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E. Coli 0157 is naturally present in the
intestines of cattle. During or around the processing time it is believed that
the fecal matter comes in contact with the beef and contaminates it. It gets
packaged anyway and gets shipped to your supermarket.
Dave Gifford, a student at
Trinity College, visited a slaughterhouse and wrote about his experience:
“I entered
the kill shed through a short, tunnel like hall through which I could see
what I soon learned was the third butchering station. The kill shed consisted
of one room in which a number of operations are performed by one or two
of six butchers at four stations along the length of the room. In the kill
shed there is also a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspector
who examines parts of every animal who goes through the kill shed.
“The first
station is the killing station. It is worked by one man whose job is to
herd the animal into the killing stall, slaughter him or her, and begin
the butchering process. This stage of the process takes about ten minutes
for each animal, and begins with the opening of a heavy steel door that
separates the killing stall from the waiting chute. The man working this
station must then go into a corridor adjacent to the waiting chute, and
prod his next victim into the killing stall with a high voltage electric
cattle prod.
“This
is the most time consuming part of the operation because the cattle are
fully aware of what lies ahead, and are determined not to enter the killing
stall. The physical symptoms of terror were painfully evident on the faces
of each and every animal I saw either in the actual killing stall or in
the waiting chute.
“During
the 40 seconds to a minute that each animal had to wait in the killing
stall before losing consciousness, the terror became visibly more intense.
The animal could smell the blood, and see his or her former companions
in various stages of dismemberment. During the last few seconds of life,
the animal thrashes about the stall as much as its confines allow.
“All four
of the cows whose deaths I witnessed strained frantically, futilely, and
pathetically towards the ceiling -- the only direction that was not blocked
by a steel door. Death came in the form of a pneumatic nail gun that was
placed against their heads and fired.”
Satchell
and Hedges tell us “Agricultural refuse such as corncobs, rice hulls, fruit
and vegetable peelings, along with grain byproducts from retail production
of baked goods, cereals, and beer, have long been used to fatten cattle.”
The authors
continued, “In addition, some 40 billion pounds a year of slaughterhouse
wastes like blood, bone, and viscera, as well as the remains of millions
of euphemized cats and dogs passed along by veterinarians and animal shelters,
are rendered annually into livestock feed and in the process, turning cattle
and hogs, which are natural herbivores, into unwitting carnivores.”
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