The OU Lies Again: Meat Hook Throat Probing Not USDA Mandated – Meat Hook To Throat "Part Of Glatt Kosher Slaughter"

I spoke yesterday with Trent Berhow, the vice president of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, and with Jim Shanahan, head of the local in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Shanahan told he he watched the latest PETA video with Dr. York, the veterinarian in charge of Humane Slaughter for this region of the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service. Dr. York, Shanahan, said, had been in Rubashkin's Gordon plant a week or so before.

Dr. York defended everything on the PETA vido, telling Shanahan that everything was done according to regulation. When Shanahan pressed him, Dr. York explained the,, from the moment the animal enters the slaughter box until the moment it is removed from that box, the USDA has nothing to say or do about what takes place. The USDA, Dr. York told him, does "not interfere with glatt kosher slaughter."

Dr. York's statement is inaccurate. Humane Slaughter law does regulate what happens during kosher slaughter, even glatt kosher slaughter.

I believe Shanahan's and York's references to "glatt" kosher slaughter mean that Rubashkin – the largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse in America – is getting preferential treatment, treatment other kosher slaughter operations are not getting. But this remains to be seen.

I called Dr. York to ask him about this. He refused to speak and referred me to his district office. The district office also refused comment, referring me to the spokesman for the USDA FSIS, Steven Cohen. Cohen, you may recall, told me last week, repeating it almost as a mantra, that the USDA "does not interfere in ritual slaughter."

Shanahan told me clearly the procedure done with a meat hook a few seconds after slaughter is not USDA mandated or requested, confirming what Steven Cohen told me last week.

This means this is a procedure instituted by Rubashkin and his rabbis. This also means Rabbi Seth Mandel, head of shechita (ritual slaughter) for the OU, lied about this when he claimed the USDA mandated the procedure. Or it means he has no idea what really takes place at Rubashkin's plants.

Dr. Temple Grandin told me that this procedure is not USDA mandated, that it is cruel and that it should be stopped.

So what is going on at Agriprocessors? As I wrote last week, probably this:

So what is happening at Agriprocessors Gordon plant?

In October of 2003 a meeting was held in the USDA between Agudath Israel of America, rabbis from various kosher supervising agencies and senior USDA officials including, according to some reports given me, Ann Veneman, the then-Secretary of Agriculture. The rabbis complained about the wording of a new USDA Humane Slaughter directive that outlawed "sawing." They were afraid USDA inspectors would stop slaughter lines because they would mistakenly view a shechita cut as "sawing."

The outcome of that meeting was a new directive (some say the wording of this new directive came from Nathan Lewin, Rubashkin's attorney and a Agudah operative) that prevented line inspectors from stopping ritual slaughter lines without first gaining approval of a regional USDA office. This was understood by some inspectors to mean, "Keep your hands off the rabbis and let them do whatever they want."

Indeed, one can see a USDA inspector in the new PETA Rubashkin video. He does not stop the line.

The meat hook is used to speed bleeding. It is not part of kosher slaughter. Rather, it is a dressing procedure meant to reduce the amount of blood splash and bruising in the meat, which reduces the meat's value. This primarily effects the non-kosher market, which purchases more than 65% of Rubashkin's meat.

What this means is that the rabbis who supervise Rubashkin, and who promised to stop this cruelty 2 1/2 years ago when the Postville scandal broke, have not kept their promises.

It also means the USDA can no longer be trusted to supervise Humane Slaughter.

Jim Shanahan was appalled by what he saw on the new PETA video. But he is powerless to stop it. Why? I believe because of corruption that runs deep within the USDA and, it seems clear, the Bush Administration.

There is, in my opinion, no way to know if the meat you eat was slaughtered humanely and the rabbis we entrust with certifying the kosher status of that meat have repeatedly proven untrustworthy.

What you do with this information is up to you. 2 1/2 years ago, I stopped eating meat and fowl when I realized the rabbis were playing fast ands loose with the truth. While I encourage you to do the same, the choice, and its consequences, are ultimately yours.

