Pig Farm Investigation

This evening, we aired undercover video at an Iowa pig farm, the fourth largest in the country, that supplies pork to Safeway and Costco.  An animal rights activist from Mercy for Animals went undercover at Iowa Select Farms from April to this month, getting a job and going through the training.  She took video of gestation crates that will be banned in California in 2015 -- sows can't turn around or lie down on their sides because the crates are so narrow.  Nothing in the law will prevent stores from buying pork from suppliers in other states that use the gestation crates.

The activist took video of workers at Iowa Select tossing piglets.  Workers also performed castrations and clipped their tails without painkillers (that's standard practice in the industry).  The activist says she saw sick and injured pigs who did not receive medical care or a humane death; we showed the process of "thumping", where workers at Iowa Select take a sick piglet by its back legs and smash its head on the concrete floor.

We were careful not to show the most gruesome images.  If you have a strong stomach, you can watch it on the Mercy for Animals website.

Reaction has been swift.  As we said in tonight's report, Costco is sending its auditors to Iowa Select's facility to check them out.  Safeway is halting purchase of Iowa Select pork until there's an independent investigation.  You can read their statement here.  Iowa Select issued a statement saying they have zero tolerance for animal abuse; they don't address the issue of gestation crates in their release -- you can read it here.  And finally, JBS, the world's largest meat processing company (which salughters the pigs from Iowa Select and sends them to stores including Costco and Safeway) says they're stopping doing business with Iowa Select until the problems are cleared up.  Read their statement here.

There's a simple way to find out if the pork you're buying might come from Iowa Select.  According to Mercy for Animals, they send their pigs to JBS' Marshalltown, Iowa or Worthington, Minnesota slaughter plants.  The USDA has assigned an "establishment number" of "3S" for the Marshalltown plant and "3W" for Worthington.  Those numbers are stamped on the pork that comes from those slaughterhouses, as seen in this photo from the activists.

Comments

[David]

Thank you Dan for having the courage for putting this story on the evening news. This is a very important story that needs to be told so the public can make an informed choice about the food that they eat. Unfortunately, the very sad thing is that this kind of cruelty is common and routine practice in the food industry as animals are viewed as nothing more than product and profit instead sentiment beings. You may want to also view Earthlings.com over the internet to get a real picture of the different ways animals are treated in not only the food industry but in the entertainment and clothing industries as well. Again, thank you for presenting this story!

[Rochelle Richards]

Thank you Dan and the I Team! I have posted the link on my Facebook page, and I plan to email it too. I am not going to buy any pork/meat until I find a source that is humane!

[Marijane Castillo]

My god this is very disturbing. I will not buy this pork. Period. Thank you for airing this.

[Amy]

Thanks for posting this. I won't be buying any pork from this factory. Going to do more research on where my food comes from. Thanks again.

[ruben canonizado]

can you follow up in a couple of months to find out where Costco and Safeway stand as regards animal welfare in the meat industry? I hope this helps to shed light on practices that shame us as a species.

[Chris Parkinson]

We should us this blog to find those companies where good quality pork comes from. Certified free of growth hormones, antibiotics, and MRSA.

[C. V.]

I could not believe the cruelty these animals suffer watching this newscast. Thank you for bringing it to light. I could not sleep last night because the visions of those poor animals kept drifting back into my head and eventually I just broke down and cried. It is dreadful. How can these people who hurt these animals even sleep at night. These animals have feelings and hearts that beat. I will not eat pork again until this is resolved. PLEASE keep us posted on this awful issue.

[Karen Brooks]

Thank you for this excellent coverage; you are doing a great thing. I have started my own activist outreach to everyone in my life and will also use Facebook. If anyone would like to make a donation to an organization who is trying to change the legislation in factory farms who practice institutionalized animal abuse, look at The Farm Sancturary.
www.farmsanctuary.org

[Nancy Bernardi]

THANK YOU! I applaude you for your courage. I hold hope this information will make a large difference in the lives of the farm animals in this country.

Thank you again.

[Shae]

Thank you so much for exposing the truth. Alot of people choose to be oblivious to what happens in factory farms and hopefully this will encourage people to make informed decisions and be responsible consumers. We "vote" each time we purchase something from any business.

[Emily]

This treatment needs to be stopped! The inhumane treatment of these animals is happening more than just at this factory farm. The treatment is happening EVERYWHERE. You can single handedly make a difference. Visit Chooseveg.com!

[Raylindairy.wordpress.com]

As farmers we are continually looking to improve the way we care for our animals. Mistakes are made and from those come new opportunities to provide better training to employees and ultimately comfort to the animals. For a firsthand view into several different farms please visit www.farmerbloggers.com/blog

[Joan F]

I will stop buying my meat at both Safeway and Costco at least until I know for sure this abuse has stopped. I think it's a shame it will take so many years to eliminate the gestation crates.

I would love to see this story go national. Any chance you could get the bosses in NY interested?

[patricia]

LETS VOTE AGAIN WITH OUR POCKET BOOKS --- BUY BEANS !! ok I am going shopping at the safeway in terra linda for dinner tonight and all I can say is that i have passed up buying meat at the store since the last pork/beef/chicken revelations of animal cruelty a few years ago. I only buy cage free eggs and tonight i am buying a can of beans and will make a very tasty pasta dish with them. I almost never buy any meat from costco either and I am a huge customer for them!!! We do have the choice to buy meat from farms that practice humane treatment of animals in all phases of food production. enough is enough!!! 2014 is too long for an animal to wait. Shame on anyone who thinks that is a solution!!! the people of the State of California voted and we voted loud and clear: get rid of the inhumane practices in the food industry if you want to stay in business!!!!!!!!!!!--- and I am an uptight old republican!!!!!! Can we get some bumper stickers on the topic ????

[Vita]

I am so disturbed and deeply upset by how these animals are being abused! We will definately stop buying pork from these farms, but CAN WE DO MORE to stop it? Are there any laws that can protect these poor animals and press charges against the people at these farms that are still abusing these animals?

[Barbara]

Dan, your coverage of the ugly side of this businesss is excellent. The animal rights activist from Mercy for Animals who made the video is a hero in my book.

[Fiona]

Dan and I-Team, thank you very much for airing this video clip to the news last night. I also want to thank the animal rights activist from Mercy for Animals who was very brave to video tape this inhumane and heartless action. I found it very disturbed and inhumane and could not stop crying for these poor pigs and piglets. Lke everyone, I will stop eating pork or purchasing any meat products from either Costco or Safeway. Can we do something more to protect/prevent from further abuse to these poor, miserble, and voiceless animals? Having to wait until 2014 is way too long for these animals. Please pass these information on to others so they will have informed decision before they choose to eat meat.

[p lee]

Thank you Dan Noyes for the report. We need to make these corporation officials responsible. It is very hard to believe, they are not aware of this kind of behavior are even exist in the company. There are just too many times, we heard this kind of excuses. We need punishes these companies or list them on the web

[Janine Pangelina]

Thanks Dan and the I-team for letting people know about this all too common practice of animal cruelty. I can go on about my feelings about this subject but I will just put it simply. I will not be buying meats of any kind from Costco or Safeway. And if I do buy meat from other stores, I will buy meats that I know were treated humanly during their short life. I can't believe that I keep reading about these kinds of practices and they keep being allowed.

[Sarah Davidson-Homewood]

sad

[MBT Online]

Good stuff as per usual, thanks. I do hope this kind of thing gets more exposure.

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