May14
Seriously, Agriprocessors, can you really be THAT bad?
Posted at 01:48 PM | Permalink
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Comments (15)
I’ve got to say I wasn’t too shocked this morning when I read about a certain kosher slaughterhouse in a certain small town in Iowa being raided by the Feds over immigration violations. Yes, PETA’s old Postville, Iowa-based friend, Agriprocessors, has been busted yet again. As reported by USA Today, "76% of the 968 employees of Agriprocessors were using false or fraudulent Social Security numbers in connection with their employment." This raid was the largest of its kind. Ever. (Well, at least in the U.S.)
Why, you might be asking, was I not so shocked to learn of this raid? Agriprocessors is not exactly known for being an upstanding member of the corporate community. Nor is it known for its unwavering sense of right and wrong. You may recall that in 2004, a PETA undercover investigation revealed workers at this same facility ripping the tracheas out of live cows’ throats day after day. Or what about that time in 2007 that another PETA undercover investigation—at a facility owned by the same guy who owns Agriprocessors—documented employees tearing into conscious cows’ throats with meat hooks?
Oh, and there’s more. The United Food and Commercial Workers union states on its Web site that USDA documents “cite numerous food safety violations committed by Agriprocessors that may have increased the risk of food-borne illnesses to consumers.” And let’s not forget about the whole mis-labeling issue when an independent food testing laboratory that analyzed various Agriprocessors products revealed that one of its brands of turkey meat had a sodium content 339% higher than what was advertised on the nutrition label (and another brand was 138% higher). Then there was that incident in 2006 when Agriprocessors paid more than $600,000 to settle an Environmental Protection Agency complaint regarding its discharge of pollutants into the Postville water treatment facility. Joining the USDA and EPA in the band of government agencies recording Agriprocessors’ failures, OSHA (that’s the Occupational Health and Safety Agency) logs from this facility reveal five amputations along with dozens of other serious injuries, including broken bones, eye injuries and hearing loss; if that’s what the workers went through imagine what it was like being an cow or chicken at Agriprocessors!
Such a fine company.
Well, we’ve had it with Agriprocessors. Today, PETA fired off a letter to Chet Culver, governor of Iowa, asking that Agriprocessors be shut down once and for all. As the letter says: “Enough is enough.”
--Matt
Posted by Matt Prescott, Assistant Director of Corporate Affairs
TAGGED:
agriprocessors
Comments
Agriprocessors has been committing so many crimes against animals and humanity for so long.
When are those criminals going to be shut down?
The people that own Agriprocessors are the scum of the earth. They were abusing and stealing from employees, whom they treat like slaves.
Now they get caught stealing from every American, skipping out on paying employment taxes. And avoiding paying the minimum wage.
They are pure evil.
Posted by: kelly | May 14, 2008 02:18 PM
Well said, Matt. Please forgive any swearing I do in the following comment:
First, I beleive this is the time that PETA, the HSUS, U.S. citizens and others must DEMAND that our next president change the USDA completely and FORCE them to hold all meat places like this to a real humane standard.
MORE IMPORTANTLY: I beleive this is not just about punishing offendors; it's about supporting and rewarding those doing a good job.
A local fruit and vegetable stand near where I live named Underwoods went out of business. They did not have A SINGLE OUNCE of meat or dairy; it was all vegan food!!
These folks attracted business from all over Western Massachusetts and encouraged people to make wonderful vegan meals!!
The farm went out of business when a bridge on the road went into disrepair because of funding for the Big Dig and the road was closed.
Now we have to drive 40 minutes to get farm food, and most of the farms we go to sell dairy as well!! We can't let vegan farm stands go under like this!
If we want people to go vegan, they need to know they can find good vegan food. These farm stands in ALL the f****** states are going under.
Support organinc farming so birds won't die of pesticides, support shade grown so logging won't destroy animal's habitat, support local farmers so you know what happens to your lands.
Support our local vegan farmers so the evil factory farming will go under!
