143 MILLION pounds of frozen beef recalled from So. Cal. slaughterhouse (largest recall ever)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

USDA recalls 143 million pounds of beef
U.S. officials call action on S. Calif. slaughterhouse largest beef recall ever

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23212514/

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is being investigated for mistreating cattle.

Officials said it was the largest beef recall in the United States, surpassing a 1999 ban of 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meats.

The federal agency said the recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino, California-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., which supplies meat to the federal school lunch program and to some major fast-food chains.

Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer said his department has evidence that Westland did not routinely contact its veterinarian when cattle became non-ambulatory after passing inspection, violating health regulations.

[originalpckelly]

1. "Westland did not routinely contact its veterinarian when cattle became non-ambulatory"?

Holy shit, that could be mad cow!

And which major fast food chains would be affected? Huh? Can't tell us that, can you motherfuckers!

I'm so sick of this bullshit where consumers are being screwed over!

[lligrd]

2. Even Worse,

From the article:

The federal agency said the recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino, California-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., which supplies meat to the federal school lunch program and to some major fast-food chains.

[Botany]

3. when cattle became non-ambulatory

aka "down cows" = sick or dying

put one of those cow in and you can contaminate thousands of cows
as they are processed.

That is why I go to a butcher were they grind their own meat.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

14. I have the meat grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer...

...and I generally buy chuck, often sold as "beef stew meat," and grind my own. I haven't purchased commercially processed ground beef in over a decade.

:toast:

[Critters2]

39. It's why I don't eat any meat at all. Well, one reason. nt

[LeftCoast]

4. How many years have they been selling us this?

They've put virtually every person who's eaten fast-food in the last few years at risk for getting BSE or god knows what else.

[niyad]

6. one more reason not to eat fast food (which I didn't anyway, but, after

reading "fast food nation", you couldn't GIVE me that crap)

[cornermouse]

12. You can eat fast food.

You just don't want to order the hamburger.

[niyad]

19. actually, I can't-- the sodium content and chemicals do me in.

[LeftCoast]

20. Or anything with a meat product ingredient

Of course the salad may give you e. coli...

[LeftCoast]

15. This is basically throughout our entire food chain at this point

Unless you are a vegan I'm betting you're at risk. I don't believe this is the only company to do this and I think they've all been doing it a long time.

[niyad]

24. not vegan, not even vegetarian, but I eat very little red meat of any kind,

and NO ground beef at all. I thank my stars we do have the whole foods chain here, and a very good farmers' market in summer.

[chelaque liberal]

29. Not even vegans are safe ie: e-coli in spinach.

[qanda]

59. I walked in McDonalds the other day and it smelled like elephant dung

I turned around and walked out but I can't seem to get that smell out of my mind.

[originalpckelly]

7. Indeed it has, my GOD! This is pretty fucking scary...

even scarier when you consider it was all predicted about 8 years ago.

[LeftCoast]

18. Europe worked to clean up its food-chain. We buried the problem.

For a number of years the government has been preventing beef producers from testing their product for BSE. Yes, preventing them. Wish I had a link. Maybe someone reading this can supply one.

[BadgerKid]

28. Ditto. There's a link out there

I've posted in one such story here on DU. The farmers had wanted to test their cattle, but our all-so-loving gov't forbade it -- and probably was going to fine them if they went ahead with the testing.

[originalpckelly]

5. From the website of the affected company:

http://www.westlandmeat.com/

Absolute bullshit, now isn't it?

[walldude]

27. Amazing.. blame it all on 2 employees... They take

their cues from the Republican party quite well don't they.

[belpejic]

46. Um

Nice statement. Really made me believe it when Mr. Mendell's lawyer used the words "thru" and "breech."

How many cows make 143 million pounds of beef? I'm staggered by the amount of resources controlled by such imbeciles, but then again beef processing is a horrifying job that has to be done.

Every time I eat beef I know I'm taking a serious risk. Still tastes yummy, though.

[Critters2]

51. It doesn't have to be done. You don't have to eat meat.

I don't. I don't find dead, tortured animals "yummy". But that's me.

[niyad]

8. what was the company just last year where they recalled 43 million pounds of meat?

[nolabels]

9. The rumor is that this because of some guerrilla video tapes about it

Don't know if any of it's on the web yet but i would bet so.

On edit, here is a something related

Two charged with abusing sick cattle at Chino slaughterhouse
By GREG RISLING Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 02/15/2008 11:10:19 AM PST

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.—Two former employees of a Chino slaughterhouse were charged Friday with abusing ailing cattle that were forced into a slaughterhouse that provided meat to school lunch programs.

Bench warrants for the arrest of Daniel Navarro, 49, of Pomona and Luis Sanchez, 32, of Chino were issued after they failed to attend an afternoon arraignment.

The case came to light after undercover video surfaced showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with forklifts.

"The facts of this case are horrendous," San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos told a news conference at which the charges were announced. "It makes your stomach turn to see what they did to these cows."

