, is so unhealthful it is hard to imagine a

> reasonable argument for inflicting any suffering whatsoever on intelligent,

> sentient creatures so that we might eat that meat. However, the consumption

> of animals is not going to end some time in the next year. Therefore I hope

> all of us will get involved in the effort to help ease just some of the

> pain

> inflicted on those suffering now in a system we hope, eventually, to phase

> out.

>

> This front page story gives us a terrific opportunity for appreciative

> letters to the editor calling for a major reevaluation of our relationship

> with other species, or on the joy of veggie dining, or, most topically, on

> the need to outlaw crate confinement of farmed animals.

>

> The Los Angeles Times take letters at:

> letters

> Link: <A HREF= " letters " >letters</A>

>

> Always include your full name, address and telephone number when emailing a

> letter to the editor.

>

> Yours and the animals',

> Karen Dawn

> www.DawnWatch.com

>

> (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 at www.DawnWatch.com. To to

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>

 

 

 

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