Meat company President admits illegal slaughter of cattle
By SilentPatriot Tuesday Mar 11, 2008 5:28pm
In stunning testimony on Capitol Hill today, Steve Mendell, President of the now defunct Westland/Hallmark Meat Company, admitted that so-called "downer cows," cows too sick to stand on their own, were illegally slaughtered and forced into the US food supply.
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(Note: video contains disturbing footage of animal abuse)
AP:
The head of the Southern California slaughterhouse at the center of the largest beef recall in U.S. history acknowledged Wednesday that cattle were illegally slaughtered at his plant and that cows too sick to stand were forced into the food supply.
Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. President Steve Mendell made the admissions after a congressional panel forced him to watch undercover video of abuses of cattle at his plant. Mendell watched head-in-hand as cows were dragged by chains, jabbed by forklifts and shocked to get them into the box where they'd be slaughtered.
This is what happens when you have a political ideology and party who believes that government and regulatory oversight is an impediment -- rather than a necessary instrument -- to protecting the public interest. Whether it's poisonous lead paint in our children's toy bins or tainted meat on our dinner tables, government must play a vital role in ensuring consumer products are safe for public consumption. Bravo to the House Energy and Oversight Committee for exposing this travesty and holding accountable those responsible.
UPDATE: The Westland/Hallmark Meat Company was the source of the nearly 37 million pounds of recalled meat earlier this month.
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Is he another s***-head republican?
I guess that gives the meat packing industry a leg up on the coal mining industry.
This is no doubt Clinton's fault.
And by the way, Steve Mendell is no "gentleman".
He's a lying SOB.
How much mad cow is out there?
Glad I'm a veggie!
Given the history of this administration, the only question left is will he get a medal, a promotion, or both.
let's shove downer cow down HIS throat
One powerful fact is missing here: Wayne Pacelle, President of the Humane Society of the United States that took the video, told the Senate that they had chosen Hallmark Meats randomly. I'm not a mathematician, and I know the sample size is small, but doesn't that suggest that more than half of all meat packing plants are likely doing the same?
I'm with Oprah on this one: I will never eat another hamburger!
Lollimom @ 1:
No, a s***-head businessman...Look, his is not the only company doing this...and worse...only the ones who got caught.
Yummy.
A must see movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460792/trailers-screenplay-E28440-314
Well, well, well... who would've guessed that the U.S. of A. also has bad meat? They make a big deal about the Canadian beef industry and mad cow syndrome at the very same time people in their industry are lying about how safe their beef is. There's effin' liars, crooks, and fucktards everywhere!
I'd like to think I'd put up a fight myself before being forced into something called a kill box.It's a good thing for McDonald's that they don't have to rely on volunteers. Not so good for the cows.
Even more alarming.
Another Pentagon official said initial press reports on the study made it "too politically sensitive."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/rapidreport/2008/03/pentagon-report.html
I truly hope that this man is NOT charged with a crime. Before you say I'm crazy, hear me out.
Has anyone been charged for the murders of the millions of Iraqi and Afghani civilians yet through both war and sanctions yet? If we charge this man and not those responsible for war, what will the law be saying?
Second, it is not automatic that the slaughterhouse did anything wrong. Again, before you call me crazy, hear me out.
The only thing that happened is that the slaughterhouse did not discard a couple of cows that the FDA said they should have. But since when did the FDA assume the position of the almighty all-knowing detective and expert? Millions of people around the world die every year because the FDA BANS certain treatments from making it to the market, because they make mistakes.
The reason this man was charged is not because of what he did, but because of what the world environment is like. America is now engaging in economic warfare with China and the rest of the world, as all empires do, and they want to be seen as being "tough on business" just like China and other countries. This slaughterhouse guy is simply a means to an end that does not include him.
All those Congress men and women want to be seen as "doing something", and not sitting on their hands all day while the country goes down the shitter due to running an empire and Congress is making it happen.
After 8 years of bullshit, are we to all of a sudden view them as our saviours?
Folks, this is pure psy-ops, nothing more. They know they have zero legitimacy. This is reaching for the carrots.
I do absolutely think that business firms should be held liable for actual human harm. Why don't we see if the sick cows really do negatively affect humans, before sending people to jail for breaking laws that may or may not be fairly designed. The FDA is an extremely corrupt institution, their primary goal is NOT human welfare, it is power. If it were about welfare, they would allow cheap drugs into the country from foreign countries. But that would harm the companies, so they don't do it.
