What really happens in a packing plant?

Imagination can be so much worse than reality! It is my responsibility to give my cattle a good life, and a quick and painless death. Do you have firsthand knowledge of what happens in a packing plant--on the kill floor? I do!

The imagination of what happens is worse than what really happens on the kill floor of a packing plant. Below is a video of what happens in a well-run plant. This is the norm, not the exception. That matters to me--and I know it matters to you.

Some parts of the video are graphic, so please use discretion in watching it. But it is REALITY. Dr. Temple Grandin, Professor of Animal Science and animal welfare expert leads us on a tour of a packing plant.

8 comments:

  1. that video was very well done and after all the bad news reports on processing plants this answered a lot of questions. it should be made public but I know the do gooders out there would not want it done.

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    1. I think we need to show videos about EVERY single thing that we do in food production. So many people want to know--and it alleviates so many concerns. I am for transparency--but I have always been that way.

      How else can we learn about different issues if no one will tell us?! Temple Grandin is adamant that we need to show "how beef is made" videos...I totally agree!

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  2. I posted the link for your posting on my newsfeed in FaceBook. Thank you for taking the time. It's gonna take those living the life inside and on the ground floor of the food industry to teach the generations that have been wrangled into apartment buildings and grocery stores. But what I really miss more than anything... the local Butcher Shops. I think all meat producers could educate the public much more, one on one, serving the public themselves by having their own shops. It's hard to find a proper cut of meat in the grocery chains. And I hear it's even more difficult to find a human that has been trained the craft of meat-cutting as what once thrived.

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing the link. I agree that the local butcher shops can be really a positive experience. They can connect one-on-one with the people who are purchasing beef. But I will also tell you that they sometimes are so doggone busy that they are unable to keep up on the newest cutting methods. I requested a flat iron steak (my new craving) to be cut from the last beef I took in to our local butcher. They were able to do it, but had to research it first!

      But local butchers are another example of how we are getting further and further from the source of our food. I'm not saying that is bad--just interesting. There are still some small local butcher shops and I'm proud to utilize one in a nearby town!

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  3. Debbie - I work in the agriculture industry but did not grow up on a farm. I enjoy getting the notices in my inbox for updates and the video was no disappointment. Education is so very important to dispell misunderstandings and propaganda. Thank you for being a advocate for agriculture and the farming/ranching way of life.

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    1. Thank you for your support! I really enjoy writing and connecting with people who care about my life on a ranch.

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  4. I too feel that my cattle deserve the best care from birth to slaughter. I posted this video on my own blog earlier this week! We choose the feedlot our calves are finished at and we know which packer they will be harvested at. Knowing that we picked a feedlot and packer that do things RIGHT everyday makes me feel good about the beef we raise so others can nourish their families!!

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  5. Just found your blog and I love it! Temple Grandin has done great work in assuring animals are treated humanely during processing and I was glad to see you posted a video with her. All I want is to be a rancher I read everything I can get my hands on about it and love hearing people's stories. I live in a really small town in a rural area in California but I just have no idea how to get into ranching. It's all I want to do- that and what you are doing- providing transparency and education to people about what really goes into making our food. Thank you for what you do!

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