Posted: November 6th, 2009 - 7:57am
Source: Burlington Free Press

The events that led to the closure of a Grand Isle slaughterhouse point to problems that go beyond the mistreatment of animals -- the allegations are bad enough on their own -- to a failure of the system that is supposed to protect the integrity of the food we eat.
Video taken by a private undercover investigator shows workers at Bushway Packing Inc. -- a small, certified organic slaughterhouse -- "shocking, kicking, slapping and inadequately stunning veal calves before slaughter." That led the state to pull the company's license.
Some of this abuse happened in the presence of a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector who was there in part to ensure the humane treatment of animals headed to slaughter, a situation U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack called "inexcusable."
It gets worse.
The USDA had cited the slaughterhouse three times this year for mistreating animals, but Vermont agriculture officials were unaware of the previous violations because federal inspectors are not required to relay violations to the state that issues the company's license to be in business.
It took undercover work by the Humane Society of the United States -- rather than government agencies responsible for food safety -- to bring the abuse before the public and force government action.
The failure of the USDA inspection system and the lack of communication between state and federal regulators pose a health hazard to anyone who consumes meat from the slaughterhouse.
The mistreatment of animals has a direct impact on the safety of the food we eat.
There is no excuse for federal inspectors who fail to enforce federal laws meant to keep our food safe. There is no reason for the wall that apparently separates state and federal regulators and keeps them from working together to make the best use of limited resources.
If the Bushway Packing case is an example of how well our nation's food safety system works, we all have a reason to be concerned about the safety of what we eat.