Downer Cows Fed to Our Kids And We Never Knew

Posted by Fred Pritzker in Food Safety

The Westland/Hallmark meat scandal came to public attention in early 2008. In a nutshell, undercover video taken by The Humane Society of the United States at this Chino, California, slaughter facility showed grossly inhumane treatment of cows too weak to walk.

The downed cows were rammed with forklifts. They were sprayed with high-pressure water hoses. They were shocked with electricity.

Too sick to walk and never examined by a vet as required by food safety laws, the animals were made into meat that was part of the national school lunch program that feeds 33 million kids a day. Since the initial outrage erupted and criminal convictions were gained against two plant workers for animal cruelty, news of the case has subsided. But important new information is still surfacing.

According to a publication called Meatingplace, a Department of Justice lawsuit against Westland/Hallmark has been amended with new allegations — including one that the slaughterhouse for old dairy cows slaughtered and intentionally processed downer cattle on the average of once every six weeks over four years. Inhumane treatment of the animals happened nearly daily, according to the lawsuit, which was originally filed in May to join the Humane Society’s landmark False Claims lawsuit against the owners of the now-defunct company.

The inhumane and unsafe practices were in violation of contracts the company had with the school lunch program, to provide wholesome meat, according to the allegations. The government’s suit is seeking recovery of more than $150,000 million in contract payments.

The entire case raises serious questions about the effectiveness of federal scrutiny of meat plants, especially those we entrust to feed our children. Kids and senior citizens are by far the most vulnerable segments of our population when it comes to foodborne illness. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is in charge of overseeing slaughter plants, and taxpayers fund a continuous inspection presence at these facilities.

If inhumane treatment was happening every day and the company was routinely and intentionally violating food safety laws by processing downer cows without veterinarian inspection, how did the inspectors miss it? The USDA’s Office of Inspector General issued a lengthy report last year saying the problem was not systemic, but what kind of “system” is it that allowed an “isolated” case of such chronic and malicious behavior?

In addition, the latest allegations in the government lawsuit also charge that Westland/Hallmark intentionally kept from legal disclosure that a business partner in the company was a twice-convicted felon, according to Meatingplace. Such disclosures would have made the plant ineligible for federal contracts. Whatever happened to background checks?

The judge in the case is giving the defendants until October 13 to respond and we at national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen attorneys will continue to monitor the progress.