the Truth Behind Slaughterhouses

                                Michelle Chambers
                                Research Paper
                           
The Truth Behind Slaughterhouses


    American citizens and government officials have turned a blind eye on food industries.

The way they operate and how that can effect lives. American slaughter houses have became a

place of torture and a means of entertainment. They are filthy, contain horrible conditions and

are unsuccessful. Shining a light on the conditions of the slaughterhouse and the treatment of

animals can maybe spark some change. How can we better these slaughterhouses for these

animals, workers, and consumers?

    The treatment of animals at slaughterhouses are inhumane. Many of the animals that we

consume on a daily basis are being brutally killed in these slaughterhouses. Turkeys with broken
   
wings and legs, bloody open wounds, tumors and other untreated injuries are being slaughtered

for human consumption. According to the Vegan Outreach program, in the article “If

Slaughterhouse Had Glass Walls,” “Animals in slaughterhouses can smell, hear, and often see

the slaughter of those before them.” imagine knowing you are going to be killed but cant do

absolutely nothing about it. The Federal law requires that mammals be stunned prior to slaughter

(exempting kosher and halal) (Vegan Outreach), but in most cases animals are still conscious

when having their throats sliced, and are not given any pain killers during the process.   

    Workers in slaughterhouses have become so desensitized to killing these animals that

they physically abuse them before slaughter, just for fun. The article “Animal Cruelty in

Slaughterhouses,” appeared in “the College Hill,” a community college newspaper of Sussex

County, stated that “Employees of Kentucky Fried Chicken, one of the biggest fast food chains

of poultry, were caught in July 2004, torturing their chickens for fun. Workers were videoed

stomping on chickens, kicking them, and slamming them violently against floors and walls.

Workers also ripped the animals’ beaks, twisted their heads off, spray-painted their faces and

faces, and squeezed the chickens’ bodies until they would die.” These workers have lost all type

of emotional attachment to these animals. Due to the fact that these workers perform the same

task all day everyday for a number of hours, they tend to become bored and stressed, so their

form of entertainment on the job is to physically abuse these animals. It has been documented of

some incidents where there are supervisors on duty witnessing these actions of the workers but

do not say anything. According to “Mercy for Animals.” there is no type of control on these

workers to prevent these incidents.

    Majority of workers in the United States slaughterhouses are illegal immigrants. These

workers are hired by these corporations because they can be paid below minimum wage, they are

easily replaceable and there is no fear that these workers would unionize. These illegal

immigrants are young, inexperienced and have little to non educational background, and are out

to work in one the most dangerous jobs. Many illegal workers have been killed due to the lack of

experience and the dangerous conditions they are put under. In Eric Schlosser’s “Fast Food

Nation” there is a entire chapter dedicated to the dangerous jobs that were given to these

immigrants. In this chapter labeled “The Most Dangerous Jobs” there are some factual incidents

where employees have been injured and even killed on the job. There was an incident where a

illegal immigrant worker named Raoul severely injured his shoulder and tendon. He was driven

to the hospital to receive stitches ans as soon as he was all finished, he was driven back to work ,

where he was dripping blood all over. Sometimes employees were asked to climb into gigantic

blood tanks and gut bins to unclog drains, according to Eric Schlosser’s findings. To clean these

huge tanks was a liquid called chlorine mix. “Chlorine is a hazardous chemical that can be

inhaled or absorbed through the skin, causing a litany of health problems [Eric Schlosser].”

There is a task called the “gutter” as a former IBP employee in Fast Food Nation described, is a

person that removes all of the guts from animals. An unskilled, inexperience worker can

improperly remove an animal to spray all over. As the former IBP worker explained it took him

6 months to learn how to properly gut an animal without the spraying of manure. The manure

that was sprayed out of these animals, due to improperly gutting, can lead to contamination of

the products.

    The way corporations conduct their slaughterhouses are not successful. Many animals are


killed before they even reach the slaughterhouse, and workers tend to kill healthy animal, mostly


chickens and turkeys, for entertainment. All of these animals being killed either before


slaughter or for fun, is a loss of product for these corporations. When product is being loss profit


will also decrease. Even trying to get the animals, especially larger animals, to behave is time


consuming and can lead to a loss in profit. These large corporations are knowledgeable about


these incidents but are not doing anything to prevent then from happening. Dr. Temple Grandin


is a designer of livestock handling facilities and author of “ Thinking In Pictures and Other


Reports from My Life with Autism.” in her book, Dr. Temple Grandin pin points the problems


that human beings have done to animals that has made these slaughterhouses unsuccessful. Dr.


