A USDA pilot program that allows pork processing facilities to reduce the number of USDA safety inspectors by half and replace them with privately employed inspectors is now being rolled out nationwide. The program increases the speed of the processing lines by as much as 20 percent.
Sound like a recipe for disaster? It is. Of the five hog plants under the pilot program, three were among the 10 worst offenders in the country for health and safety violations. In fact, a USDA report from just a few months ago detailed workers at these facilities failing to remove fecal matter from meat. Certainly more oversight is in order, not less.
Fueling concern, the USDA has allowed other countries, including Canada and Australia, from which the U.S. imports meat, to implement this new program. Not surprisingly, this has also resulted in failure. Last fall, a Canadian beef-processing plant under the program had to recall 8.8 million pounds of beef tainted with E. coli. Faster line speeds were partly blamed for the contamination. Additionally, 11 shipments from Australia were halted at U.S. ports due to issues such as fecal contamination.
There’s no doubt that butchering innocent animals is a dirty business. The over 20 undercover investigations Mercy For Animals has conducted inside factory farms and slaughterhouses have exposed filthy working conditions in all of them.
Faster processing speeds and less oversight is a risky proposition that may endanger millions of Americans. Luckily, leaving animals off our plates is an easy way to safeguard our health and vegan recipes are delicious and a snap to make. For more information, visit ChooseVeg.com.