I would not trust the FDA on this latest case either. They have no legitimacy.
No warnings here: Know the cruelty of how bacon makes it to your breakfast table.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Bx5gbQuJyF8
I've been on a cruelty free diet for almost ten years. Not only do I feel better but I can sleep better.
It can't be said enough... this is what goes on in slaughterhouses. The USDA is charged with the double role of "overseeing" production and promoting the products. Clear conflict of interest.
If you are buying meat, this is what you are paying for. And it took an animal welfare organization to expose it. How anyone could eat any animal after knowing how horribly they are treated is beyond me.
Drew, how sad that you only care about humans.
And by the way, there ARE animal cruelty laws, to protect animals from attitudes such as yours.
But...but...he's a Pioneer. How long before he's appointed to the USDA?
God forbid you open your eyes and remove your ignorance of where your meat comes from.
Now more than ever is the time to go vegeterian!
Come join me, Paul McCarthy and others.
http://www.goveg.com/
For the animals, the environment, and human health.
VEGETERIANISM ... IT'S NOT JUST FOR HIPPIES ANYMORE!
SilentPatriot, is there any indication that these "sick" cows had mad cow, or that it is being covered up?
I don't think the average person in the USA fully realizes how dangerous it would be if mad cow was here.
Nothing kills or destroys the cause of mad cow. Symptoms don't appear for years, and when they do, people die slow, horrific deaths.
So if there is a cover-up here, nobody is fooling anybody, as anybody who eats beef could be a potential future victim.
What was ailing those poor beasts???
"Government must play a vital role in ensuring consumer products are safe for public consumption."
Yes, but this issue goes beyond public safety, to enforcing basic standards of human decency, in this case toward the treatment of defenseless food animals capable of suffering as much as any one of us.
I would submit that a society that treats animals this way doesn't deserve safe food!
CD @ 14:
Interesting. Wrong thread though..
The concern for the human food supply is more than just important. While everyone pooh-poohs the idea of mad cow disease, I will note that the family of diseases that include mad cow are very slow-working, and often do not show up until 20 or more years after infection. The resulting deaths are excruciatingly ghastly.
Meanwhile, the horror and cruelty of our meat-processing system outdoes any other previous assembly-line for inhumanity and heartlessness. A cry for mercy and compassion would not be out of line here. There's little enough in the world already.
It's not just meat that should be avoided, folks. These used to be "dairy" cows. So, even if you're a "lacto-vegetarian", you're adding to this bovine misery. I know, because I'm one. But! I'm trying to change! For now my milk only comes from Clover dairies. But what happens to their cows, and the male calves? I sent them an email asking those questions but haven't got a reply. My kids DO NOT eat cafeteria food. Yoikes!
The karma for humanity is hell on earth, forever, or until we "evolve" beyond eating animals. Like the PETA lady said on Colbert (I think), it isn't even a cost-effective way to feed the world. It takes too much food to make a cow!
(Yeah, like I'm a vegetarian or vegan! I want to be. It's my goal and wish to evolve in this regard. Currently, I eat little meat, mostly chicken, but I worry about protien and get hungry. The options aren't readily available enough, though they could be.
I won't eat a hamburger either. Haven't had beef in many years.)
There's a real hot Hell of unspeakably dreadful future earthly lives awaitin all animal torturers, I know, but I still yearn to get my own personal hands on one...
Please dear God, would someone have the courage to do to these people wha the little old lady did to the president of Hooker Chemicals. If you don't know what I mean I'll tell you about a true American hero. After Hooker had dumped in Love Canal and all over the country and many were sickened, the president of Hooker held a public meeting to try to bamboozle people and downplay what he and his company had done. While he was at the podium speaking to the crowd, a little old lady slowly walked up the aisle and without saying a word slapped him right across the face as hard as she could. He was absolutely shocked that someone had done this to him. God bless that lady. Somebody please just walk up and punch this guy, Rove and all the others.
You know damn well that Bush eats nothing but the finest cuts of antibiotic free, organic, hand fed, kosher beef, free range chicken, select pork and farm raised fish.
Just like his dumb ass old man who had never, ever been shopping a day in his miserable fucking life who was totally amazed at a checkout bar scanner and hadn't the foggiest at what the cost was for a gallon of milk the Bush Family Evil Empire sired from the loins of the Nazi Prescott are born of privilege.
