Hormel supplier abuses pigs

PETA video shows pigs abused at Iowa farm

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- An undercover video taken at an Iowa pig farm shows workers hitting sows with metal rods, slamming piglets on a concrete floor and bragging about jamming rods up into sows' hindquarters.
On the video, obtained by The Associated Press, a supervisor tells an undercover investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that when he gets angry or a sow won't move, "I grab one of these rods and jam it in her ass.""

"...According to PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich, the video shows eight people directly abusing animals.
"Abuse on factory farms is the absolute norm, not the exception, and anyone eating factory-farmed meat is paying to support it," Friedrich said."

I think PETA is a terrorist and extremist organization, and anything they have to say should be taken as suspect - but I'm inclined to believe Bruce Friedrich regarding abuse on factory farms being the norm. Why? How many of these hog CAFO facilities are open to the public? Why'd they have to go undercover to obtain this video?

Any place that produces food we eat ought to provide absolute transparency. Want to tour the facility? Sure thing - come on down anytime, we'll show you around. Think the USDA has your back? Just remember that the 6.6 million pounds of ground beef recalled this summer by Nebraska beef was from a USDA inspected operation.

We've had our heads in the sand far too long when it comes to meat. If you're going to eat it, you should know where it comes from. This is why I don't buy fast food anymore. This is exactly why all of my meat comes from small farmers that live near me and that I trust. Ready to ditch Hormel? There are alternatives.

In agribusiness the bottom line is all that matters, and when the bottom line is your only compass this is exactly what you get. It's the same reason WalMart is such a depressing place, the unrelenting drive to do it cheaper, no matter the real costs.