Okay... You got my feathers ruffled but probably not in the way you intended. I love the way these videos are editted. There are always people that are abusive of animals no matter what the situation, BUT WITHOUT SEEING THESE SITUATIONS FROM THE BEGINNING WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE TRUTH IS.

The point that most people opposed to production agriculture can't seem to understand is that happy, healthy animals produce much more that ones who are abused. Did you know that the man with the skid loader was trying to get a downer cow up to try to get her back on her feet? Sometimes they need to be picked up and have their feet placed back underneath them because they can't get up by themselves. This is a last step measure before they are destroyed because they can't get up! No one talks about the farmers who don't push production in order to keep their animals longer. Any idiot can figure out that it is better to take care of the animals you have rather than replace them.

You may be shocked at what happens in some small animal veterinary clinics as far as "humane" treatment and euthanasia. I've seen animals bagged and put in a freezer before their last breath has been taken. I've seen small animal vets be rough and abusive with animals that aren't cooperative.

We had a horse we put recently down after spending 3 weeks working with vets to even keep him on his feet or from casting himself in a stall or through our fence. Had anyone seen me whacking at him trying to get him up or keep him up, they would have assumed I was beating the snot out of him, which is the furthest thing from the truth!  This was an animal we considered to be a member of our family and had invested a lot into emotionally and were devestated to lose, but this is a large animal who needs to handled sometimes not as gently as an uneducated general public perceives. I won't even go into the amount of time and money spent to attempt to heal this horse and keep him comfortable.

Check out both sides of the story before believing propaganda. What do you truely know about production agriculture in order to judge it? Do you have a degree in Animal Science? Have you ever been to a real working farm?  Have you ever spent a day with a farmer when the temperature doesn't rise above zero and it seems like it is impossible to get anything accomplished? Or spent the day making hay and putting it away when it is 90 plus degrees in the shade? Do you have any idea where your food comes from???

LIFE AIN'T ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL!!! When we Americans as a society wake up and realize this, maybe we can concentrate on putting our efforts towards the real problems in society! Drug addiction, alcoholism, child abuse, homelessness, unemployment, war.... 

I think the other thing that riles me up is the fact it says "campaign" right in the link address. "Campaigns" are planned and plotted, hoping to guide the end to a specific result.

I'm not sure we should be picking on production agriculture when the horse world itself has some nasty issues to deal with. I'm always amazed at the number of people who profess to love horse racing and yet do not see it as cruelty. Most people don't know what a pit is on the back stretch of a track is used for.  I am also amazed at the number of so called "rescues" out there- saving horses that should have been euthanised a long time ago. When the horse world finishes cleaning up our act, then we can start criticizing other aspects of the agriculture industry.

AMEN!!   I was a vet tech for 8 yrs.  I STILL have nightmares about things I've seen.

We are dairy farmers and have had down cows over the years. Its usually due to a bad calving- the calf is too big and the cow cannot deliver the calf without help. It usually results in some nerve damage or at least alot of damage which results in pain when the cow tried to stand. Sometimes they do get sick and in the process of getting up, can injure themselves. In any case, you do have to move them ( such as out of a pasture and to a spot better suited to caring for them) the only way to move 1500 cow is to drag them- a chain around the neck ( not to choke them) hook it up to a loader tractor- off you go. There comes a point where no matter what you do, you cannot get a cow to stand. You can beat the crap out of her- she won't budge. We have used extremely hot water spray on her face, if she can get up, she will.

Most people don't understand animal agriculture. As said before- you can't make money with sick,neglected or abused animals. Yet you cannot treat them as if they are human.We like warm houses but that would cause respriatory problems with animals. most cows are content to live in barns not open pastures. Calves don't care who their mother is as long as they get fed. Dehorning is a necessary procedure...the list goes on but really thats not the point of PETA- they don't want to educate the public- they want money-PERIOD. They can dupe so many stupid Oprah loving people into giving money to help the animals when in fact, it helps only them. most laws passed by ignornace ends up hurting the animals they are trying to help ( allegedly).

As farmers, we have to deal with misinformation all the time. Once you explain something, most people realise the purpose and intent of our practices. Too bad there are so many people that buy into this crap.

Treated wih respect? What the crap does that mean? How do you "respect" a chicken or a hog? Thats just silly talk. Makes no sense whats so ever and I bet you have never been in farming at all.

I don't believe anything PETA says or does. They are more than willing to do whatever it takes to make a buck from unsuspecting dupes which makes up a huge part of the american population and most of the rest of the world. We are so far removed from animal agriculture that people don't understand it, not to mention, we have given animals "human"status- our emotions, thoughts and feeling...and of course "rights".

As a real life farmer, I'm here to say it ain't always pretty down on the farm. Don't get me started on the big bad "corporate" farming crap either, I mean do you want to eat or not?

I agree with the comments made by Cutter and Farmbabe. I do think that livestock need to be treated humanely, but how they are handled is different than how we handle our house pets.

These videos are aimed at the average person in the US who knows nothing about livestock.  Unfortunately, PETA and the HSUS are not stupid, and this propaganda works very well for them.  A bunch of people in my office were all riled up after seeing this video.  I tried to explain to them that these cattle were down and if they don't want to/can't get up, you can't just lift them without something much stronger than a human. 

Because of this video, some schools in the towns near us are going to stop serving beef to school children.

