The Last Roundup: Slaughter of spent dairy cows raises health concerns

[WarholPop]

A videotape of crippled “downer” cows being mistreated at a California plant prompted outrage from animal welfare groups, a rebuke from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the plant’s closure, criminal charges, a lawsuit, congressional hearings and the largest meat recall in U.S. history. But the video also has focused new light on a practice that some animal welfare and food safety experts contend is an old problem: the use in beef production of dairy cows that are spent and barely able to stand, due to calcium depletion from being milked intensively for years. “Now that the public has seen this Humane Society footage, it’s horrific but it’s not exceptional,” said Keith Mohler, a Humane Society officer in Pennsylvania who has led prosecutions in farm animal mistreatment cases. “It’s great that it was brought out, but it’s not uncommon.”

Opinion piece from today's Buffalo News: http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/295136.html

[flvegan]

1. Folks might keep in mind that these cows are in this state because of the dairy industry.

Dairy is the worst crap you can put in your body. Nothing but toxic.

Stopping the cycle by limiting meat intake is a good step. Stopping the cycle by also limiting diary (milk, cheese, whey, etc) intake is another.

[WarholPop]

3. I Never Knew

until I read this article that a significant portion of the cows used for beef were *retired* dairy cows. I must confess that I do use dairy and meat *products* but the more I learn about the suffering these animals endure the more distasteful my dietary habits become. I wish there was more public exposure of these practices, and I give major props to the people who investigate the subject. I think if we all knew the true extent of how animals for consumption are treated then we would have a country of vegans; I'm not there yet, but the more I learn the closer I come to adopting that position.

[kestrel91316]

2. If the cows are just old and decrepit, that's one thing. If they're

suffering from Mad Cow and THAT'S why they're decrepit, that's another thing entirely.

Dairy cows DO age and become ill and can't do their jobs anymore. I hope people aren't suggesting they be put out to pasture in cow retirement homes.......slaughter is just like euthanasia when done humanely, with the difference being the meat is USEABLE after slaughter.

[madrchsod]

4. "canners and cutters"

soups, ground and potted meat. yummy stuff.....