The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has released an undercover video, documenting three months of abuses that occurred at a pig farm in Iowa that supplies Hormel Foods. I tried to force myself to watch the video so I could write this blog post, but I couldn't make it through. I've read books about animal abuse on factory farms, I've seen pictures, and I've even seen a few videos. They're all disgusting, of course. But this one was even worse.
When I see animals tortured, I think of my dogs. I imagine people kicking them, beating them. They don't deserve that, and neither did these pigs.
At the beginning of the video, after a blood-curdling scream, we see someone beating a pig and then telling the undercover PETA investigator, "Don't be afraid to hurt 'em."
In the next scene an employee says, "When I get pissed or get hurt or the fuckin' bitch won't move, I grab one of those rods and jam it in her asshole."
In another scene "a worker slams piglets deemed 'runts' headfirst into the concrete floor in an attempt to kill them." These little babies lie in a bloody pile and twitch because they're not dead yet.
I had to stop watching the video after that. But here is a list of other abuses:
• A supervisor shoved a cane into a sow's vagina, struck her on the back about 17 times, and then struck another sow.Of course, the executives of the company and those at Hormel said the abuse was "completely intolerable, reprehensible" and "completely unacceptable." And the director of science and technology at the National Pork Producers Council also said the abuse was unacceptable.
• Multiple pigs were beaten with metal gate rods, and lacerations were found on more than 30 sows - which is probably evidence of more abuse.
• A worker hit a young pig in the face four times with the edge of a herding board, and investigators witnessed dozens of similar incidents involving this worker and 11 other workers.
• Two men - including a supervisor - were witnessed jabbing clothespins into pigs' eyes and faces. A supervisor also poked two animals in the eyes with his fingers.
• A supervisor kicked a young pig in the face, abdomen, and genitals to make her move and told PETA's investigator, "You gotta beat on the bitch. Make her cry."
• A worker who weighed an estimated 315 lbs. punched a sow on the back three times and said that he sat on a sow's head.
• An employee sprayed blue paint into the nostrils and face of a sow for over 30 seconds.
"Our industry is committed to handling pigs humanely," she said. "My industry is full of good people."Yeah, looks like it. Unfortunately, history hasn't shown that to be the case -- with pigs or cows or chickens or turkeys. And it's animal-rights groups who have to document the abuse and make it public in order for the industry to take notice.
I'm reading "Slaughterhouse" by Gail A. Eisnitz right now. It was published in 1997 -- 11 years ago. And nothing has changed.
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2 comments:
I did NOT watch the video. The last thing I saw was a video imbedded on Stephanie's blog ("This is not acceptable"). But normally, I avoid watching that stuff. Ugh.. It's just so upsetting, there aren't any words. Besides, I'm already a vegan, at some point I need to stop getting upset over it & actually do something.
Anyway, didn't use the PeTA form letter, I actually wrote to Hormel using the "contact us" form on their website. I urged them to use their position as a nationally recognizable brand to be an example for the smaller companies. I was not rude, I wasn't obnoxious, I tried to think my thoughts through before passionately whipping out the email.
They did send a reply, it was mostly a combination of excerpts from
Animal Welfare & Husbandry
and Animal Welfare Statement, almost word for word from these two pages.
I used to think that all it would take to turn someone vegan, or at least buy from family farms, was to see images of animal of abuse. So I planned to show “Earthlings” in small groups. I started with what I thought would be my easiest audience—a cousin who loves animals and whose favorite book is “The Jungle.” So I was floored when she shrugged at the end and said, “Ah, well, what are you going to do?” I said, “I choose not to support these industries.” It’s the only time she’s raised her voice at me to scream, “Then there’d be nothing to eat!” It soured me on doing any more showings, but I have lent the movie out to several people who have been profoundly affected. It just goes to show that you can never judge who will or won’t be open to the material. For example, a co-worker who said she’d never give up chicken became not only vegetarian, but vegan a month later after reading excerpts from “Slaughterhouse.”
Thanks for getting the word out, Tracy.
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