Five felony counts of animal cruelty and three misdemeanors were filed against Navarro. Three misdemeanor counts were filed against Sanchez.
(snip)
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8272653

[originalpckelly]

10. You're absolute right, even says so in the story!

:P

[nolabels]

25. Us humans, one of the several omnivores do not have degestive system for ...........

disease or bacteria ridden meat. I found this little Youtube video about it also. but the jest of story is something your dog could eat might not be something we could eat even after cooking quite thoroughly The prions in mad cow disease are even more of a threat. (sure this is old info, but there might be somebody who doesn't know yet :-) )


California Slaughterhouse; Human Cruelty Exposed
by: Betsy L. Angert
Wed Jan 30, 2008 at 19:18:41 PM PST
http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=4C322309CF6E6FF2000941DF93ED4B97?diaryId=20719

[lligrd]

16. Yep, They Just Got Caught

Imagine how many others haven't been.

[flvegan]

21. The Humane Society of the United States got the footage.

You can read all about it at www.hsus.org

[halobeam]

63. I looked further into the link and found this information

it's long, but it gives a good overview http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/farm/downers-bse-and-usda-final.pdf

[Critters2]

41. They've been trained to think of live animals as "things".

So, they get bored and start abusing them. Why is anyone surprised? If you eat meat, you support this kind of thing.

[belpejic]

47. Aha! It was Mezkins

Who were probably desperate for work and were paid subpar wages with no benefits.

[niyad]

just a weird thought here. has anybody researched a link between the rise in autism

and the ruin of our food supplies?

[cornermouse]

13. Autism tends to show up extremely early.

I don't think you can blame it correctly on tainted food. Other pollution perhaps, but not food.

[scarletwoman]

17. What if it's the food the MOTHER eats? (nt)

[cornermouse]

22. Don't think so.

My guess would the formaldehyde in trailers. We lived in a mobile home with a smell of formaldehyde for two years. I had an autistic child. Both the child before and the child a few years after the autistic child were normal. I suspect someone should take some time to track those who have been living in the FEMA trailers.

[Disturbed]

23. What happens to all that meat now?

This is a scary situation.

[niyad]

26. there are many things that need to be researched.

[kurth]

11. Named "Supplier Of The Year" by the Agriculture Department.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/30/undercover.slaughter.video/index.html

[malaise]

37. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaah

Thankfully we don't eat red meat.

[Adsos Letter]

30. We need another Upton Sinclair on this...n/t

[Critters2]

52. Looks like we have one. The video was shot undercover,

and given to the Humane Society of the United States. To whom I just sent a donation.

[Adsos Letter]

54. Right On, critters!

It took the Ida Tarbell's and the Upton Sinclair's of earlier generations to foment change; looks like that's what is needed to get the ball rolling.

Hope things with you are well. :hi:

[Critters2]

55. Tiresome, busy, but okay.

Hope things are well with you, too. :hi:

[shadowknows69]

31. Quit eating beef about 5 years ago

and never looked back. Stories like this remind me why.

[Critters2]

49. If you eat dairy, you're still adding to the suffering. These abused cattle were dairy cows,

Holsteins, probably no longer producing milk. But they had spent their lives giving humans the milk that had been intended for their calves.

Giving up beef isn't enough.

[shadowknows69]

57. I started drinking soy milk and I'm trying to quit smoking

One insurmountable hurdle at a time please k?

[flvegan]

58. Every bit helps.

Each in their own time, sk69.

[KitSileya]

32. Ooohh, that's going to be fun, considering.

I just saw a documentary on global climate change on Nat'l geo channel tonight, where a scientist decided to figure out the carbon footprint of a cheeseburger because Americans eat on average 3 cheeseburgers a week. 3 a week! And when one sick cow can contaminate untold amounts of ground meat that opens up for immense risk for all Americans.

[OnionPatch]

33. We always get the look from people if we tell them

but commercial beef is not in the diet of this family. It can be awkward at barbecues and family dinners. I asked our daughter's school to indicate on the menu the food items that contained beef so we would know to pack a lunch that day. They already had pork and vegetarian items labeled but you'd have thought I was from Mars for asking the same for beef. The Chino slaughterhouse in this article is about 50 miles from here, so I wouldn't doubt that some of this beef ended up in the cafeteria of the school. But I'm a looney. :eyes:

I want to mention that we do eat beef from sources we have trust in.

[Critters2]

42. Why eat beef at all? I don't any meat, which is way easier than

worrying about where one's meat comes from.

[OnionPatch]

61. Well, that would be fine by me, but

not with my husband. What I've done instead is try to buy it less often and from sustainable farms.

[1776Forever]

34. One of the main issues in this and other matters is and will be Privatization!!!!

Without the proper amount of Government regulators and oversight we have the following:

Food Contamination
Dangerous Toys
Iraq War Privateers - Blackwater, etc.
Walter Reed and other VA Private Oversite
Our Military is being ransacked by Privateers
The CIA and FBI are being reformed into Private Companies

http://truthemergency.us/content/view/16/32/

Shock Doctrine

Wherever it has emerged over the past thirty-five years, from Santiago to Moscow to Beijing to Bush’s Washington, the alliance between a small corporate elite and a right-wing government has been written off as some sort of aberration—mafia capitalism, oligarchy capitalism and now, under Bush, “crony capitalism.” But it’s not an aberration; it is where the entire Chicago School crusade—with its triple obsessions—privatization, deregulation and union-busting—has been leading.