Comments

I will support victims of PETA terror by eating a giant Rubashkin steak after chatzois. I can't wait.

[Michael Croland]

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the blurb/article about blogs in the new issue of Kosher Today.

[Shmarya]

Another blog, popular with Orthodox Jews, quoted verbatim from a press release by PETA, the animal rights extremists, accusing a plant in Gordon, NE owned by the Rubashkin family of gross abuse of animals without including the retort by the USDA that no such violation took place.

I'm not sure which blog this is. But I am sure that the USDA retracted that statement, and Kosher Today fails to report that retraction. No surprise there.

[ZeeZee]

Thanks for your courage and persistence in covering this subject - with real facts. Your site rings clear with truth and justice for all living creatures.

[ZeeZee]

Thanks for your courage and persistence in covering this subject - with real facts. Your site rings clear with truth and justice for all living creatures.

[steve]

The meat hook is used to speed bleeding. It is not part of kosher slaughter. Rather, it is a dressing procedure meant to reduce the amount of blood splash and bruising in the meat, which reduces the meat's value. This primarily effects the non-kosher market, which purchases more than 65% of Rubashkin's meat.

Thanks for clearing up the misconception that using the meat hook is typical of kosher slaughter. Rubashkin is using it to improve the majority of their business, which is treife meat. This part of the business (I've read that it's anywhere from 65-70%)is a losing proposition for them because they cannot compete with the bigger non-kosher slaughterhouses. Therefore, they must do whatever they can to improve the product, whether it's doing as you describe with the meat hook, or switching labels and labeling as much as possible "kosher".

[John K. Diamond]

Steve,

But this dressing procedure is also a violation of the Humane Slaughter Law for non-Kosher Meat, which forbids this on animals who have not been rendered insensate by means of a captive bolt, etc.

So the treife meat that Rubashkin is selling is, in itself, also treif.

It seems to me that Rubashkin is having a field day with all his illegal activities and is laughing all the way to the bank.

[Anon]

--Shanahan told me clearly the procedure done with a meat hook a few seconds after slaughter is not USDA mandated or requested, confirming what Steven Cohen told me last week.--

Does the cow even feel anythng a few seconds after slaughter? If not, why should anyone care about this.

--2 1/2 years ago, I stopped eating meat and fowl--

Sorry dude, after seeing how this has affected you, there is no way I'm going to risk the same think.

[steve]

John,

We knew all along that what they were doing is illegal, both according to US law and halachically. Now we have the motive behind their illegal activity, thanks to Shmarya. They were trying to sell us on the idea that this procedure is a kashrut necessity. Now we know that it's just another scheme to maximize profits. Meanwhile, Lubinsky can write all he wants against blogs-he has been exposed for the phony that he is. Shamelessly taking Rubashkin's money to shill for them in his rag of a magazine is about as low as a human being can stoop. We need to shut down his magazine along with the whole Rubashkin operation and lock them all up! They are all crooks!!

[John K. Diamond]

Steve,

My take on how Rubashkin gets away with all this:

Most likely because Rubashkin has lined the pockets of local, county, state, and Federal people with enough "hush money" to keep their mouths shut and do nothing while he goes about his illegal activities.

It is also possible that the Kosher supevising agencies have received their share, as well. If this can be proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, then legal action may be warranted

[steve]

John,

Welcome to the real world.

[John K. Diamond]

Yes, Steve, this IS the real world but it's not the Torah World.

[Moshev Leitzim]

Why does this website have articles only against religious Jews, as if, if you weren’t religious you would be an honest and decent person?

How about posting this article?

America's Sporting Passions Under Siege
NBA commissioner David Stern faces the possibility that one of his officials had ties to organized crime and might have fixed games.
The country’s three leading sports leagues are embattled, enduring a flurry of negative news and a battery of federal investigations. Major League Baseball is aching for tormented slugger Barry Bonds, a central character in the steroids scandal, to expeditiously break the sport’s grandest record; the NFL is scrambling to clean up Michael Vick’s dog fighting mess; and the NBA is calculating ways to curb the damage of the FBI’s investigation that veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on games he officiated.