Temple Grandin states that “Mistreatment by people is the number one causing of animals


becoming frightened.” Management is also a lead contributor of the operation not being


successful. “Some people buy new equipment and think that is a substitute for good


management, over years I have seen animal handling improve with a change in management, and

I have seen it get rough and nasty when a good manager left [No Manager, No Control].” if


managers and workers had more of an emotional attachment to these animals, American


slaughterhouses would not only be more successful but less inhumane.

   
    With no change in slaughterhouse conditions, treatment of animals and workers,


consumers can be effected. The conditions of American slaughterhouses are filthy and hold a


foul odor. Animals sit all day in a crowded facility drenched in manure, awaiting some type of


disease to eat away at there bodies. Due to these horrible conditions contamination can occur.


Deadly pathogens such as E-coli 0157: H7 can spread and lead to a supermarket near you.

The Disgusting Truth About What Our Meat Is Being Fed ! YUCK !

"They’re designed to eat grass and, maybe, grain. I mean, they have four stomachs for a reason- to eat products that have a high cellulose content. They are not designed to eat other animals.”

 -Steven P. Bjerklie

Quote Found On Page 202 of "Fast Food Nation" -Eric Schlosser

                I Find this to be BEYOND disgusting. The cattles that are being slaughtered to become our next meal are being fed dead cats, dogs, and chickens. Cattle's are natural herbivores. Their body isn’t built to digest ANY meat products. Yea, us human beings consume dead animals on a daily basis, but our body is designed to digest these types of material. It even takes our bodies 15 days to digest these meats. Due to feeding these cattle dead meat the “mad cow disease” began.  The sad part about it is that current FDA regulations still allow dead pigs, horses and chickens to be fed to these cattles.  Sawdust and waste products from poultry plants are also being fed to the cattle. 3 million pounds of manure from chicken has been fed to cattles. This is like you yourself as the consumer eating pounds of chicken manure.  YUCK, yea I know I felt the same way.

            Feeding these cattle dead animals can lead to all types of disease.  The food borne illness that is mentioned a lot throughout this passage is E-coli 0157: H7. When a single cattle is infected with E-coli 0157: H7, it can contaminate thousands of pounds of meat that was produced at that plant. This pathogen causes bloody diarrhea, bloody urine, vomiting and excruciating pains in the abdomen area. This pathogen can also be fatal in children.

           So the question that we all must be asking ourselves is, why do these corporations feed these cattle dead animals? WELL, due to the rise in grain, corporations had no other option than to fed these cattle dead animals. Dead animals are the only material that is still high in protein and can still accelerate growth. Because of the high demand of meat, corporations are left no other choice.

So lets all think about where that hambuger you might eat really came from and what it is REALLY made out of! (MANURE!!!!!)

Prospectus

    I have always had an interest in the treatment of animals in the slaughter house. I feel that the conditions that the animals have to endure are inhumane. They are filthy, contains a horrible odor, and isn’t successful. These dirty slaughter houses can cause foods to become contaminated and poses a real threat for us Americans. These conditions aren’t to be blamed on the workers but the corporation for which they work for. Shining a light on the conditions of the slaughter house and the treatment of the animals can maybe spark some change.
    My concern is centrally based on the animals. Are they treated humanly? Are they still alive when having their throats sliced? How can we make this situation better to reduce all risks of contamination? How can we stop workers from brutally attacking helpless animals? There is a problem here that clearly needs to be fixed. The government, corporations and American citizens must work together to make some changes for the better.
    To help propose my argument to my readers I will use a vase amount of outside sources. Quotations from credible authors would also be obtained during my research process. I will use the LaGuardia College subscription database system to receive newspaper articles or scholarly journals in my paper. Eric Scholsser’s, Fast Food Nation chapter 8 “Dangerous Jobs” will help show my audience the conditions of the slaughter houses.

My First Slip Up .. In Fast Food Rehab !

So ...... as I expected I indeed had a slip up. I know, I know its only the first week and I converted right back to the old way. On Tuesday,during the break right after Environmental Ethics class,(sigh) I couldn't help but go directly across the street from the M building to the pizza shop. As I walked to the pizza shop I felt normal even though I knew I wasn't supposed to be eating fast food. I ordered myself 1 slice with pepperoni topping. I thought about whether or not this would full me ... and then I found myself walking to the 7/11 to get 6 BBQ wings. While I was eating my overly greasy pepperoni pizza and my beyond dry BBQ wings.. I began to think how disgusting the meal really was. I began to feel guilty. I couldn't even finish the pizza or the wings... I Just stuck to my poor little bottle of water.

