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Owners of a California slaughterhouse that distributed beef from cows with cancer were charged in federal court on August 18th. In court filings, the USDA said that owners of Rancho Feeding Corp. “schemed with employees to slaughter about 79 cows with skin cancer of the eye while federal inspectors took lunch breaks” and that “plant workers swapped the heads of diseased cattle with heads of healthy cows to hide them from inspectors.” The discovery of the diseased carcasses triggered several recalls, including 8.7 million pounds of beef sold at Walmart and other national chains. The slaughterhouse owners and two employees were charged with distribution of “adulterated, misbranded and uninspected meat.”

Photo: REUTERS/Alex Gallardo

If the abuse inherent in modern-day factory farming doesn’t stop people from eating animals, then perhaps the health risks will. Here’s our challenge: People have been eating animals for centuries and surviving, so why would they stop now — at a time when they assume that the government is keeping our food supply safe? When talking to omnivores, I point out that mad cow, bird flu and swine flu originated in the factory farms that produce 99% of the animal products we eat. Now I can say that cows with cancer are in the food supply. And then there are the antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, cholesterol and saturated fat that fill the meat, fish and dairy products we consume. So, if humane issues don’t resonate, then talk about the many reasons why animal products are simply unsafe and unhealthy to eat.