“Downer Cow” Beef Ban for California Schools

The ABC 7 News I-Team has learned that the California Department of Education just (4:30pm Pacific time) put out an alert for schools throughout the state to stop using beef from Westland Meat Company of Chino. You can read it here. The slaughterhouse provides ground beef to school lunch programs across the country, including California. Last night’s I-Team report showed video from a Humane Society of the United States undercover investigator who got a job at the plant last fall. He caught workers taking extreme measures to get sick, former dairy cows on their feet and into slaughter. The problem with so-called “downer cows” entering the food chain is they have a much higher risk of mad cow disease, and they lie in the filth of the slaughterhouse pens. So, they are more likely to spread ecoli and salmonella.

Phyllis Bramson-Paul, head of the Nutrition Services Division of the California Department of Education tells the I-Team, it will be simple for schools to stop using the meat if they have a box in their refrigerator with Westland Meat Company on it. But, schools often send out ingredients to producers to make meals – for example, they send out ground beef and tomatoes, and get back spaghetti sauce. In that case, if a school doesn’t know the source of the ground beef in products, the state will warn them this afternoon not to use those products, either.

Over the past five years, Westland has sold about 100 million pounds of frozen beef to the Agriculture Department’s commodities program. It supplies food to school lunch programs and programs for the needy.

Comments

[Kevin]

Thanks I-Team! Because of your excellent coverage on this topic, I've contacted the USDA and others, as well as friends and families asking them to take action to prosecute these people and shut the company down for good. We need responsible meat producers, not criminals whose conduct will potentially kill school children and the elderly with contaminated beef.

[kim ramirez]

why the hell don't they do something immediately as to helping these poor animals? Forget all the other nonsense which goes without saying. They sit and watch this since fall? the pain and suffering of these poor animals??

[Jim Collier]

Thank you for running this story. I would like to have seen more time devoted to it on television. Please follow up and let us know what is being done to hold Westland Meat Company accountable for their actions.

[Virginia]

I was sickened at the sight of the employees of the Westland Meat Company's treatment of these sick cows. I watched the incident last night and still this morning I can't seem to get those horrific scenes out of my mind.I think those men who were involved in the terrible cruelty towards those cows should be fired. How would they like to have a high pressure hose sprayed up their nose, or kicked in the face, and lets not forget the cattle prod that probably has an electrial charge applied to their body, and last but no least, lets attach a chain around their ankle and drag them around.Actually being fired, is not punishment, they should do jail time. As far as the management staff of Westlake Meat Company of Chino, they are by no means guilt free, they must have had some knowledge of what was going on. SHUT THE PLACE DOWN

[michelle]

This story is sickening, but people are mighty naive if they think this is a one-time occurrence. This happens all over the country on a regular basis. Factory farming -- the systematic abuse of animals for human consumption -- is exempt from Humane Society regulations. Economics is the only way to stop this abuse. Don't buy the products, and the producers will pay attention. And, then there is the OTHER health issue. There is a reason the animals we eat are full of antibiotics and other chemicals. It has to do with the fact that they are raised in cramped, inhumane conditions; that they are tortured, mutilated, and as we saw in this news report, mistreated at the end of their short lives. The chicken on your dinner plate lived in a space the size of a sheet of paper. Vegetarians such as cows are forced to eat ground up animals. But we blithely buy into the restaurant ads on tv for protein piled on protein piled on protein dinners and feed our families at home the same way. While you're surfing the internet, check out how we're making ourselves sick by overeating protein. Then think about eating something besides animals.

[Carole]

The cow crawling around with it's legs at a ninety degree angle FORWARD haunts me day and night. They let it live its life like that. Someone please tell me how I can advocate for humane treatment of animals in the food industry. You can contact me at cjanas@seattleschools.org. Buy organic - they are humane (I hope)

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals."-Mahatma Gandhi

[MF]

I am now a vegetarian. I cannot eat meat and support an industry that tortures innocent animals in the most inhumane ways imaginable. It's bad enough animals have to be slaughtered for us to eat, and that definitely isn't pretty, but I am sickened and heartbroken by these images of cows being beaten and dragged and tortured BEFORE slaughter. What kind of monsters are these people who have zero empathy for the suffering of any living creature. Animals also have fear and pain. You could clearly see the fear and pain in the whites of the eyes of one cow that was slammed in the head more than once with what appears to be a pipe!! I am thoroughly disgusted by what I saw!!! May God have mercy on the heartless souls of all who mistreat ANY living being......INCLUDING cows!

