Beef recall

[dutch pride]

Has anyone seen on the news today about a recent beef recall? Just another black eye for the beef industry. How can we as producers fight in the marketplace with this negative publicity that we have no contoll over.

As a side note the local TV station showed a group of Holstein Dairy cows eating while they talked about this story.

DLZ

 

[renegade]

They showed differnt dairy cattle eating while talking about it around here. I wonder what dairies are letting them use that shot. Also all of schools around here have taken beef off of the menu. I guess it could raise intrest in buying home grown beef from someone down the road and having it butchered your self.

 

[Diamond]

they showed the dairy cattle at the slaughter house being rolled over and pushed by a fork lift...even I was appaled. However, most people arn't going to realise that its there idiot workers and they will blame farmers.

 

[Jill]

I don't understand what the recall is.  On the news here the way they talk they don't know that there is anything wrong with the meat, the recall is strickly based off the video of the slaughter house.  I know when we butcher here there is a USDA meat inspector that stands there to make sure you're doing everything correctly, they can't kill without the inspector, where was the inspector when these cattle were slaughtered?

 

[Show Heifer]

The recall is based on the fear that these "downer" cows had BSE which makes cows unable to stand or walk.
The inspector was probably on the kill floor, not out in the pens.

How to fight the bad PR....what about calling your local TV station and telling YOUR story about raising beef? Ask them out to your farm and tell them how you care for your livestock. Write a story about how your livestock operation works and send it to a local paper. 
Ask your local grocery story to see if they would allow you to put up fliers about how your beef is raised and how you believe it should be raised everywhere. Tell them that as a beef producer YOU were appalled by the slaughterhouse.
EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE.

 

[shorthorns r us]

The recall is based on the fear that these "downer" cows had BSE which makes cows unable to stand or walk.
The inspector was probably on the kill floor, not out in the pens.

How to fight the bad PR....what about calling your local TV station and telling YOUR story about raising beef? Ask them out to your farm and tell them how you care for your livestock. Write a story about how your livestock operation works and send it to a local paper. 
Ask your local grocery story to see if they would allow you to put up fliers about how your beef is raised and how you believe it should be raised everywhere. Tell them that as a beef producer YOU were appalled by the slaughterhouse.
EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE.

Maybe some of us could work together to prepare some of these materials

 

[Doc]

I've been out of town, just got home & saw on the morning news that there was 32 counties in TN not accepting meat from this company for the school lunch program.

 

[knabe]

CA perspective.

they have been interviewing local producers, livestock auction yards and independent, meat market based businesses.  most people displayed on the news seemed willing to consider "high" quality and realize that their money does help when they support a higher quality product. 

still haven't seen any reports on what one is supposed to do with these cattle, how short of a time it takes for them to get that way.

they supposedly have arrested a few people and are pressing charges.

i have to wonder if these guys weren't encouraged or set up or taken advantage of culturally as where they came from it's just not that big of a deal.  like bringing in people to work at the slaughter plant that come from a society that dog fights and cockfights.  they probably thought they were doing the right thing.

i think the company has ceased operations, and the assets will reemerge somehow.

 

[renegade]

I find it kinda hard to believe that these guys would willingly slaughter a cow that could have BSE or any # of diseases that they, their family, and friends may possibly be eating. Deductive reasoning brings me to think this but i could ablsolutely be wrong because people can be idiots.

 

[showsteerdlux]

#1 these cows did not have bse. The meat is not contaminated but was recalled due to the mistreatment of the animals. Most of these cows could have been sick paralyzed or any other number of problems. Them being downers doesnt mean that they had bse or contaminated meat.

 

[knabe]

i may be wrong, but this is the largest level 2 recall ever.  level 1 would supposedly be contamination.

this appears to be precautionary

http://www.brownfieldnetwork.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=2A88FCDB-D4DE-1315-5A79DEB6B457E0D1

And Raymond said the USDA investigation has turned up evidence that plant employees were allowing non-ambulatory or "downer" cattle to go to slaughter in violation of USDA rules aimed at keeping bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) from entering the human food supply. All the cattle in question evidently passed USDA veterinary inspectors before becoming non-ambulatory. And that’s why Raymond said the recall announced Sunday is a Class II or lower-level priority recall, and not the more dangerous Class I-type recall.

"Federal regulations exist for a reason – to protect public health," Harkin said in the statement. "For Hallmark/Westland to issue a recall that goes back two years indicates that violations may have been long-term," he added. "For that reason, USDA must evaluate and strengthen inspections prior to slaughter to ensure this does not happen again."


the politicians will resist no opportunity to blame bush for something that appears to have happened in late 2007.  what a jerk.  why wasn't he on top of it?  too busy worrying about roger clemens?