"slaughterhouses" news and stories

In two different articles, two sets of schools -- one set of schools in the Twin Cities, MN, and 100 schools in Washington state -- will not be serving beef that originates from California.

The USDA is investigating the Hallmark slaughterhouse in California, the subject in videos released by The Humane Society of the United States after a six-week undercover investigation. In the video, workers at the meat processing plant repeatedly kicked cows and rammed them with the blades of a forklift. The cows were also said to be sick, which is a major health concern. Sicks cows could be carrying Mad Cow disease or e Coli.

One of my favorite books when I was a kid was "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." In the beginning of the book, the main character Francie is sent to the butcher shop to buy $.10 worth of ground beef for her family's Saturday night dinner. Her mother insists that she have the butcher grind it in front of her instead of buying it off the plate, because you never know what might be in your meat if you buy it pre-ground.

I remember reading that section back in the day and thinking how nice it was that ground meat is so safe and available so that people didn't have to worry about it anymore. I went on thinking that way until Tuesday, when I read this post by the Grocery Guy. Apparently mass market ground beef isn't nearly as safe and clean as we think it is. The Grocery Guy stresses that it is important that you know and trust the people who make your ground beef, which is not always an easy thing in this day and age (especially if you tend to shop at large, chain supermarkets). He says that if you don't know your butcher that you should grind your own (and gives tips on how to go about doing just that). It's an interesting read and will definitely make you think about ground beef more critically (if you are still among the number who eat the stuff. Personally, I have a very hard time resisting a good hamburger).

Source

If, like some of us, you were left wanting by the film adaptation of Fast Food Nation, a new documentary called Our Daily Bread might be more your speed. Created by Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Our Daily Bread is composed of long, unblinking scenes shot in industrial greenhouses (above), farms and animal processing plants throughout Europe. There are no interviews or voice-overs and the locations are not identified. The New York Times gives it a glowing review, and also features a related piece with a few quotes from Geyrhalter. Several trailers are available here. For the moment, it appears that screenings of the film in the U.S. are limited to New York City and Chicago. Hopefully that will change soon.