This is why I buy local, pasture-raised beef whenever possible.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/30/un...tml#cnnSTCVideo

what do you expect from people that can't read or write and are probably inbred

I expect American-owned business to take responsibility for the actions of its workers - be they "inbred" or ignorant, or just plain doing what they are told. I expect them to have integrity and to respect for what it should mean to do business in this country and feed it's people.

But I don't expect people to stop blaming victims (in this case, the cattle and the workers). That's human nature, if not a modern repressive defense mechanism.

I only saw the first three seconds before I had to turn it off--the cow laying there with someone with a stick poking was already too much for me. Sorry, I am just too sensitive sometimes! I was already starting to cry!

Could you just please give me the jist of what this was about? Does it discuss pesticides or feed or conditions as well? Also, are all the cows everywhere treated like the one I saw in the first three seconds, or is this just a particularly bad place? Thanks

Welcome to the meat industry, Those cows are called downers and are usually shot before being removed from the truck. They normally don't don't go into the human food cause the stress that caused them go down render the meat dark to black and very acidic. The term in meat industry is a "dark cutter". In Canada we have the Humane Animal act and the abattoirs have an inspector checking every truck for abuse. The stick is an cattle prod and is electrified.

I live near Brisbane, Australia (about the size of San Diego etc) and in common with most Western countries we now have large Muslim and Asian populations. One benefit of this is the start-up of some Halal butchers stores. As I understand it the animal isn't allowed to see the knife coming and I'ts all over quickly. The meat isn't always more expensive than at the Supermarket and I have picked up some interesting cuts that you can't get elsewhere such as goat and camel.

I realise of course that in some countries which practice Halal (for example Egypt which has had some bad press recently) there are big issues about how the animals are treated prior to slaughter - especially the live sheep export trade from here in Australia - but I get the impression that local Halal slaughter in the West is far less traumatic to the animals than modern abbatoir practice.

BTW if you eat real mutton you never want to go back to lamb again!!!

I don't know about the "benefit", they also aren't allowed to be stunned or unconscious. Give me the choice between a captive bolt gun and lights out or having my throat slit while I'm very conscious; I know which way I'll go. There are people who feel kosher/halal is more cruel; it's a contentious issue.

I've eaten both. Try hair sheep, which have it over wool sheep for great flavor. They have difficulty getting as fat as wool breeds, but aren't tainted by a hereditary "wool" taste. Mature animals are better than the youngsters in most cases. I've eaten 6-yr-old ewes with pleasure, and only had to sharpen my teeth once!

The fact is, by the time the "knife" shows up, the animal is already dead. Typically, cattle that are butchered are killed by being driven into a narrow chute, where a machine at the end of the chute slams a steel bolt into their forehead, killing them instantly. In some cases, they're shot in the head, but this is more expensive and the steel bolt is considered to be more "humane."

But, consider this: regardless of how these animals are treated while living and how they are killed, they are bred for one purpose only: to serve as part of our food supply. If PETA somehow succeeded in releasing these animals into the wild to "live free," they'd be dead in weeks, victims of coyotes, wolves and bears. It's a fact of life on Earth that there is a food chain and we just happen to be lucky enough to control our position in the chain.

Gary

I think Beachbum was referring to halal meat in her quote, so it's not quite the same as standard meat. There are pretty strict requirements for an animal to be considered halal, and the manner of its death is one of them.

I see. I was referring to the way cattle are killed for slaughter in the U.S., of course, but I assume similar practices are used elsewhere in the world, as well. So, if a knife is used and the animal is killed by surprise, how does that make its manner of death any more humane, or is that the objective?

Gary

Hi GaryR55, if you read back through the thread, we've discussed those aspects a few times. Kosher and Halal slaughter is also practiced in the U.S.A. as well as many other western countries. There are those who feel it's more cruel as well as those who feel it's more humane.

We are also supposedly at the top of the intelligence chain as well, but I don't see it. Being at the top of the food chain is no excuse for criminal behavior.

Is it "criminal behavior" to survive, or were you merely commenting on the illegality of mistreating "downer" cattle? The harsh reality is that species eat other species for survival. I've never heard anyone call a great white shark's behavior "criminal" when it devours a human. I'm going to assume you must have meant the behavior in the video is criminal, otherwise, how do you justify eating other animals for sustenance, yet call the very same behavior "criminal?" It's not only illogical to do so, it's also hypocritical - not to mention anti-human.

Gary