Meat Recall Prompts Call for USDA Reform
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s twin mandates of promoting the nation’s agriculture and monitoring it for safety are being questioned in the wake of a beef contamination scare that prompted the nation’s largest-ever meat recall.
Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat who chairs the House subcommittee responsible for the USDA’s funding, called Tuesday for the USDA to be stripped of its responsibility for food safety.
“Food safety ought to be of a high enough priority in this nation that we have a single agency that deals with it and not an agency that is responsible for promoting a product, selling a product and then as an afterthought dealing with how our food supply is safe,” DeLauro said.
She made her remarks during a conference call with reporters about the recall of some 143 million pounds of beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, from Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co.
A phone message left for Westland president Steve Mendell was not immediately returned.
USDA officials announced the recall Sunday after the Humane Society of the United States released undercover video showing crippled and sick animals at the slaughterhouse being shoved with forklifts.
Officials estimate that about 55 million pounds of the recalled beef went to USDA nutrition programs, the bulk of it for schools, Humane Society president Wayne Pacelle said.
No illnesses have been linked to the recalled beef, health officials said.
DeLauro planned a pair of hearings for early March to examine why federal inspectors did not note the mistreatment and take steps to ensure that “the school lunch program does not become the industry dumping ground for bad meat.”
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who chairs the House Education and Labor Committee, said during the conference call that the U.S. Government Accountability Office had started investigating the safety of the National School Lunch Program, which is administered by the USDA.
Pacelle said he hoped the attention to downer cattle, those that cannot stand or walk unassisted, would prompt lawmakers to pass pending legislation in the House and Senate that would keep all downer cows out of the food supply.
Federal regulations discourage slaughterhouses from processing downer cows into meat because they may pose a higher risk of contamination from E. coli, salmonella or mad cow disease, but the USDA still permits them to be used with an inspector’s approval, he said.
USDA spokesman Keith Williams did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged the USDA to complete a quick investigation of the apparent mistreatment and offered the support of the state Department of Food and Agriculture.
Schwarzenegger said he supported legislation by state Sen. Dean Florez that would allow California school districts to be reimbursed for beef bought from Westland.
California schools reported ordering 7.4 million pounds beef from the company since July 2007, according to Florez’s office.
Deputy District Attorney Glenn Yabuno said prosecutors were also investigating whether Westland’s business practices violated any state or local laws. He did not elaborate.
USDA officials were also investigating possible offenses.
Associated Press writer Denise Petski contributed to this report.
© 2008 Associated Press
Beef is bad for people anyway–giving kids beef was already showing how little people care for kids.
The USDA is in the pocket of the meat and dairy industry which does not care about life period.
Read Gail Eisnitz’s 1997 book Slaughterhouse(which is the adult version of Fast Food Nation).
anyone else thinking this most likely has something to do with Charles Lambert; USDA official, former lobbyist for the meat industry, and other bush appointees?
heckuvajob.
The USDA wasn’t created to protect the consumers. The USDA is there to protect the interests of the agricultural business.
If you think the video exposed a rare moment in the beef industry, you better think again. This has been going on in the meat industry for a very long time. There are numerous books available, one good one, published 10 years ago Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry, is a good place to start.
So, spend a moment and think about how many days have gone by where the abuse of animals and processing of downer cattle has taken place when the video camera was not on to record the handling of the nations food supply.
You want to send a message to the beef industry stop eating their products, that is, if you are not already addicted.
No illness has been linked to the bad beef to quote an offical.
Does this idiot know that MAD COW take years to show?
Does this idiot care?
Does this idiot work for the cattle industry?
Does the people in this country care?
When they get home from shopping we can ask them.
Never mind they don’t.
¿ Perhaps the owners just picked the wrong name “BEEF”, and they would see things differently if they chose “COW INDUSTRY”?
Seeing that BEEF is already dead, and a product, the owners don’t have to worry about “health issues”, as in their minds the product (and their morality) is dead.
Of course, my being a vegetarian, may have caused me to view the cow health glass as “half-alive” instead of “half-dead”.
Namaste … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Mahatma Gandhi … … … … … … … … … …
« We must be the change we wish to see in the world »
« There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed »
« We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself » — ML King
Reform the Farm Bureau ? Unlikely. Don’t be misled by the FB.org sponsored programming on PBS, these guys are all about profit. (profit over anything that gets in profit’s way)
It is important to note this only came out because a citizen went undercover and got a video. There is no reason to believe the Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. is better or worse than the others of any corp. in the US.
Red meat: eat lots, kids! Money makes the world go around and we fatten our children to feed to the machine. Kinda reminds me of what feed lots are all about. Compassion, karma …
another way for them to kill off the population.
I bet Bush’s beef is checked for mad cow before serving to the dummy.
The videos show these poor crippled “dower cows” being poked, kicked and even pushed along the concrete floor with a forklift! Yet the news reporters only talked about possible risks to humans from eating them! Nothing about how horridly and inhumanly the poor cows are treated! Plus, these (photos) are of Holstien, milk cows, not Herfords or Angus, beef cattle! Makes me hate stupid flesh eating people.
The videos show these poor crippled “dower cows” being poked, kicked and even pushed along the concrete floor with a forklift! Yet the TV news reporters only talked about possible risks to humans from eating them! Nothing about how horridly and inhumanly the poor cows are treated! Plus, these (photos) are of Holstien, milk cows, not Herfords or Angus, beef cattle! Makes me hate stupid flesh eating people.
Well… I finally forced myself to watch MOST of the video - mere words cannot express the anger and disgust I feel towards these. This is so unacceptable in a “civilized” society. IMO, there’s a storm coming to America, and we’re ALL going to get everything we deserve. God help us all…
Bush has his vanilla flow in from out of the country and his daughters only eat organic food….
All i can say is to stop this needless torture of all animals, not just cows who have it good compared to some other animals.
GO VEGITARIAN i have talking in capitals but i have to emphasise the point.
Eats easy saves animals lives and your money and health
This is so simple. Every meat packer should have a government inspector on site.
This company, tries to save a few dollars, now it ends up costing them millions. LOL.
How goddamn stupid can they be?
Video link?
This goes on everyday and will continue to go on everyday until there is an opposition. Until it costs them more to be inhumane than being decent…they will continue these practices because they know what they are doing and they think it is worth it. Period.