According to Reuters, Rodrigo Janot, Brazil’s top federal prosecutor, has charged President Michel Temer with taking millions of dollars in bribes. The charges are in connection with a scheme involving the world’s largest meatpacker, JBS SA.
In March, Brazilian police raided more than a dozen meatpacking offices. This followed a two-year investigation into alleged bribery of regulators to subvert inspections of the meatpacking plants.
Telephone recordings by federal police found that pigs’ heads were crushed and mixed into sausages, cardboard was mixed with chicken meat, and chemicals were injected into meat to hide the smell of rot. Companies were also injecting water into their meat to increase its market weight.
Police found about 40 cases of meatpackers bribing inspectors and politicians, including President Temer and officials in his administration, to overlook hazards such as salmonella taint and processing rotten meat.
After the scandal broke, the USDA increased inspections on Brazilian beef imports. CNN Money reported last week that the USDA had banned fresh beef imports from Brazil after “inspections uncovered public health concerns, unsanitary conditions and animal health issues.
While it’s uncertain whether the corruption charges will take down Temer and other top Brazilian officials, one thing is indisputable: Animals around the globe will still suffer in filthy, cruel factory farms before being violently slaughtered.
Take a strong stance against this sickening corruption, and help protect innocent animals by adopting a compassionate vegan diet.
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