Posted: November 17th, 2011 - 10:34pm
Source: Meatingplace

Identifying problems with animals before they reach the slaughterhouse and using video monitoring to show the public advancements made in livestock handling will be key for the industry going forward, Temple Grandin said Thursday.
The industry has made huge improvements in how animals are handled and stunned over the past twenty years thanks to extensive data collection and auditing as well as changes in management attitudes and the cultures within plants, Grandin said on a webinar sponsored by the American Meat Institute and Alchemy.
“In the future, we are going to have to be looking at problems out on the farm and how they affect handling. Pigs come in and they are so wild and crazy that you can barely handle them. Cattle come in lame and heat-stressed. I’ve got to have an animal that I can handle,” said Grandin, a pioneer in developing humane animal handling systems and well-known advocate for people with autism.
Grandin said she is a big fan of video monitoring at the slaughterhouse to find where improvements are needed, but also to show the public how far the industry has come.
“Consumers are getting increasingly concerned about how animals are being raised. The public has a real hunger to start finding out where their food is coming from. As an industry, we need to be opening up the door electronically and just show them how it works,” she said.
Video auditing, however, has to be done by an independent third party, if it is to be effective, she stressed. “The reason you need it is the dedicated people at the plant slack off on it. It needs to be somebody off-site looking at it to really make it work. You need to have some outside oversight,” Grandin said.
She also believes bad practices within a plant have to be changed from the top down. “You’ve got to have a manager that is behind it,” she said. “It’s got to start with management. “
Grandin addressed how she persevered despite resistance to her ideas in the early days to become a catalyst for tremendous change across the industry.
“What kept me going is there were some places, some good plants, that really did things right. That’s what kept me going. I knew things could be done right,” she said.
The subject of an Emmy Award-winning movie about her life and work, the Colorado State University professor said she considers dealing with the attention she has received to be part of her duty.
“I consider it a responsibility,” she said. “Since the movie has come out, I’ve had a lot of children write to me. I treat it as a responsibility.”