People are skeptical about where their food comes from. This is not a new thing. What has changed, however, is that it’s now easier than ever for corrupt public interest groups such as PETA or the Humane Society to feed the public false information in an attempt to steer them away from animal products. Most of their propaganda is aimed at the public’s heart by trying to paint producers as cruel farmers who disregard animal welfare just to make a quick buck. If you refuse to believe that farmers are genuinely good people who will go to great lengths to avoid animal suffering, then take solace in the fact that animal cruelty, both on the farm and in the slaughterhouse, directly reduces both the quality and quantity of meat harvested, cutting into the producer’s pocketbook—the past six installments in this Slaughter Process Series has explained why it literally pays to be kind to animals. As the truths about why animals are actually taken very good care of have come to light, the very indignant animal rights activists have switched gears, trying to turn people away from the final product by saying that meat continues to pose the food safety risks that Sinclair brought to light. But they’re still wrong. Every animal that is processed gets evaluated by a USDA-trained employee who conducts a post-mortem inspection that includes all steps from stunning until the carcass, stripped of byproducts so only the meat is left, goes into a freezer. During this inspection, the auditor is cutting away any bruises, unclean sections, or dark cutters they find, and marking them as “condemned,” meaning they are unfit for human consumption. There is a veterinarian on hand for any carcasses that show signs of disease. This vet has the training to diagnose the issue and determine if that carcass is safe to be sold in retail.
This is not to say there aren’t violations—no system is perfect. In the event that a plant falls short of sanitation standards, the FSIS employee will issue a citation (which, by the way, is public record) or, if severe enough, bring in more government personnel to take control of that plant’s operations. If food-borne illnesses are traced back to a specific plant, the FSIS employees are held responsible.
A public health scandal can not only ruin careers, but can shut entire corporations down. Much in the same way as animal welfare, it pays to live up to consumers expectations for sanitary conditions in the processing plant. A lot has changed since The Jungle was written. A study published by the CDC found that only 29% of all deaths from food-borne illnesses were caused by meat and poultry, which are the foods that make up nearly half the average American’s diet. As technology progresses, it’s becoming easier and easier to detect human health risks from animals both post mortem and while their still alive. Consumers have every right to be concerned about how their food is made, and I am certainly an advocate for proper food handling and cooking temperatures. However, I can say with full confidence that both animal welfare and food safety are the highest priorities of meat packers.
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