Does anyone think for one moment that dildo Bush and his drug addled, chain smoking old lady or Poppy the Jackass and his fat ass bag of wind wife give a flying fuck what YOU eat? No fucking way!
I'll have the 20-oz. Hallmark filet, medium.
Carly,
Go to a hospital and ask how many people they admit for protein deficiency. (Hint: none. But maaaany admitted for excess animal protein.)
As for options not being readily available, there is protein in pretty much everything, even fruit. Beans, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, and soy are in every grocery store I know of.
Lollimom @ 22:
It does make one wonder where the government inspectors were. Theoretically critical organs like brains and liver undergo one hundred percent inspection. If anything is wrong the carcass is supposed to be pulled offline. BSE is only transmitted by ingesting a bad mad cow. Lots of these animals are just played out dairy cattle and such. If these seniors can't walk their last mile then they're not supposed to be food. End of story.
You can buy meat from small farmers where it is processed directly at small local slaughterhouses. The same with produce. Buy local. Support your family farmer. If you don't then stop complaining.
j @ 30:
Okay. I'll make a fresh shot at this. I'm always looking for a little butt-kick. I eat beans and nuts all the time, more than chicken and tuna. Been thinking about drinking SILK since the commercials came out.
I quit smoking two years ago, I'm great at quitting bad things.
So, another public embarassment moment for a company head...
A company with a crucial place, litterally, in the food chain from farm to dinner table... Before I join the chorus of applause for this 'oversite committee's brave work I got a question I'd like an answer to first... Jail, fine, both, or freedom medal from Chimpy for being so brave as to fess up, after being caught red handed ignoring existing rules and 'forced' to look at the evidence? I mean... what the heck, it's only the FOOD WE EAT.....dammit!
Oh yea, one more question... Regardless of what happens to this fucker... Will anything really change at the slaughterhouse? Cause if nothing changes, then it's all still nothing more than a meaningless p.r. stunt...... And frankly, I've had my fill of that shit. As it is, I've cut back almost totally on beef consumption as it is.....
So, someone, anyone, please tell me this assholes going to pay a hefty fine and do time over this crap... And that 'meaningful' regulatory oversight is going to improve... say, by hiring more meat inspectors and putting there asses in the field checking instead of behind some desk in Topeka or somewheres looking at spreadsheets on profit margins for the agrafood industry.......JD
Killing sick animals and killing a few fighting dogs is taboo...
but concentration camps and the mechanized killing of billions of animals every year is ok...
move along nothing to see here.
Bushed! @ 6:
That's no consolation. People died from shit stain spinach and Chi-Chi's Mexican crap-hole killed a half dozen in Pittsburgh with feces flavored green onions.
Bon appetite.
I cannot bear watching those tapes, animal cruelty should carry a stronger punishment. Animals being raised for food should have a better quality of life while they are alive, the laws must be changed. If it were possible to completely give up meat and from my diet, I would do it in a heartbeat.
and the Bush administration as well as the "government is BAAAD!" Republicans have no problem with this
chuck @ 28:
Chuck, in maybe 15 more years, I'm going to recall your plea, and I'm going to do this to some deserving SOB. I'll be a little old lady by then, old enough to pull it off.
When you support the meat industry, you support:
- global warming and the general destruction of the environment,
- the torture of animals (think of your puppy dog),
- the exploitation of workers,
- the pollution of your own body with chemicals banned in most other countries.
don't be a fake liberal. stop this insanity.
Happy Cows come from California!
chuck @ 32:
I agree with you on buying locally, but for those living in large metro areas this is not possible, for them and the animals things must change.
Kudzu @ 37:
You know things are bad when you are watching Animal Cops on Animal Planet and in your disgust of Florida you say "Well at least Texas would have removed those animals before now!"
Coerper's 5 O'Clock Steak House @ 36:
Are you a public relations director for Oscar Myer? Been reading your pro-animal cruelty talking points I see. I'll wager you will die of your cruelty diet of meat before I will die of shit stained spinach.
When nature gives you a pre-mature heart attack and karma has you come back in your next life as a cow in a slaughterhouse Bon appetite to you!
Meat shouldn't be on our tables AT ALL. Go vegan and avoid these issues (yeah, yeah, spinach is scary, uh huh).
(Kudzu: It IS possible to give up meat completely from your diet. I've been meat free for almost a year now! :D Hurrah!)
