First and foremost: The first amendment to the United States constitution states: "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press."
The significance of that in relation to the following is huge. There are serious questions about whether ag-gag bills, and retaliation against whistleblowers are even constitutional in the first place.
Amy Meyer wanted to see for herself where her food came from. But in the state of Utah, she discovered, that was against the law.
On February 8, Meyer filmed a meat packing plant from the side of the road.
For this, Meyer was prosecuted under Utah’s new “ag-gag” law.
Then George Steinmetz, a National Geographic photographer, was arrested after taking aerial pictures of a Kansas feedlot from a paraglider. Kansas is another state with an ag-gag law.
These unlawful laws aren’t just an affront to photographers. They are an affront to all of America's freedoms. Now you cannot take pictures from the side of the road? Or up in the air? These are truthful pictures of things that are not people or groups in private situations, which are protected by other lawful laws. These are public businesses - businesses that control how sanitary and safe your food is...which it is not. The truth is, though, this jeopardizes your health and your freedom.
But now, people are fighting back.
A new article, which is being featured on Huffington Post, breaks the story.
In this article, there is a profound piece of the story that should not be overlooked - and speaks volumes:
"After 29 years as a USDA meat inspector, Jim Schrier was recently stationed at a Tyson Foods slaughter facility in Iowa where he reported clear humane handling violations to his supervisor. That's what he was supposed to do -- report the violations to his superior in the chain of command. But when Schrier presented his concerns, the supervisor reportedly became very angry, and a week later required Jim to work at another facility 120 miles away. Then the USDA reassigned Jim permanently to a plant in another state.
In what looks an awful lot like a form of whistleblower retaliation, after 29 years of service, Schrier must now choose between his job, and his family.
When Jim's wife, Tammy, launched a petition on change.org exposing this story and calling for Jim Schrier to get his old job back, some of the first signers were other employees who had worked at the same plant and who corroborated Schrier's findings. Instead of being punished, they said, he should be rewarded and the whole plant should be inspected."
This is your food we are talking about. The thousands and thousands of dollars spent on antibiotics, steroids and medicines because animals are kept and slaughtered in disgusting and unsanitary conditions is atrocious. Wasteful. And impacts environment way more than anyone in the industry is ever honest about.
Pumping them full of steroids, growth hormones, antibiotics, milk-stimulation drugs...all while keeping them in tiny filthy pens, small cages with 20 more of the same animal, and in dark dank stalls...all for bigger, fatter product...more profit.
Slaughtering these animals while still alive, dragging babies away from mothers and slaughtering them, chopping on them while still alive, most of the time all in front of the mother. Would those of us who are intelligent and humane humans do that to each other? Why are animals any different?
I've seen the footage first hand, so don't begin to tell me it is "sensationalized", "not true", etc...I've seen it, raw and uncut.
And if you think this is a story that needs to be told, then please help spread the world
No comments:
Post a Comment