RapSheet on Animal Factories
‘Would you like to know if the corporate animal factory that’s
planning to produce thousands of animals in your community is going
to be a good neighbor?’ Part of a campaign to protect the earth
from the pollution of corporate factory farms, The Sierra
Club, America’s environmental caretaker and watchdog, has
spent two years compiling government records on the meat industry’s
breeding grounds and slaughterhouses. Among the disturbing data
from 630 factories in 44 states, researchers found water pollution
from millions of gallons of animal waste flowing into waterways,
entire slaughterhouses of contaminated meat, and numerous workplace
deaths.
This ‘rapsheet on animal factories’ lists companies by both state
and operator, ranks the Top (or bottom) 10 Worst Slaughterhouses,
and provides a glossary of terms. The findings are grossly
alarming: Their research on Tyson foods, for example, included
convictions of conspiracy to smuggle illegal aliens at the Ashland,
Alabama, plant, records of 17,280 pounds of recalled meat in 1998
at the Gadsen, Alabama, plant, and seven worker deaths in 1999
alone. Yet amidst these revelations on the country’s biggest food
companies, the Web site also suggests alternatives, with a search
engine and a link to the USDA’s Guide to Farmers’ Markets.
–Abbie Jarman
Go there>>