Best way to be a carnivore - procure your own wild meat. Good for the environment, good for you, tastes great!
Republican Bo Derek eats grains and legumes, never meat, and advocates for animals, while many an ultra-liberal, heavyset, mannishly short-haired New England housewife sits down at Outback Restaurant with the hubby and kids at least once a week for bread pudding and filet mignon.
(I'm working on quitting having mean, angry thoughts, too. Gonna read "The Celestine Prophesy" as soon as I can afford a used copy from Amazon.)
Blue Lensmadinejad @ 46:
Procure meaning slug your own hogs in the head with a sledge hammer?
Mmmmmm, Yum, yum!
Dangerous sources in our food supply, lax testing on drugs, lack of transparency on aftereffects and potential aftereffects, lead in toys...these are the legacies of the Reagan Revolution.
If you eat meat, you eat feces. They have always been processed together for your entertainment. It's part of the taste, part of the culture of murdering your fellow earthlings.
Ruthless People @ 48:
I'll bet that as usual, the rightwing bastards feel the government has no business investigating this industry. They don't give damn if they poison us all.
Blue Lensmadinejad @ 51:
Does it feel pain and try to get away from you when you try to kill it? No need to clarify any further thank you.
Peter G @ 24:
Yeah well there wasn't any thread about this when I posted the link.
There was nothing wrong with Indians eating buffalo. They had to. WE don't have to eat meat. We waste grain growing cattle (and chickens) that could be used to feed humanity instead.
The way animals are raised for food (meat, milk, eggs) is the very definition of suffering and cruelty. Then there are the animals used in science! You see why this planetary home of ours is such a bad place sometimes? KARMA, kids. It isn't just for the Hindu anymore.
Look on the internet for the names of cosmetics and other non-essential products made in labratories that use animals. Boycott them all. It's easy.
Me, I don't even want animals used in VITAL research. I'd rather die.
j @ 18:
I know about the "cruelty" laws. But I already stated before in another post that it is a law because of how the lawmaking process works. Law makers use statistical models using correlations to show that people who harm animals and then becoming murderers is statistically significant. So they think that if they eliminate one half of the regression, then the other disappears as well.
Cows getting slaughtered in a meat factory and looking for animal cruelty is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500.
Also, if I were to ask you that the law states that torturing and killing humans is alright, but torturing and killing animals is wrong, do you think society has its head screwed on properly? Because if this man gets sent to prison for animal cruelty, while those who are torturing PEOPLE get off free, then I would say to YOU that YOUR ideas are extremely immoral.
It's sad that our society somehow finds it more disgusting to throw puppies off of cliffs, and slaughtering cows, and then has the ability to enforce its prevention, yet when people are treated this way, people shrug their shoulders and say "it's necessary".
I'm sorry, I guess I am just ideologically in a different mindset. Of course I think animal cruelty is morally wrong, but I have to have standards, and the standard for me is how well people are treated FIRST. THEN animals come into my mind.
If there were no more killing of people in the world (peace on earth kind of thing), then I can see making animal cruelty illegal. But for heaven's sake, resources are scarce, so I say use them on preventing HUMAN torturing and killing first before we take on animals that nobody is qoing to miss! The only proper stance is to take a pro-human stance, then when we get our house in order, then we can start to stop the cruelty of animals.
So.... I guess the truth of it is... Noone knows or can say with any certainty whether or not this guy is going to have acount for any of this in any kind of meaningful way... Or if anything is going to improve at the slaughterhouses in any way that could safeguard against this exact same thing happening again next year, or next month, or next week......figures....
I bet if the motherfucker got busted selling a joint he'd pay dearly for that shit! Well, maybe not... He is a captain of industry.. Probably have to get caught fucking a hooker...(small boy in a public restroom would be A-OK though)... Then he'd just resign, take a golden parachute and mosy on off to the beach, and it would all be good again..... Does any of this really matter??? Doubt if I get an answer to that either............JD
Folks,if you wanna be a vegan,please feel free. BUT- stop being so f---ing sanctimonious about it. The problem here is the safe distribution of ALL food.I'm sure you don't walk everywhere You go,so We ALL contribute to an unhealthy planet.
no whore fucking....no story
now get some vids of the ceo fucking cows and maybe we can talk
And,if you pay taxes you pay taxes then You are Human killers.