[Claire]

These sickening incidents unfortunately are not isolated to just this one slaughterhouse. This type of inhumane treatment has been going on for years with little opposition in spite of large public outcry when these incidents do come to light. Most people are simply not aware of where their meat comes from and how it is obtained. And it is not clean and it is not pretty and we should be outraged. We need to write letters. We should not buy meat products, especially hamburger and veal, which utilize diseased animals the most heavily. We should demand humane treatment of these animals and never, never become complacent. We should never assume that it's not happening anymore. We should be ever vigilant. The health and lives of our human and animal populations are at risk. Never forget.

[Peter Udell]

Thanks, Dan for your continuing great reporting. SF needs more journalists with your guts and brains.

[R]

What I find the most interesting (disturbing?) is that one of the common behaviors in serial killers is the torture of animals; yet; workers (especially in the story above) in slaughter houses do just that every day of their lives. Where is the line drawn in what is acceptable and what is borderline psychotic? Anything that suffers at the hand of a human is suffering needlessly; no matter if it's another human or an animal.
It's nice to see some people here are not contributors to such horrors; and are doing their part to produce change.

[Pat]

There are too many sick individuals in this country that have no compassion for animals. I vote to rope every single one of them upand give them the same treatment they inflict on the animals. We could sell tickets to the public and with the money, give more animals the life they deserve. I'm SICK AND TIRED OF ALL THIS ABUSE!

[Kim]

SHUT THEM DOWN
ARREST AND JAIL THE MONSTERS
FOLLOW UP ON ALL MEAT PACKING CO. SO THAT THESE PRACTICES ARE DONE HUMANELY THE ANIMALS SACRAFICE THEMSELVES FOR US SO THAT WE MAY HAVE FOOD ON OUR TABLES HAVE SOME REPECT LET THEM HAVE DIGNITY COME ON PEOPLE!!!

[Bea Elliott]

The horror of it is that this probably goes on all the time - not just at Westland.... The Humane Society was just fortunate enough to get the video. The safest assurance to avoid personal responsibility for these cruelties is to go vegetarian/vegan.... No Milk - No Meat - No Problem

[Deb Wilborn]

I didn't know about this at all until my daughter brought home a revised menu from her school that had removed all beef products. In a strange incongruity, I have no problem with the use of animals as food sources, but I can not in good conscience eat an animal that was tortured before (or even during) slaughter. Even hunters who shoot for sport make sure their prey is dead before using the meat or skins. What century is the meat industry living in?

[love the living]

What is being done?We see this and no one does any thing. It startes with what they feed the cows!I went to a dairy cow farm and the feed they give the cows has metals that kills them . and they have a suffering that is not how it was to be. I think a cow that is feed right would live longer than 5yrs and not go blind and loose weight from a big healthy cow to bones in 6m0 time . and to do with yhe food . so what are they feeding those cows that they were being evil too. that a living cow hello.WE THE PEOPLE . can stand up for the cow.they need our help so moo over abuse

[Jen]

That is extremely disgusting. Not only are these poor cows sick, so sick they can't even stand on their own, but they are being abused also. I wonder what the abusers would feel like if we switched the tables on them. Money runs this country and they think that is helping them save. HA!!! I can't believe what sick people will do for a couple of extra dollars. And what about all of the bad meat that they had to puch out to all of the school kids and everyone else? They do not care and I hope they get what is coming to them.

