The Underreported Truth About the Beef Industry

excerpt from:

AlterNet: 143 Million Pounds of Beef Recalled -- Will the Industry Finally Change?

Maybe you're one of the more than 200,000 people who have seen this disturbing video revealing the animal cruelty caught on tape by a Humane Society investigation at a California slaughterhouse. (I, personally, couldn't stomach to watch it).

Whether you saw the video or not, you most certainly have heard the response: Prompted by public outcry, the company that processed meat from this slaughterhouse issued the largest beef recall in U.S. history even though -- oops -- much of the 143 million pounds recalled has already been eaten, including possibly by children in school lunches.

The animal cruelty was disturbing enough, what it revealed about possible threats to human health adds even more reason to be wary of the burger. The Humane Society investigation proved --they've got it on tape -- what many have been saying for years: that a loophole in federal legislation was being used to feed slaughtered "downer" cows into the food supply. Now, downer cows -- those too old or sick to walk or produce milk --are not supposed to find their way into our food. Why not? Because the symptoms of downer cows are the same as other diseases, including mad cow disease. And those slaughtered downers in the video were destined for a processing facility that provides meat not just for average Joe, but for other customers, like the National School Lunch Program. Sloppy Joe's just got that much less appealing.