Slaughterhouse Owner Sentenced to Prison After Selling Meat From Diseased Cows

Last week, the owner of Rancho Feeding
Co., a
slaughterhouse in Petaluma, California, was sentenced to a year in
federal prison after selling meat from cattle who were sick or condemned by
government veterinarians.

According to SFGate.com,
the owner “admitted ordering employees between 2012 and January 2014 to process
cattle that had been condemned by a government veterinarian—meaning they were
unfit for human consumption—and to avoid full inspection of cattle suffering
from epitherlioma, or eye cancer.

None of this should come as a
surprise. In 2014, the USDA recalled nearly 9 million pounds
of meat from this same facility.

CNN reported at the
time:

Investigators now believe that
Rancho was buying diseased dairy cows and processing them when government
inspectors weren’t there. After the cows were killed, employees would hide the
warning signs of cancer by trimming off diseased parts, using a fake stamp of
approval or even replacing the heads of sick cows with ones from healthy
animals.

Grossed out? You should be.

Factory farmers not only pose
serious health risks for consumers; they also
treat animals as unfeeling commodities. Confined in cruel cages and
crates, mutilated without anesthesia, and
ruthlessly
slaughtered, these animals know nothing but terror
and pain.

Turned off by tainted meat? Luckily,
we can take a stand against the despicable meat industry. Click here for meal ideas, simple
recipes, and tips on transitioning to a healthy, animal-friendly diet.