Addicted To Fast Food ... Not Me!! (ReWrite)

Life has always been a rush for me. I wake  up early in the morning to go to school, work, or just to do some household chores. I don't really get to eat at home much, probably only on Sundays. My breakfast usually consists of two glazed dounts and a medium hot chocolate from Dunkin Donuts. Lunch, if at school, is usually two slices of pizza and an 18 oz soda. If at work, lunch is usually a banana and water. Dinner is the best part, jerk chicken, stew chicken, rice & peas anything I want. After reading about all the negavtives of fast food I can't yet shake it from my life. I eat fast food almost every day, but I don't consider myself "addicted" as my mom would say. I feel that I can give up fast food any day of the week.

It is scientifically proven that fast food can indeed be "ADDICTIVE". The manufactured taste... to the tons and tons of sugar causes your body to always crave more. For this whole semester I have made a commitment to myself, family and friends to give up fast food. I would be faced with day to day struggles. Coming out of the train station to be met by the two golden arches of McDonald's or be forced to walk greater distances to the organic food spots. Going through this "Fast Food Withdrawal" would not only take a toll on me physical but also mentally and financially. I would have slip up's here and there ... I mean no one is perfect but I will have to learn to come up with a strategy to overcome those mid-day cravings. The obstacles for this challenge will be very tough, but I am ready to see how long this will last.

Every day I would have to make the decision of saying NO! to fast food and Yes! to healthy. Trying to resist the temptation of the triumphant fast food will be hard but I am willing to give it a try. I would note down the things I ate and what I tried not to eat :) . As a reader you will experience the journey I am about to undertake. View pictures of what I ate and places that I passed and tried to resist. Read about Michelle going through a "Fast Food Withdrawal" At the end of this experiment I hope to enlighten my audience about how much of an impact fast food has on a persons life. Hoping both you and I can grasp the concept of making healthier food choices.

Addicated To Fast Food.... Not Me!!!

Life has always been a rush for me. I wake up early in the morning to go to school, work, or just to do some household chores. I don't really get to eat at home much, probably only on Sundays. My breakfast usually consists of two glazed donuts and a medium hot chocolate from Dunkin Donuts. Lunch, if at school, is usually slices of pizza and a 18 oz soda. If at work, lunch is usually a banana and water. Dinner is the best part, jerk chicken, stew chicken, rice & peas anything I want. After reading about all the negatives of fast food I can't yet shake it from my life. I eat fast food almost everyday, but I don't consider myself "addicted" as my mom would say. I feel that I can give it up fast food any day of the week. So here goes my experiment. I agreed to give up fast food for this whole semester. I intend to prove to my mother that I can indeed  stop and learn to make healthier food choices, although it might be hard.

Everyday for the rest of the semester I would be faced with challenges of saying NO to fast food and Yes to veggies. trying to resist the temptation of the triumphant fast food will be tough. Be prepared to read and experience those day to day obstacles of Michelle going through a fast food withdrawal.

Problem-Posing

Problem: McDonald's marketing and advertising unhealthy products in an area that is made for educating. McDonald's does not care about the welfare of American kids today. All they care about is how much money they can make.


Quotation: "In the early days Ray Kroc flew in a Cessna to find schools, aiming to put new restaurants nearby."


Personalize Problem: When I was in high school there was literally a McDonald's down the block from my school. This McDonald's was the center point of all gossip and entertainment that everyone would just come to hang out and eat. This would happen everyday, in the mornings and evenings. Kids couldn't wait to leave school to go to McDonald's. It got to the point where students would offer to buy the security guards food if they let them exit the building, just to purchase food from McDonald's, and surprisingly the security guards would agree.


Solution that failed: One solution that the government has taken was advertising healthy eating habits in schools and how to make healthy food choices. This plan failed because it didn't stop McDonald's from building establishments near schools.


My Solution: If I had to give a solution that would create a change in students diets, I would provide a course that is mandatory for students to take that educates them on exactly where and how McDonald's creates their food. Another solution I have is to pass a law that states that McDonald's organizations must be a certain amount of miles away from school facilities.