The USDA has issued the largest beef recall in U.S. history: 143 million pounds of beef recalled from a slaughterhouse accused of shoddy treatment of cows. According to CNN, 143 Million lbs. is about enough meat for everyone in the U.S. - man, woman and child - to each have 2 hamburgers.
The meat in question is from the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company in Chino, California. The recall is Class II, i.e. there is little risk of illness in humans. However, the USDA has said that there is a "remote probability" that the beef could cause illness.
Federal officials issued the recall after seeing undercover videos shot by a humane society inside the slaughterhouse. In the videos you see 'downer animals', i.e. cattle too sick to even stand, being kicked, jabbed near their eyes and aggressively pushed with a forklift in order to force them to get on their feet for slaughter. The cattle were butchered and made ready for human consumption, without the proper examination for chronic illnesses by an authorized inspector. This violation of federal regulations has apparently been running unchecked for the last two years.
Sick and sad, but the uglier part is that the beef from this company is primarily used for school lunch programs: ~37 Million pounds of the meat has already been distributed to schools.
The President of Westland Meat, Steve Mendell, issued the following statement, " We have taken swift action regarding the two employees identified on the video and have already implemented aggressive measures to ensure all employees follow our humane handling policies and procedures."
Vegan, anyone?
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