| According to media reports, Hawaii school
cafeterias were instructed to
store any raw and/or frozen beef they might have received
from
Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Co., which supplies meat the
USDA distributes
to schools, needy families, and seniors. The uncertainty
regarding the
safety of the meat came to light as the result of an
undercover video
investigation by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS),
in which
workers kicked and shocked "downer" cows, forcing them into
a
federally-inspected slaughterhouse. The video shows workers
jabbing cows in
their eyes and torturing them in various other ways. In
order to dominate
animals and commodify them, humans must disconnect from
their suffering.
This explains the worker's cruelty. Animals are reduced to
mere objects
from which enormous profits are gained.
"Downers" are so sick and/or injured they cannot walk to
slaughter, and are
considered a higher risk of carrying diseases, including Mad
Cow Disease. A
few years ago, Congress enacted legislation prohibiting
slaughterhouses from
accepting animals unless they arrive alive and ambulatory.
However, as this
and other undercover videos demonstrate, "downers" are still
entering the
American food supply.
Is the Meat Safe to Eat?
The media reports that neither the USDA nor the Hawaii State
Department of
Education knows how many children may have eaten this meat.
However, the
government believes most of the meat has already been
consumed as part of
the School Lunch Program. That is not very reassuring, is
it? A March 6,
2008 article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin entitled "Beef
Recall Bungled,
Some Say," it is reported that the School Nutrition
Association and child
nutrition directors complained, "We did not have the
information we needed
to respond to the many questions we immediately received
from very concerned
parents."
What About Hawaii's Keiki?
Did Hawaii's children consume diseased meat? Considering the
potential
health risks, why didn't the government do more to protect
our children?
It's a sad fact that shocking, prodding and torturing sick
and dying animals
as shown in the undercover video, trying to force them to
walk into
slaughterhouses, is not an isolated incident. Knowing that,
isn't it
strange that the government moved so quickly to dump this
meat in the
landfill? It is important to realize that sick,
non-ambulatory cows, the
so-called "downers", are at a higher risk of carrying the
deadly prion
proteins which are the agent for Mad Cow Disease. That is
why "downers" are
not supposed to enter the food supply. However, the greedy
meat industry
still tries to get money even for sick animals, and this is
proven by the
undercover video done by the Humane Society of the united
States. Over the
past decade or so, the U.S. has tested less than 2 percent
of "downer" cows
for Mad Cow Disease, and the U.S. continues to violate World
Health
Organization Guidelines on Mad Cow Disease. The USDA reports
that only
about 20,000 cows were tested for Mad Cow Disease in 2004,
yet about 40
million cows are slaughtered each year.
Before burying the meat, did our State or City government
test it to see if
it is contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE),
also known
as Mad Cow Disease? There have been no reports that the meat
was tested at
all.
We believe parents should be asking the government the
following questions:
1. Was the meat tested for Mad Cow Disease? If not, why?
2. Why did the government not inform parents about the
tainted meat which
may have been consumed by their children? Parents found out
about
this situation only through reports in the media.
3. Why did the government not send letters to parents,
explaining what
they should look out for in terms of symptoms of Mad Cow
Disease or
other types of illnesses/diseases which could have come from
eating
the meat?
4. Why hasn't the government set up a program to monitor the
children's
health, to ensure they haven't been infected?
It seems that the government is not telling us everything.
Is the
government perhaps more concerned about getting reimbursed
by the federal
government for the discarded meat than they are with the
health of our
children?
This is no longer "someone else's problem" -- it is now
sitting squarely on
each child's lunch plate! This meat was distributed not only
to Oahu
schools, but to schools on neighbor islands as well. This is
a frightening
situation. Clearly, Americans should not feel secure when
safety
regulations are not enforced and the meat enters the
schools.
Bury the Meat in Waimanalo Gulch Landfill?
The meat was dumped in the landfill and covered with about 6
inches of dirt.
Was that an adequate means of disposal?
Perhaps the government chose not to incinerate the meat at
H-POWER because
laboratory experiments have shown that deadly prions can be
inhaled. If
diseased meat had been incinerated at H-POWER, it could have
entered the
atmosphere. Could it then affect nearby residents and
landfill workers?
Mayor Hannemann is quoted in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin
("Mayor Slams
Hanabusa on Dump") as saying, "Were the landfill not in
existence, what
would we in Oahu have done?" Put it in the pristine waters
of the ocean?
Find a park somewhere? Feed it to the animals? My goodness,
it would have
been a catastrophic event."
What about pollution control? We must remember that even
when meat infected
with Mad Cow Disease is incinerated at 1,500 degrees
centigrade, the
infectious agent, the prion protein, is not destroyed.
Therefore, the fact
that this meat is sitting in the landfill for an unknown
number of years is
not reassuring.
The Largest Recall in U.S. History
This massive recall, the largest in U.S. history,
illustrates the USDA's
inability to effectively regulate the meat industry, and the
American public
is thus not being protected from potentially deadly meat
contamination.
Media reports on March 6, 2008 indicate that the recall
involved a
staggering 143 million lbs. of beef. Without the undercover
video by the
animal welfare organization, the USDA presumably would not
even have been
aware of the situation. In fact, even if a USDA inspector
catches a company
breaking the law, the USDA lacks the authority to recall
meat; all it can do
is request a recall. Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Co.
voluntarily agreed
to pull all its raw and frozen beef products.
Other Dangers
In addition to the dangers posed by prions and Mad Cow
Disease, the meat (as
well as cheese and milk) which is served by many schools is
contributing to
the obesity epidemic of our children, which leads to
increased risk of heart
disease, diabetes, hypertension, and some forms of cancer.
The USDA
purchases hundreds of millions of lbs. of beef, pork, and
other animal
products as a means of removing surpluses and boosting
industry profits.
The system makes it difficult for food service directors to
choose healthier
foods when hot dogs are essentially free. Second, between
1995 and 2004,
nearly 3/4 of the entire U.S. expenditure for agricultural
subsidies ($62
billion) went to feed crops and direct aid supporting meat
and dairy
production, while less than 1% went to subsidizing fruit and
vegetable
production. Thus, meat and dairy products are less expensive
to produce,
giving them the "edge" in the marketplace. Our own Hawaii
legislature
appropriates huge amounts of taxpayer money to "prop up" the
non-sustainable
meat and dairy industries here as well. And, Hawaii
slaughterhouses have a
history of cruelty violations. Horrendous cruelty is the
hallmark of
industrialized agriculture, and the USDA hopes consumers
don't know.
Will Hawaii's legislators be willing and able to transform
social values of
kindness and compassion into effective legislation, or will
they continue to
support those businesses that exploit animals, including the
meat and dairy
industries? If not for the animals, will they do it for our
children?
Learn More About Mad Cow Disease
Animal Advocate Inc. has produced a video of an interview in
Hawaii with
Howard Lyman, who is recognized worldwide as an expert on
Mad Cow Disease.
Mr. Lyman lays out the facts and has comments on the meat
industry and its
practices right here in Hawaii.
GO TO VIDEOS
Mahalo Nui Loa. |
