Tuesday, May 31, 2005

A new trend?


A reader writes: "Tzig check this out!"
SYSCO Pulls License from Veal Producer Over Kosher Slaughter(Brooklyn) Atlantic Veal, a 50-year old Brooklyn-based producer of veal with a slaughterhouse in Ohio, has lost its license to do business with SYSCO, the world s largest foodservice company, after an auditor failed the company because of its kosher production at the plant. Kosher Today has learned that Atlantic had acceded to SYSCO'S request for an audit based on animal welfare standards of the American Meat Institute, which includes the recommendation that head restraints be used in the kosher slaughter of veal. The USDA supervised plant, which occasionally produces kosher and halal meat, uses the hanging method of schechita without the restraints, which a company spokesman says follows the religious dictum for slaughter by the religious authorities supervising the plant.

Atlantic received a 100% rating from the auditor until he discovered the kosher slaughter. To the company, the! loss of the estimated $7 million in business is devastating, especially since SYSCO was not buying the kosher production and the kosher processed foods were in full compliance with USDA regulations and religious law. Food sources say that Atlantic is determined to win back the business that it had lost from the large foodservice company. SYSCO - an acronym for Systems and Services Company, reported $29.3 billion in sales in fiscal year 2004.

Does anyone else believe that animal-rights groups are working behind the scenes to pressure companies not to do business with slaughterhouses, and this is one way of doing it, or am I just plain paranoid?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a fact, brider lebin.

Anonymous said...

The problem is not animal rights groups, but violation of the most basic industry humane standards. Many kosher producers don't give a *************** about how they treat the animals, and $$$$$$ is the only thing that "talks."

As for the rabbonim who approve shackling and hoisting veal calves (sometimes numerous animals at the same time, who see each other and may hang there for up to an hour) over the ASPCA approved pens approved by Reb Moshe and others -- "there are heterim..."

What a travesty of Yiddishkeit.

Anonymous said...

as a bochur in the early 80's, i went with a chaver to the yerusholaimer shlacht hoiz in shuafat. I did not see bihamos hanging for more than a couple of minutes at a time or any other mistreatment of animals. however i agree that b'mokoim shetsurech tikun, tsrichem l'sakein.