Hormel horrors continue to be brought to light. Compassion Over Killing’s gut-wrenching video, released in late 2015, has gone viral, viewed by millions and sparking international headlines. The undercover footage revealed egregious animal abuses at exclusive Hormel supplier Quality Pork Processors (QPP), including: animals being beaten, shocked, dragged – all out of view of federal government inspectors sick and injured pigs, known …
May 12 update: This week, USDA delayed this animal welfare standards rule for the second time and is now asking the public to comment on the protections—again! Please submit a comment here before the deadline on June 9. Suggested sample comment language: Secretary Perdue, as an American, I demand the organic animal welfare rule go into effect immediately. The final Organic Livestock and …
USDA: Protect Consumers From Deceptive Food Labels The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Animal Outlook (formerly Compassion Over Killing), representing more than six million consumers, submitted a joint comment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The comment sharply criticizes the agency’s Labeling Guideline on Documentation …
Late last year, COK’s gut-wrenching undercover video inside a Hormel Foods pig slaughterhouse went viral. The footage not only exposed extreme cruelty, but it also called into question the efficacy of the USDA’s high-speed slaughter pilot program, known as HIMP. This shocking story continues to garner attention — including a temporary USDA shutdown of the facility and a powerful letter …
Plant-based eating is rapidly on the rise — even in the military — and the meat industry is running scared. The effort is being led by Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa, which happens to be one of the largest animal agribusiness states in the US that also passed an ag-gag law in 2012. Enrst, who describes Meatless Mondays as “misguided …
Yesterday, a federal judge sentenced Jesse “Babe” Amaral, Jr, the owner of Rancho Feeding Corp, a California-based slaughter plant, to one year and a day in prison followed by two years of supervised release. This sentence was handed down after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Federal Meat Inspection Act. It was two years ago that Rancho Feeding …
Last night, Minnesota’s Austin Daily Herald reported that the USDA temporarily shut down Quality Pork Products (QPP) for humane handling violations. Based in Austin, MN, QPP is an exclusive Hormel supplier that was the center of an investigation released this past fall. It operates under a controversial USDA-approved pilot program known as HIMP, which allows for fewer government inspectors on site …
USDA: Halt high-speed slaughter expansion In an effort led by Congresswomen Rosa DeLauro (CT) and Louise Slaughter (NY), a bi-partisan group of 60 members of congress signed a powerfully-worded letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack urging the federal agency to delay the potential expansion of HIMP, a dangerous reduced-inspection, high-speed pig slaughter pilot program. The USDA previously said that its decision would come …
Just Mayo is still mayo, says FDA According to a new ruling by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Just Mayo, which is made without eggs, can still be called mayo. And while this may not have been a debate in most consumers’ minds, the egg industry has tried to thwart the success of this popular plant-based product that has …