Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, And Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry

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Prometheus Books, Sep 25, 2009 - Business & Economics - 328 pages
Slaughterhouse is the first book of its kind to explore the impact that unprecedented changes in the meatpacking industry over the last twenty-five years — particularly industry consolidation, increased line speeds, and deregulation — have had on workers, animals, and consumers. It is also the first time ever that workers have spoken publicly about what’s really taking place behind the closed doors of America’s slaughterhouses.
In this new paperback edition, author Gail A. Eisnitz brings the story up to date since the book’s original publication. She describes the ongoing efforts by the Humane Farming Association to improve conditions in the meatpacking industry, media exposés that have prompted reforms resulting in multimillion dollar appropriations by Congress to try to enforce federal inspection laws, and a favorable decision by the Supreme Court to block construction of what was slated to be one of the largest hog factory farms in the country.
Nonetheless, Eisnitz makes it clear that abuses continue and much work still needs to be done.
 

Contents

Acknowledgments
9
The Stickers Confessions
59
The Man with the Scar
61
Pangs of Conscience
79
BloodRed and Frozen
97
The Slaughterhouse Eight
107
Beyond the Law
109
Slunks Haulers and TooDead Cows
117
The Guardian Angel
221
The Secretary of Agriculture Erects a Smokescreen
225
Friends in High Places
231
Almost Dying for a Cause
233
In Bed with a Bird
239
The Lesson
251
A Debased Side of Human Nature
257
Americas Premier Hog Kill
259

A Trip to the State Pen
135
A SixtyMinute Investigation
147
USDA Deregulates Full Line Speeds Ahead
153
A Pandoras Box of Pathogens
155
The USDAs Sacred Cow
179
This Little Piggy Dragged to Market
187
Veterinary Turncoats
203
The Thumper
213
An Army of Walking Wounded
269
Piercing the Veil of Secrecy
277
A Trojan Horse for Deregulation
283
Education and Empowerment
289
Violations at Americas Largest Meat Packer
295
Glossary
313
Index
321
Copyright

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About the author (2009)

Gail A. Eisnitz (San Rafael, CA), winner of the Albert Schweitzer Medal for outstanding achievement in animal welfare, is the chief investigator for the Humane Farming Association. Her work has resulted in exposés by ABC’s Good Morning America, PrimeTime Live, and Dateline NBC, and her interviews have been heard on more than 1,000 radio stations. Her work has been featured in such newspapers as The New York Times, Miami Herald, Detroit Free Press, Texas Monthly, Denver Business Journal, Los Angeles Times, and US News & World Report. Eisnitz was the driving force behind a front-page exposé in The Washington Post documenting slaughterhouse atrocities. The Washington Post reporter later described Eisnitz as "the most courageous investigator I’ve ever seen." The story was one of the highest reader-response pieces ever run by The Washington Post.

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