[Mark]

To STEVE MENDELL, President of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co (see below)

Nice letter Steve but I can’t believe any of it. Myself along with millions of other Americans are Red meat eaters and are so because WE believe that these animals are treated with dignity and care when killed. You will have to do much better than this letter to convince me now. Steve, you need to show some true leadership and character by leading, not only the reform of WESTLAND/HALLMARK MEAT CO but every other Slaughterhouse in America. You are about to become the “Poster Child” for animal abuse across the country! If you really truly believe in the words below and you want the American public to do so as well, you need to turn this around and become a champion of animal rights reform! If I were you I would strongly consider your next career move or consider resigning before the board and the American public forces you to in disgrace.

Mark Wilhelms, Chicago, IL

WESTLAND/HALLMARK MEAT CO.

February 3, 2008

As President of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. I want to reassure our customers and consumers that our company has met the highest standards for harvesting and processing meat under the Federal Meat Inspection Act. A fulltime USDA veterinary medical officer has been assigned to our facility for many years, and he oversees the work of three inspectors in the harvest operation and another inspector assigned to the processing operations. In addition, we have had a full time official from the USDA’s Grading Service in our operation for the purpose of ensuring contractual compliance for the meat we sell to the USDA commodity program.

During 2007, we had 17 third party audits of our operation to confirm that we meet the statutorily mandated humane handling and food safety standards. In addition we have conducted 12 internal audits by our own personnel to ensure that such standards are met. We also, conduct weekly humane handling audits based on standards set forth in the American Meat Institute’s (AMI), Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines and Audit Guide 2007 Edition, which was authored by Dr. Temple Grandin, a world renowned expert of humane handling practices. Complete documentation of this activity has been made available to the USDA investigation team currently at our plant.

Words cannot accurately express how shocked and horrified I was at the depictions contained on the video that was taken by an individual who worked at our facility from October 3 thru November 14, 2007. 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. We are also cooperating with the USDA investigators on the allegations of inhumane handling treatment which is a serious breech of our company’s policies and training.

As part of our own investigation, we have retained an outside consultant to take an independent look at our operations. He is a veterinarian who worked for FSIS in a supervisory position for 26 years all over the U.S. He spent two days in our facility with full and free access to all documentation and plant personnel. He told us in a written report that our records and programs are “the best he has ever seen in any plant.” We have provided his report to the USDA.

We have voluntarily suspended our operations pending the completion of the USDA investigation. We are dedicating our full efforts and resources to fully cooperate with the USDA investigative team that has been assigned to our plant.

Finally, I proudly assure our customers that we comply with all USDA requirements, including the requirement that only ambulatory livestock may enter the harvest facility to be processed for human food. I am confident that we have met this high regulatory standard.

[Carol]

It is truly sickening and disturbing how we treat our fellow creatures that share this planet with us. I don't know how anyone could treat an animal this way. I think they must be very sick individuals.

[Linda Masson]

Thank you for exposing this atrocity. Please let me know what I can do to make sure this is stopped all over the country (petitions, what politian can I cantact, etc) and that it should also be considered a crime with imprisonment for the people involved. I can be reached at the above e-mail mentioned.

[Anna]

For a president of a company to try and spoon feed us Americans his line of being horrified and shocked over the video acting like he had no knowledge of this being done, is a crock... He should be on the front lines overseeing what is happening at the pathetic company that is supplying food to our children. I would not have him run an ant farm after seeing the video. All of the workers involved and upper managment should do jail time. They are not any better than Michael Vick and his ring of thugs. No one at Westland is innocent. I hope this shuts down the company FOREVER... Not one employee there deserves to have a job. Thank God this has been exposed. I work for an extremly large corporation and we know what is happening at all times.. That is the saddest thing I had ever seen.. I had a very hard time sleeping last night.. Doom on all of you for being weak people and not standing up for what is right...

[Kelli]

I too have become a vegetarian! I am OUTRAGED that this is going on in our country. I will NEVER buy beef, pork, chicken again....EVER! Thank you so much for exposing this. I think we have all been looking the other way and hoping the government was keeping an eye on everything to make sure that our meat supply was done in a humane way. The people who do this kind of work day after day must get some sick pleasure out of it. Absolutely disgusting and very disturbing!!! I am and will always be spreading the word about this industry. Shame,shame,shame.....Please, foe everyone who reads this please lets do something about this and spread the word!!!!!!!