We are shocked. Shocked to hear that a slaughterhouse is actually being indicted for criminal and unethical behavior! No, really…in the wake of a massive beef recall, the owner of Rancho Feeding Corp. and two of his employees, have been brought up on 11 felony charges, including distribution of adulterated and misbranded meat, mail fraud and, to top it all off, conspiracy. The meat in question, responsible for this entire ordeal, was supposedly “the good kind,” meaning: grass fed, gourmet, and humane. But if you’ve bought into the hype about grass fed meat being healthy and humane, well…we have some bad news.
The things Jesse J. Amaral Jr., (owner of Rancho Feeding Corp.) and his employees, foreperson Felix Sandoval Cabrera, and yardperson Eugene D. Corda, are accused of doing are truly outrageous. Amaral and his co-owner Robert Singleton are said to have directed employees to cheat inspection procedures for cows that exhibited signs of epithelioma (an eye cancer). According to the indictment, Cabrera swapped uninspected cattle with the cattle that had passed inspection. The diseased cattle were then slaughtered and the evidence of their illness disposed of in the “gut bin,” thereby sneaking contaminated meat onto the market.
This kind of behavior is proof that the inhumanity of the beef industry goes far beyond its insensitivity to suffering of animals. The conduct of these men, who were supposedly producing and distributing “healthy” and “humane” beef, put thousands upon thousands of lives at risk to illness. And all in the name of making a buck. This is disgusting! Seriously, if this doesn’t make your stomach turn at the thought of eating beef again, we don’t know what will.
With each felony charge, Amaral, Cabrera and Corda could face up to three years in jail, as well as a $250,000 fine. That’s hardly enough, if you ask us! The harm that the carelessness and greed of these individuals has done extends even further than the risks to which they exposed consumers. It is the epitome of wastefulness and cruel disregard for the lives of both humans and animals alike.
The actions of Rancho Feeding Corp. has caused almost nine million pounds of beef to be discarded. That’s the lives of thousands of cattle gone for nothing, and we don’t even know how many pounds of methane were released into the atmosphere in the process…all for nothing. Nothing, unless you count the negative value of putting thousands of human lives at risk and many ranchers out of business.
The best way to make sure you don’t become a victim of a greedy and unethical corporation like Rancho Feeding Corp., is to cut beef from your diet. And don’t worry, living without beef really has no drawbacks. It’s easy to be healthy and fit without it, and as a perk, the cows and the planet will be eternally grateful to you! So, come on! Join the Green Monster revolution and tell corporations like Rancho, “Nope, you may not have my money.”
Image source: Ryan Thompson/Wikimedia
it\’s good to catch the crooks, but it\’s also good to encourage "the middle path" to those who just can\’t give up eating beef (that\’s not me, btw). there are plenty of farms who are doing the right thing (e.g. waseda farms in WI), so please be careful not to paint them with the same brush.