Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat IndustryWhat started out, with a single complaint about a Florida slaughterhouse turned into a tale of intrigue and suspense as investigator Gail A. Eisnitz unearthed more startling information about the meat and poultry Americans consume. This shocking story follows Eisnitz as she becomes submerged in a slaughterhouse subculture, venturing deeper and deeper into the lives of the workers. As the stakes become higher in her David-and-Goliath-type battle, this determined young woman finds herself courageously taking on one of America's most powerful industries. Slaughterhouse takes readers on a frightening but true journey from one slaughterhouse to another throughout the country. Along the way we encounter example after example of mistreated animals...intolerable working conditions...lax standards...the slow, painful deaths of children killed as a result of eating contaminated meat...the author's battle with the major television networks...and a dangerously corrupt federal agency that chooses to do nothing rather than risk the wrath of agribusiness...before the whole affair is blown wide open in this powerful expose. In an effort to understand how such rampant violations could occur right under the noses of U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors - the individuals charged with enforcing humane regulations in slaughterhouses - Eisnitz examines the inspectors' track record for enforcing meat and poultry safety regulations, their primary responsibility. Following a long paper trail, she learns that contaminated meat and poultry are pouring out of federally inspected slaughterhouses and, not surprisingly, deaths from foodborne illness have quadrupled in the United States in the lastfifteen years. Determined to tell the whole story, Eisnitz then examines the physical price paid by employees working in one of America's most dangerous industries. In addition to suffering disfiguring injuries and crippling repetitive motion disorders, employees describe tyrannical working conditions in which grievances are met with severe reprisals or dismissals. |
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Page 20
... knocking box " or up to a conveyor / re- strainer , which then carries them up to the " stun operator . " The stun ... knocking gun is suffi- ciently powered , well maintained , and properly used by the operator , it knocks the cow ...
... knocking box " or up to a conveyor / re- strainer , which then carries them up to the " stun operator . " The stun ... knocking gun is suffi- ciently powered , well maintained , and properly used by the operator , it knocks the cow ...
Page 139
... knocking box . " There's a certain way to shoot or knock an animal , ” he said . " I seen them shoot them five times , hit them all in the eye . Hit them in the neck . I seen horses get shot wrong and get right back up and walk around ...
... knocking box . " There's a certain way to shoot or knock an animal , ” he said . " I seen them shoot them five times , hit them all in the eye . Hit them in the neck . I seen horses get shot wrong and get right back up and walk around ...
Page 148
... knocking box , walking with great hesitation in each step . In the first photos , their coats would shine with a healthy luster , their manes carefully groomed . In the next , their blood- stained hides were being peeled from their ...
... knocking box , walking with great hesitation in each step . In the first photos , their coats would shine with a healthy luster , their manes carefully groomed . In the next , their blood- stained hides were being peeled from their ...
Contents
Acknowledgments | 9 |
The Stickers Confessions | 59 |
The Man with the Scar | 61 |
Copyright | |
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Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, And Inhumane Treatment ... Gail A. Eisnitz No preview available - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
agency alive animal's animals asked beat beef birds bleed blood pit brucellosis carcass Carney Carol Taylor cattle chain chickens chutes clenbuterol coli conscious contamination cows death drag employees enforce eyes farm feces federal foodborne illness foreman Government Accountability Project HACCP hang head Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome hog's horses Humane Slaughter Act intestines investigation Kaplan kicking kill floor knocking box line speeds live hogs look Macias meat and poultry meat industry meat inspectors Morrell Morrell's night percent plant poultry problem prod production pull scalding tank seen shackled shackler shit skin slaughterhouse Sometimes stick pit sticker stop the line story Streamlined Inspection stuck stun operator stunner supervisor talk tape tell There's thing Tice Timothy Walker tions told Tom Devine truck trying Tyson Tyson Foods union USDA officials USDA veterinarian USDA's veal violations Vladak walk whistleblowers workers