Posted by: Maya, CVT | May 14, 2008 02:39 PM
Enough is more than Enough.Agriprocessors needs to be put up against a wall,and held accountable for all it's attrocaties. The vile and sickening treatment of animals at their plants is and has always been CRIMINAL! Not to mention all their other offenses. Their contaminated products, and shabby treatment of employees. My heart goes out to the horrors the animals have endured, though. Shut down the AGRIPROCESSORS asap, and liberate the helpless animals.
Posted by: Pamela L. | May 14, 2008 02:53 PM
Wow Maya---One of your best posts ever!!!!! I so agree with you!!!! And your "swearing" made a point! :)
Posted by: Ana | May 14, 2008 03:08 PM
Thank you, Ana! Your words about veganism inspired me, so bless you!! I am really looking forward to the strawberry season here!
:)
Posted by: Maya, CVT | May 14, 2008 03:40 PM
AALLLL factory Farming is evil!! But I trully believe these AGRIproCESSORS' owners are the devil (worst of the worst)!!! What happened there yet again does not surprise me either!! Actually was to be expected!!!
Posted by: Carla | May 14, 2008 04:05 PM
Slaughterhouses have the highest worker accident rate in the country, and they love to hire people they can muzzle, suppress and oppress.
Nobody wants to do that sickening, dirty job. They just want to pick up the neat little packages in the grocery store and pretend they don't know where they came from.
I used to always joke that if I had to kill the animal myself, I would become a vegetarian. Finally (I'm a bit slow), I realized I was in fact hiring the killer—but no more.
Posted by: Mike Quinoa | May 14, 2008 05:24 PM
wow thats sicken-ing :[
do you know the saying "an eye for an eye"? well i think those works should have there throats ripped out with hooks=]
Posted by: kenady | May 15, 2008 10:09 AM
Are we all pissed that they hired illegal aliens, or that they are a meat processing plant?
If it is the former, then I'm with you all! More border security! No more illegals!
Posted by: Kurt k | May 15, 2008 10:16 AM
Kurt,
At ConAgra's Greely slaughterhouse, the nation's biggest meatpacking complex, the labor turnover rate is approximately 80% per year, and other slaughterhouses are the same. The industry loves to actively hire illegals so they can treat them like crap and get away with it. It's a dirty, disgusting, dangerous job, and no-one else wants to do it.
Read "Slaughterhouse" by Gail Eisnitz and see how deplorable the conditions are for both workers and animals.
Posted by: Mike Quinoa | May 15, 2008 11:12 AM
Amen Maya...
I don't get it.
I don't get how people turn out the way they do and choose to spend their lives/careers torturing innocent creatures...while I call into work because I'm crying over my drying rat with phenumonia...
There's such a HUGE difference between people like those employed by PETA and those employed by factory farms/kosher farms/whatever....I DON'T GET IT!
How do they NOT know what they're doing is horrible? SERIOUSLY?!?!??!!
I'm so effing frustrated.
Posted by: HannaBanana | May 15, 2008 03:22 PM
Shari:
Your rant is of racist tendor and doesn't really go with the point here. Or maybe it does. Both humans and animals are being exploited by a big industry...no surprise there. The fact that their supposed to be "kosher" I suppose is ironic. But throwing slam talk about Jews is ridiculous. I'll find you ten more kosher hell holes run by every different colour of evil.
Posted by: Courtney | May 15, 2008 11:59 PM
Well said, Courtney. Pinning animal abuse on one race or religion is not logical, just bigoted.
Posted by: Maya, CVT | May 16, 2008 02:14 PM
I live in Iowa and was shocked to see this happen, that i believe puts our state to shame. I then watched the video and was appauled to see this happen over and over again. These people obviously have no hearts. I cry everytime i watch these types of videos and pray that people like that will wake up some day soon.
Posted by: Stacy | June 10, 2008 11:21 PM
There's really nothing more that can be said all the printed messages cover it all.the best thing you all can do is spread the word! to anyone and everyone..start a conversation with stranger's.bring up the horror's that go on at scumpits like agriprocessors.I've changed people's minds about eating meat.so can you!
Posted by: GRANT | June 12, 2008 09:58 AM