The timing couldn't be worse for the multi-billion leagues.

Steroids remains the elephant in clubhouses until the slumping Bonds hits the three home runs needed to pass Hank Aaron. The excitement of NFL training camps are dulled by the dog distraction. As for the NBA, the magnitude of its scandal is just beginning to emerge.

So which league finds itself in the deepest hole?

3) Vick is the league’s highest-paid player, but he’s just one in a constellation of stars. Unlike the NBA, the NFL sells teams, not players. Stars naturally emerge -- Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, LaDanian Tomlinson, Julius Peppers, Champ Bailey -- but the league doesn't bank on individuals, which is why players are fined for taking off their helmets during a celebration.

The No. 1 pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, Vick has a slew of endorsement deals, and he's one of the game’s most electrifying players. But the NFL will survive the 2007 season if Vick never plays a down, and the Falcons are not as hopeless as, say, the Los Angeles Lakers would be sans Kobe Bryant or even the New York Yankees without Alex Rodriguez. The Falcons have no shortage of Pro Bowl talent, including cornerback DeAngelo Hall, return specialist Allen Rossum, defensive end John Abraham, defensive tackle Rod Coleman, linebacker Keith Brooking, running back Warrick Dunn, safety Lawyer Milloy, tight end Alge Crumpler and receiver Joe Horn.

[Nigritude Ultramarine]

Why does this website have articles only against religious Jews, as if, if you weren’t religious you would be an honest and decent person?

Do figures from the sporting world set themselves up as "Gedolim" without any faults and totally free from sin?

Do figures from the sporting world ban books and discourage people from using their brains?

Do figures from the sporting world spend all day learning religious texts then go on to commit some of the worst aveiros imaginable?

Do figures from the sporting world chastise people for not living in accordance with God's Will while fornicating with their wives like that rabbi from a kiruv yeshiva?

Has any figure from the sporting world ever said that it is not a sin to rub one's erect penis against the buttocks of a seven-year-old boy? A "gadol" said that very thing.

Do figures from the sporting world spend years studying religious texts and then proceed to torture animals at kosher slaughterhouses? As far as I know, Mr. Vick does not purport to be a religious scholar. Maybe if rabbis didn't torture animals, they would have a positive השפעה on the world.

[Carol Ann Varley]

While it's doubtful anyone will see this post but I wanted to comment that I seriously doubt the U.S. consumer is aware he/she has been purchasing trief meat. Most of us have been led to believe meat purchased in stores was slaughtered under conventional methods. I found out two months ago from someone who worked in a kosher slaughterhouse. I learned then that trief meat is sold to the general public. When I found GoVeg.com/humane kosher and saw for the first time the PETA videos taken at Agriprocessors and learned Agriprocessors markets its trief meat to Wal-Mart (among others) it felt as if my fingers had been dipped in the blood of those animals--such useless suffering! I was physically and morally repelled and I have been unable to eat meat. I refuse to be complicit any longer and I am spreading the word. When the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act was passed in 1978, Congress allowed exemptions for religious slaughter and the handling of animals. Today, small animals continue to be shackled and hoisted while conscious (this I was told and confirmed by an inspector with FSIS)up to the time of the throat cut. The irony is the U.S. consumer is buying more meat slaughtered under kosher religious ritual than the observant! I believe the consumer is entitled to know which is why I advocate labelling; also, there should be a restriction on handling under the religious exemption to HMSA to abolish the cruel practice of shackling and hoisting. (Yes, I am learning more about the abuses in conventional slaughter and I am getting more active in that area as well). To the powerful meat industry: one less customer!

[Carol Ann Varley]

Correction: the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act was passed in 1958; the act was expanded in 1978 to include all federally inspected slaughterhouses and gave meat inspectors, who were already on site, the added responsibility of enforcing HMSA. Meat inspectors are concerned foremost about the safety of meat; perhaps animal welfare experts ought to be onsite to supervise the humane handling of food animals. Look at the video of Westland/Hallmark and the sick downer cows to see my point!