Rumsfeld’s and Cheney’s dogged refusals to choose between their disaster-connected holdings and their public duties were the first sign that a corporatist state had arrived.

[Karenina]

68. Not a pretty picture, eh?

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[flvegan]

35. Going vegan was and still is the best, smartest thing I've ever done.

[Adsos Letter]

40. I think LeftyMom might disagree...

I'll have to call her attention to this thread... :D

[flvegan]

43. Aha, but if I hadn't

gone vegan, she'd have never given me a second look. Still the best decision I ever made. ;)

[Adsos Letter]

44. Touche'...your statement remains unassailable...

:rofl:

[LeftyMom]

72. Hell, I only joined this site after ages lurking 'cause I noticed there were quite a few vegans

Well, two I'd noticed. I didn't know any others IRL way back then, so two seemed like a hell of a lot. :D One of them was that mouthy kid from floriduh.

So not only was his being vegan a prerequisite for getting in my pants, it played a big part in me joining this website, which was also a prerequisite for meeting me and eventually getting in my pants.

[Ilsa]

64. I'm went vegetarian when BSE was a hot topic three years ago.

I'm still veggin' it, but haven't been able to bring myself to veganism yet. It's hard with the family that doesn't want to give up animal-based products.

[flvegan]

67. Very cool, Ilsa!

Veg*ism, no matter the "level" is a great thing. Come hang out with us in the DU Veg* group some time!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=231

[Ilsa]

70. I used to hang there all the time, but for awhile there was more

posting about animal rights, and I just don't have much to contribute there (sorry!) I love the giant recipe thread, and comments about any new food products veg*-ans find.

The forum really inspired me. I thought it was going to be really hard to do, and sometimes eating out is perplexing, especially in Texas, but that's when I do simple salads! I started out with an open mind about it, and just let it run. I can't handle additional pressure in my life.

Sometimes my gut gets a little messed up because there'll be chicken broth in a soup, but when I travel with my husband, I have to make minor concessions. If a little broth is the closest I come, then I'm pretty happy with my progress. I try to stick with Jason's Deli here in Texas, which carries several tasty vegetarian dishes, sandwiches, and soups.

Thank you for the praise and encouragement. Most people here don't understand why I do it.

[elizfeelinggreat]

36. :(

which supplies meat to the federal school lunch program

:cry:

[Ilsa]

65. Alot of kids won't even touch that food, it is so badly prepared.

They have managed to make the rules about food prep so strict that alot of the cafeteria stuff is bland and hard to work up some saliva for. Anyway, I hope nothing bad gets into the kids' food supply.

[Summer93]

38. M$M News as it today

They are talking about it as an abuse of the animals. Shows the animals unable to get up but does not talk about that.

[leftchick]

45. VIDEO of some of the cattle slaughtered

http://berrystreetbeacon.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/animal-cruelty-hypocrisy-as-a-nation/

and the Fast Food nation video...

http://berrystreetbeacon.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/animal-cruelty-hypocrisy-as-a-nation/

[Critters2]

48. The video has been removed from those sites, but is available here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=x-5FUaK3FOM&feature=related

The cattle in these videos are dairy cattle. So if you eat meat or dairy, you bear responsibility for this abuse.

[leftchick]

50. I just noticed that

thank you and I agree. We are all guilty until we quite the animal eating trade.

[The Stranger]

53. No, wait, where are the DU "Progressives" who chime in with puerile posts like "Beef -- mmmmm"?

Don't disappoint me now.

[Critters2]

56. They're around. Trust me. nt

[NashVegas]

60. Thanks and Congratulations to Those Who Pushed This Story to the Public

I assume these are the "downer" cows we heard about?

[pink-o]

62. This'll bring out the self-righteous vegetarians...

...now: I am the latter, not the former. I haven't eaten meat in 31 years, so I don't feel the need to prostlytize or be all born-again about it. I truly believe humans are omnivores, I choose not to participate in how meat ends up on our tables in the 21st century.

To that end, for all of you who eat beef: please go the extra mile and find a local butcher. An organic butcher, or a kosher or halal butcher is so much healthier than Wal-mart or (even worse) eating cheap hamburgers in fast-food restaurants. Our omnivorous ancestors didn't eat meat every day or every week--humans don't need half as much protein as we're led to believe we do.

It's not the killing of animals for food that's heinous: it's the exploitation, the cruelty of the Factory Farm that will keep me vegetarian for another 31 years and beyond!

[Ilsa]

66. Good advice. I still make meat dishes for hubby and family.

Cruelty and ecology and health were the three big issues that I was considering 2.5 years ago when I started my vegetarian diet.

[Maestro]

69. I just saw a report on this after reading about it here.

The treatment of those animals was horrific. Plus the company was knowingly selling beef from sick animals. People disgusts me at times. How can anyone be so cruel?

[nam78_two]

71. The descriptions of abuse made me really sad

Kicking and poking cows that are too sick to stand :(....

The Humane Society is a good group-they get quite a bit of decent regulation passed:
http://www.hsus.org