By US law, pigs are supposed to be rendered unconscious before being killed. Photo / File
By US law, pigs are supposed to be rendered unconscious before being killed. Photo / File
An undercover video taken at one of America's largest pork producers shows pigs being dragged across the floor, being beaten with paddles, and sick to the point of immobility.
By law, pigs are supposed to be rendered unconscious before being killed, but many are shown writhing in apparent pain while bleeding out, suggesting that they were not properly stunned.
"That one was definitely alive," a worker says.
The video also appears to show pigs with puss-filled abscesses being sent down the line. Others are covered in faeces.
"If the USDA is around, they could shut us down," says a worker wearing a bright-yellow apron and standing over the production line.
The graphic video - available on YouTube in an edited form - was covertly filmed by a contracted employee of Compassion Over Killing, a nonprofit animal rights group that claims to have infiltrated an Austin, Minnesota, facility run by Quality Pork Processors (QPP), a supplier of Hormel Foods, the maker of Spam and other popular processed meats.
The group has turned over the 97-minute unedited video to the US Department of Agriculture, which has raised serious concerns about the conditions at the QPP facility and pledged a thorough investigation. A reporter has also seen the full-length video provided by the group.
"The actions depicted in the video under review are appalling and completely unacceptable, and if we can verify the video's authenticity, we will aggressively investigate the case and take appropriate action," said USDA spokesman Adam Tarr.
QPP, which has seen both the edited and unedited versions, says the edited film makes it look as though there were violations when, in fact, there were none.
"Early on, there may very well be contamination present in the process, but we have multiple interventions that ensure that it will not only be visually removed, but completely removed," said Nate Jansen, QPP vice-president of human resources and quality services. "Had it been allowed to show the entire sequence of these events, all of these hogs were all handled appropriately."
To gain access to the QPP facility, the Compassion Over Killing contractor applied for five months for jobs at meat processing companies and was eventually hired at QPP. Compassion Over Killing requested the person's name not be disclosed because he still works at QPP, but showed a pay stub indicating employment there. The person did not describe on his job applications his affiliation with the activist group.
"I don't think you can look at the video along with the USDA guidelines and say that QPP is following the law," said Ted Genoways, the author of The Chain: Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food, who has seen the video but is not associated with the group. "This plant is the symbol of everything that is wrong with the meat industry."
In particular, the video shines a light on a US Government-approved pilot programme, known as the HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project (HIMP), which allows processors like QPP to assume more responsibility over the inspection process. The HIMP model has allowed the Government to save money and allowed plants to increase their line speed.
