HSUS Slips Up -- Slams Packer With No Proof

Agribusiness Freedom Foundation
by Steve Dittmer
June 30, 2008

The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) has implied that a packer violated national school lunch meat supply rules apparently just because the packer sometimes bought cattle at an auction market at which an alleged HSUS video showed downer cattle being mistreated.

Akin to branding everyone who drives down a certain street as wrongdoers just because some people commit crimes on that street, HSUS could easily find itself the target of a lawsuit for their stunt at a news conference last week.

HSUS has evidently decided that kids and the national school lunch program is an emotional key they can use in attacking America's beef production system. But after months of undercover surveillance, unable to establish links between its auction videos and the school lunch program, HSUS concocted an elaborately contrived propaganda stunt at a media conference to suggest a "link," even after admitting that is has no evidence.

In true tabloid-style, sensationalist fudging, HSUS referenced its video clips allegedly obtained at a livestock market in Portales, N.M. showing sick and/or injured animals - "downers" -- being improperly handled at the market. Then it recounted the Hallmark/Westland case of a slaughter facility mishandling animals and allegations that downer animals entered the supply chain of Hallmark's school lunch contract. HSUS then mentioned that Caviness Packing of Hereford, Tx. sometimes buys cattle from Portales and that Caviness' Palo Duro division is now the largest school lunch ground beef provider since Hallmark is out of business -- for which HSUS takes credit.

All this under a subheadline reading, "Offenders Include Suppliers to the National School Lunch Program."

Of course, HSUS does not mention that even in the Hallmark case, the recall was based on the potential that some downer cattle that had passed initial inspection were slaughtered for the school lunch program -- not proof made public that any did. HSUS also referred incorrectly to Palo Duro as the top school lunch program supplier.

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