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Kosher Meat Plant Accused Of Abuses

An investigation by a leading Jewish newspaper has uncovered abusive working conditions at the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the United States -- a facility that was already under investigation over allegations of unethical treatment of livestock.

Now, two Conservative Jewish organizations have created a task force to investigate the abuses and what they might mean for the nation's kosher meat supply.

According to the Forward, a national Jewish weekly newspaper, Iowa-based AgriProcessors Inc. -- owned and managed by Hasidic Jews -- is guilty of shorted paychecks, little or no safety training and accidental amputations, all affecting its largely undocumented workers.

A month after the piece ran May 26, the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism launched a fact-finding study to find out what wrongs, if any, are being committed at the plant in Postville, Iowa.

For meat to be declared kosher, or fit for eating, Jewish law requires that animals be killed quickly and humanely, and the processes must be approved by supervising rabbis.

The Forward reported that the company's "kosher seal gives it an apparent moral imprimatur in a business that is known for harsh working conditions and labor violations. But even in the unhappy world of meatpacking, people with comparative knowledge of AgriProcessors and other plants say that AgriProcessors stands out for its poor treatment of workers."

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited AgriProcessors for six safety violations this year, or more than half of Iowa's meatpacking plant violations, the newspaper reported.

AgriProcessors, whose product is sold in stores under the brand name Aaron's Best, did not respond to several calls seeking comment. A spokesman for the plant wrote to the Forward, saying all employees must provide the proper documentation required by the federal government.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has also campaigned against the slaughterhouse in recent years, alleging that workers, including rabbis, ripped the tracheas and esophagi out of the throats of fully conscious cows, which were left trying to stand three minutes after their throats were slit.

PETA cites a 2004 videotape it says was obtained by an undercover cameraman for the group. In the video, cows that have had their throats slit are shown writhing on the ground of the plant in pools of their own blood. AgriProcessors denied charges of inhumane slaughter then, telling PETA that its practices complied with kosher law.

Temple Grandin, a designer of livestock handling facilities and the author of several books on animal handling, welfare and facility design, saw the PETA tape but has not been allowed to visit the facilities.

"During my career I have visited over 30 kosher beef plants in the U.S., Canada and other countries . . .," she writes on her Web site. "Kosher slaughter without stunning can be done with an acceptable level of welfare when it is done correctly. When shehita [Jewish ritual slaughter] is performed correctly with the long knife, the cattle appear not to feel it. This tape shows atrocious procedures that are NOT performed in any other kosher operation."

In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report finding that AgriProcessors had indeed violated provisions of the Humane Slaughter Act. The USDA did not, however, pursue criminal charges.

PETA recently released a new video documenting the situation at AgriProcessors. It has joined the Humane Society of the United States in asking federal prosecutors to enforce state and federal humane slaughter laws.

Bruce Friedrich, vice president of international grass-roots campaigns at PETA, said AgriProcessors had agreed to stop ripping the throats out of cows and to curb some of its practices. But, he said, the company has refused to allow inspectors to verify that such changes have been made.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/14/AR2006071401158.html