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Animal Cruelty Tape Prompts Schools' Burger Reprieve
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 10, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 10, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Video of "Meat and You: Partners in Freedom" from The Simpsons episode, Lisa the Vegetarian
After the Humane Society revealed a tape of mistreatment of cows at the nation's "No. 2 supplier of ground beef to the National School Lunch Program," burgers and other beef products were temporarily yanked off NYC schools' menus. The U.S. Department of Agriculture had put an "administrative hold" on all products from Hallmark Meat Packing Packing in Chino, CA and asked all schools to stop using products from Westland/Hallmark Meat.
Newsday reported NY state officials were able to determine that no products from Hallmark were "delivered to the USDA distribution centers that service Long Island and New York City schools." Sick, injured cows are more susceptible to bacteria and diseases like mad cow disease, and the Humane Society's video had shown workers, per the HSUS, "kicking cows, ramming them with the blades of a forklift, jabbing them in the eyes, applying painful electrical shocks and even torturing them with a hose and water in attempts to force sick or injured animals to walk to slaughter."
According to the NYC's Department of Education, 300,000 burgers are served in NYC cafeterias a week (about 800,000 meals are served a day). It's unclear whether any downed cows made it into the food supply (the U.S.D.A. says not, the Humane Society says there may have been some commingling); the Office of the Inspector General is investigating.
Here's the USDA's Q&A about the matter.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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