Ruthless People @ 44:
Well, no to be honest, I am not a pubic relations director although, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I would be extremely hard pressed to eat a hot dog and it better be Hebrew National Kosher at a ball game after a few beers. I shop at local farms and grower's co-ops and as a rule do not eat out. I am very particular about diet and limit meat consumption to a few times per month. Chance of a heart attack are slim to none and heart disease does not run in the family. So don't choke on it but, it's ninety and out for me unless 'W' drops the bomb.
Now my question to you smart ass, were you comatose during the spinach scare of September '06 or just too damn stoned?
"Mendell watched head-in-hand..."
he has the gall to act suprised?
well, yes, suprised he actually got caught.
Carly Hussein Corday @ 55:
are you serious???
you would rather die?
well quick, put a bullet in your head before you get diabetes or cancer
thank you
Uncle Joe McCarthy@59;
Hahahahahahahahahah Oh, Joe, I'm laughing thru my tears....
Sounds all to pluasible to me...JD
David Hawes @ 58:
Since we all contribute to an unhealthy planet I might as well throw my garbage out the window.....and I'll run over a few squirrels while I'm at it because hey, why be sanctimonious if animals are going to die anyway for you to get heart disease over your pork chops right?
Coerper's 5 O'Clock Steak House @ 61:
don't waste your keystrokes on Ruthie the Dogmatic Hater of everything S/he/it is against or told from on high to be against...Ruthie is every bit as extremist as the Taliban, Religious Right or [enter hate organisation here].
Just smile, say nothing and hope it goes away like one of those green-assed flies looking for fresh shit to dance upon.
Ruthless People @ 65:
Well,lucky Me I found You! You have the power to fortell My fate. With your bloodpressure rising over Me eating a porkchop I predict you'll have a stroke.
David Hawes @ 67:
Stuffed pork chops with brown gravy...?
Coerper's 5 O'Clock Steak House @ 61:
Not quite stoned enough to eat a tortured animal a few times a month. Not enough pot on the planet for me to do that.
This video is especially for you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=razdgagIp3U. Think about this while you enjoy your meat those few times a month.
Verdillac @ 68:
And apple strudel for dessert.
silentpatriot wrote:
NO. This is what happens when you think it's OK to eat other animals. This is what you get. It isn't pretty. The instant it's philosophically OK to eat animals, from that all possibilities of raising them in various ways *WILL* occur. There are some laws supposedly to prevent the worst of these behaviors, but as you see under a variety of administrative ideologies, from liberal to conservative, abuse of animals meant for the food chain routinely occurs.
I have exactly ZERO sympathy of those of you who are angered and saddened at this, who are meat eaters. This is *EXACTLY* what you get. (And by the way, I happen to be an occasional meat eater, but only free range organic stuff. And I still feel bad. BUT it's through our collective failure to stop eating animals that this is even possible. Regulation does not work. It cannot work. There will always be a loophole. To prevent abuse completely would be extraordinarily expensive.)
And I don't see the whiner animal lovers, who are still meat eaters, bitching about the fact that this meat would cost orders of magnitude more if it weren't for the fact the government heavily, heavily subsidizes meat and dairy. No. They LOVE their meat. They just don't want to know these animals are tortured.
This event was not isolated. The cows that aren't even downer cows are crammed into semi-trucks with no water, no food, no air conditioning, for hours sometimes days of travel to a slaughter facility.
And I don't see the whiner earth lover, who still eats meat, recognize that cows are a bigger resource hog and global warming problem than cars.
Ruthless People @ 69:
You paid your taxes? Then You are a people killer.
Verdillac @ 68:
Well look who's joined us! I knew it was just a matter of time before Mister "I hit my own hogs in the head with a sledgehammer" was going to find this thread and "contribute" his animal cruelty 2 cents worth.
David Hawes @ 70:
There's a place up here in NS called Schitzel Haus...wow...friggin' amazing schnitzel...chicken, pork or veal...I frown upon veal.
Funny, when they weren't under oath, their official line was that these cattle were being taken to be euthanized.
Now this fucking piece of shit cocksucker has to put his hand on the book of fairytales and tell the truth.
Interesting!
David Hawes @ 72:
I don't eat them.
What a wonk of a news program. Zero follow-up about: the implications to our health, to the criminal charges that could and should be filed, to the aspect of lax FDA enforcement which makes this one incident seem it is not isolated to just one meat packer. Their news coverage is just as dangerous as this company's food.
Ruthless People @ 76:
Ahhh. That's the difference-silly Me.
chris @ 71: