Albertson's And Safeway Demand Changes, Unannounced Audits

According to a press release issued this morning by PETA, both Albertsons and Safeway, two large customers for Rubashkin's non-kosher product, are demanding major changes and independent, unannounced audits at Agriprocessors.

Pleasanton, Calif. — On the heels of a PETA investigation that revealed horrific cruelty to animals at a massive Iowa slaughterhouse, grocery giants Safeway and Albertson’s, both of which were rated among the top 40 largest corporations in the United States by Fortune magazine, have informed the plant that they will require sweeping changes to the procedures documented by PETA, as well as unannounced audits of the plant.

You can read the entire PETA release after the jump.

For Immediate Release:
December 21, 2004

SAFEWAY, ALBERTSON’S DEMAND SWEEPING CHANGE & UNANNOUNCED AUDITS OF IOWA SLAUGHTERHOUSE
Fortune 50 Grocery Chains Take Action to Stop Abuses Documented by PETA

Pleasanton, Calif. — On the heels of a PETA investigation that revealed horrific cruelty to animals at a massive Iowa slaughterhouse, grocery giants Safeway and Albertson’s, both of which were rated among the top 40 largest corporations in the United States by Fortune magazine, have informed the plant that they will require sweeping changes to the procedures documented by PETA, as well as unannounced audits of the plant.

Earlier this month, PETA fired off letters to the CEOs of top grocery chains that stock meat from the plant, including Safeway and Albertson’s, urging them to take action. PETA furnished the grocery chains with shocking undercover video footage, showing conscious cows writhing in agony in pools of their own blood and staggering around at Postville, Iowa-based AgriProcessors, Inc., the largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse in the world. As has happened in the past, Safeway and Albertson’s quickly responded to the animals’ plight, while Kroger and Wal-Mart, both of which also purchase from the plant, have so far ignored PETA’s plea. PETA is asking consumers to bear this in mind when they are deciding where to shop.

PETA’s video shows workers at AgriProcessors shocking cows in the face with electric prods, ripping the cows’ tracheas out of their throats while they are still conscious, then dumping the animals onto a concrete floor, where they stumble and try to get up as blood pours from their throats. Many are still conscious, as evidenced by their cries, when they are hoisted by one leg and moved to another chamber to be decapitated.

Since the investigation broke on November 30, every scientist, veterinarian, slaughterhouse, and animal welfare expert who has been questioned has condemned the plant in unequivocal terms, as have rabbis around the world. Dr. Temple Grandin, consultant to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the American Meat Institute, stated, “I thought it was the most disgusting thing I’d ever seen. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve been in at least 30 other kosher slaughter plants, and I had never ever seen that kind of procedure done before.” Dr. Lester Friedlander, a former USDA kosher slaughter inspector wrote, “The footage captured by PETA represents the most egregious violation of the USDA Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) I have ever witnessed.” More expert statements are available on PETA’s Web site, http://www.goveg.com/feat/agriprocessors/experts.asp.

Nevertheless, AgriProcessors’ President Sholom Rubashkin has defended the plant, stating, “What you see on the video is not out of the ordinary. . . . Nothing wrong was, or is being done. There is nothing to admit.”

“We commend Safeway and Albertson’s for their commitment to reducing the pain and suffering of animals slaughtered for the table,” says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “Only after being faced with the prospect of losing some of its biggest customers has AgriProcessors changed its arrogant attitude about the treatment of the animals it kills by the thousands every day.”

Broadcast-quality footage of the slaughter of animals at AgriProcessors is available. For more information and to view the footage, please visit GoVeg.com.

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