I just got back from west Texas where I toured a big industrial beef processing plant and I am still in shock by what I witnessed there. But I am not shocked in the way you might expect based on the negative portrayals of the beef industry that seem so rampant in the media. Rather, I am stunned by how humanly the animals were treated and by the detailed attention given to food safety at every stage of the process.
This wasn't some boutique, alternative meat processing center either, it was a facility of Cargill, one of the largest beef producers in the world. I spent more than 6 hours there and witnessed every aspect of the system from slaughter to the storage of meat. I walked though the center of it all with my eyes wide open. This was no staged tour. If you could stage this, Broadway's top producer Julie Tamour, may as well just step aside.
My tour proceeded backwards in order starting where the meat is cut into steaks and roasts and ending at the "dirtier" processing areas in order to prevent tracking any bacteria into sanitary zones. The meat cutting area was mesmerizing with more than 450 expert butchers carving out tenderloins and briskets with awe-inspiring speed and accuracy. There is a precise tracking system so that every piece of meat can be traced back to a specific animal.
Next, continuing to walk backwards through the process, I saw how the halved carcasses that went through the line, were marked for safety and quality by USDA inspectors and were tracked to go to a specific retailer. In fact, there are 5 separate USDA inspection points throughout the process. Everything in this area was orderly, sparkling clean and refrigerator cold.
The next area was shokingly stinky, but my interest and fascination overruled my nose. It was the organ removal area where the innards are inspected and fabricated into offal -- tripe, sweetbreads, liver, intestines and so on. Even with this inherently messy task (Mike Rowe -- you have to cover that on Dirtiest Jobs!) the waste management and cleanliness or the area was something to behold.
The last thing I saw was the actual harvest or killing. To be sure, it is not a pleasurable thing to witness in general, but if you eat meat, the simple fact is an animal is sacrificed for your nourishment, a reality we are all too removed from in modern society. The trick is to do it humanely, and this is where I was most impressed. The system Cargill uses was developed in part by Dr. Temple Grandin, the autistic animal scientist who, with her heightened sensitivity, was able to pinpoint specific ways to keep cows stress-free throughout the process (there is an award winning HBO film about her starring Claire Danes.) The whole environment is kept purposefully calm, with no loud noises or bright lights. Before they realize what is going on the cows are hit precisely on the head, given a concussion so they are rendered senseless, then their throats are cut and their blood is drained. The whole thing takes roughly a minute. I watched intently as the cows moved through and noticed no shred of panic or unease.
Later that afternoon I went to the Texas Tech Department of Animal and Food Science meat lab for a 3 hour private butchering lesson with Professor J Chance Brooks and the National Cattleman's Beef Association's Bridget Wasser. I thank them tremendously for an invaluable hands-on education on the various cuts of meat and exactly how they are derived.
I am sure not all beef processing plants are as exemplary as the one I saw, and I applaud those who expose unacceptable practices, but it is important (and I think quite a relief) to know that there is another side to the story. I guess the truest way to explain how I feel about the way beef is produced after all I saw that busy day is to tell you that for dinner that night I thoroughly enjoyed a nice piece of beef tenderloin.
By the way, I think you are mistaken on some of your statistics - the United States is not the fattest country in the world (although it is in the top ten), that honor belongs to Nauru with almost 95% of the population overweight. There are 4 countries where more than 90% of their populations are overweight; the U.S. comes in at just under 75%.
I have been inside a number of meat processing facilities and will say that Ellie's experience is certainly not the exception. Sanitation, efficiency, animal care and welfare and food safety are part of the equation at all of these facilities.
Life is not always pretty. As a beef producer there are aspects of my business that I do not like. However it is my business. As such it is my job to do the absolute best job of providing a product that is safe at the same time doing my best to mitigate the trauma to the animals I produce. I have to ask how many of you wear leather shoes or belts. Do you drive vehicles with leather seats? If you suffer from allergies or arthritis, been pregnant and taken iron you might want to read the labels of the drugs you take. Many of the medications today still rely on beef by-product. The ink in the glossy magazines you read....beef by-product. In fact the tires on the hybrid car you proudly drive contain a by product of beef. Like yogurt? You'd better think again....yep....it's got beef by-product. So, unless all of you animal lovers are ready to go naked, walk everywhere and suffer from numerous medical complaints I suggest you close your mouths.
Again Thanks!
I too am a vegetarian except for eating beef, pork, chicken, turkey, deer, fish, shellfish, and the like.
Some people need to understand (Kindgrl) that some of us just like meat and that is not going to change! You can post all the documentaries about the 1 in 100 bad processors and add boring sidenotes on how the animals get to processing, blah blah, but they taste good. I am also sure that the good meat processors are disturbed about the bad ones as well.
Cows, pigs and deer are put on this earth to eat! Think about it: they have no other purpose but to have some other carnivore eat them, be it another animal or human! Meat is full of protein, vitamins, iron, calcium, essential fats(fish), amino acids, etc. I dont want to have to be a vegetarian and eat all the foods that make you gassy to get these. Believe me I know from my vegetarian friends!
So All of us Carnivores: Lets raise our glasses, Thank the God above and go BBQ some good Meat and fill our belly! What the heck?! I will gladly give a couple years off my life to live pleasurably eating meat rather than chewing on a piece of fiber I dont want!
PS: And i have never,ever heard a Lobster scream!
An educated person who professes that others should eat meat is the lowest of the low. Consumptiom of red meat increases one's risk of bowel cancer by forty%. The EPA states that 90% of the Dioxins that Americans consume is from eating meat, diary and fish. There is no safe limit. Dioxin is produced from the incineration of medical waste and other industrial processes. The EPA has determined the body burden of the general US population is at or near the level that causes adverse health effects such as cancer, birth defects, low IQ and developmental delalys just to name a few. These toxins bioacumulate in the body and persist for decades. All cancer research points to a plant based diet for good health. So let us hope for more healthy people and more happy cows!!!!!!
You have confirmed exactly what I have seen with my own eyes.
As a farmer I also take great pride in the level of care I provide to my cattle and expect that to carry through every step until it reaches your plate so you can have the satisfaction of eating a tasty, healthy and nutritious meal.
So much for "Good Eats".
I have made the conscious decision that it is okay to eat animals. Accepting of the fact that my omnivorous diet requires the death of an animal, I appreciate knowing that the process by which they get onto my plate is as good as it can be (mind you, we're just talking slaughterhouses here). I know this process inside and out (literally) because I've witnessed, and have had a hand in it, thousands of times. Because I eat meat, I am a stakeholder in this industry.
Very minor points that could be challenged (more semantics than anything) is the statement about 450 "expert" butchers -- that's probably a stretch. Also, I wish we could just describe it for what it is - slaughtering and butchering - and not sugar coating it with "harvest" and "process."
No less, a noteworthy account and THANK YOU so very much for sharing it.