Try again Babe. You can treat a chicken or hog with respect and certainly a cow/steer, by feeding it right, not causing any unnecessary stress to the animal before slaughter. I've got plenty of farmers in my family. Best way to get good meat, not just quantity. Downed animals that can't get up, especially for unknown reasons do not need to be put into our food chain, ever! Anyone who can view these images and think otherwise needs to take a good look at themselves. These images do explain why there are more and more outbreaks of e-coli and such issues with meat. As for anyone who would even consider eating their long time companion of a horse as it may be more convenient and tasty is not someone I need for a friend either. After all, I spent around $3,000 (not a fortune, but not exactly in my budget either) saving the live of a then 31yo horse last year. He is still with me and is again amazing people with his spunk and can do attitude, even though I keep trying to tell him he's retired. Even without that for everything we've done together it would have been so wrong for me to quit on him the first time he became 'inconvenient'. After all, he never has quit on me. We took a second place our first time team penning when he was 29yo. BTW I can't thank Purdue University enough for all they did for him and me. Though I think they are amazed at how well he recovered too.

This is my Great Grandmaw Wyns. No small wonder that I inherited the horse gene.

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Treated wih respect? What the crap does that mean? How do you "respect" a chicken or a hog? Thats just silly talk. Makes no sense whats so ever and I bet you have never been in farming at all.

I don't believe anything PETA says or does. They are more than willing to do whatever it takes to make a buck from unsuspecting dupes which makes up a huge part of the american population and most of the rest of the world. We are so far removed from animal agriculture that people don't understand it, not to mention, we have given animals "human"status- our emotions, thoughts and feeling...and of course "rights".

As a real life farmer, I'm here to say it ain't always pretty down on the farm. Don't get me started on the big bad "corporate" farming crap either, I mean do you want to eat or not?

Yep, same cows, some different footage. The cow walking on it's hocks, no matter how you try to spin it, that does not need to be in the food chain and should have been put down not onto a truck to a slaughter house. These cows could have mad cow disease or something else you don't want to be ingesting for all we know. In anyway, where these cows came from needs to be determined. After all, these are from a dairy herd that some with the same problems, just not as defined yet, are likely still producing the milk people drink, make butter, cheese, etc.. Perhaps it's less insidious than that, and thankfully mad cow can't be transmitted that way, but don't you want to know your food is safe? So, where were the USDA inspectors at this place anyway?

As it is, it seems people are getting fired and people are getting formally charged and there may be more to come as the investigation is on going.

My husband knows a guy (a die-hard southern guy that has really eaten road kill, no joke!) that used to haul for a slaughter that was part of Wendy's fast-food/where they got there meat.  Guess he used to haul some pretty bad off cows.  Put it this way, he will NEVER eat at Wendy's and rarely at any fast-food joint.  He and most of the folks around here raise their own meat sources.  I personally love my veggies, not that they are any safer to buy from a store.  

If this keeps going I guess I will have to find me a butcher.  Buy and raise the animal myself and then pay a butcher for the meat.  I will then know the butcher, the animal and what I fed it.  I better buy a large freezer too.  Veggies - the farmers market or take a drive and pick it with my family. 

The problem is...both sides are right. One extreme is to neglect, abuse (and yes, no matter how you slice it, an animal intended for consumption can have a good life until that day) and put others at risk - as in the case of these cattle being videoed, APPARENTLY (and we're really not sure) at a feed-lot. My grandparents and parents were and are farmers. Cattle. They're the prettiest, fattest, happy cows (like that California cheese ad) that you'll ever see. But they are raised for selling, birthing, or the feed lot. My grandparents had chickens - free roaming chickens allowed to wander around the yard during the day. But I can't count how many times I saw my grandma ring one's neck for dinner.

On the other extreme - my dad lost his prize bull last year, because he got caught in the fence, braking his leg, due to fighting with the bull on the other side (a neighbor's bull).  Since they couldn't get the bull to stand and walk into the trailer, they had to shot the bull and bury him. The feed-lot in Ft. Smith wouldn't have taken the bull, simply because it wouldn't have been standing. $1,500 down the drain. A healthy, beautiful animal. My dad mourned the loss of that bull and the loss of income.

Our problem in today's society, is that we are governed by too many rules - not logic and honesty. When was it okay to start treating chickens the way these corporations do - living in tiny cages to produce eggs. When was it okay for a chicken house to toss their dead and sick ones into the pasture, only to let the coyotes drag the carcases across other's pastures? When did I ever see my grandpa or dad abuse a cow - NEVER. Yes, I saw them drag them, cut their horns off, pull calves to save the cow, shot them. But we've forgotten where to DRAW THE LINE. Farmers have feelings, ethics, whatever you want to call it. Logic has been thrown by the way-side.

Yes, I had a problem with the video. I couldn't watch all of it. Especially when the cow started bellowing in pain. But I was raised on a farm - I know about death. But those people crossed the line, when all they cared about was getting those cows to stand up. They should have been shot and put down. Then there would be no call of "foul" and fear of mad-cow disease.

The interestin thing is the meat has pretty much been consumed with no reported health problems.

we have this problem with wanting it both ways- we demand a huge selection of low priced food yet complain about how thats done. We want the animals"treated with respect" yet you cannot feed a country ,of what 200 million, with backyard farming methods. I  do NOT trust the group who posted with video of being honest about it. the animal rights people are complete fanatics with an agenda and no obligation for the truth or reality. But they know how gullible the american public can be, how easily manipulated you guys are. There are some who would OUTLAW certain farming practices even if they have a good purpose and even if that would cause farmers great finanical burdens yet way too many of the suburbanites( or those who understand farming cuz they had some family 100 years who farmed...big deal) out there would support it. wow...... 

"When was it okay to start treating chickens the way these corporations do - living in tiny cages to produce eggs. When was it okay for a chicken house to toss their dead and sick ones into the pasture, only to let the coyotes drag the carcases across other's pastures?"

This is a perfect example of the problem- just how are we supposed to treat a chicken anyway? Do we ask politely for miss chicken to lay her egg? Do we allow million of birds to run wild then hire people to try and find the eggs? how much are you willing to pay for eggs? Corporations? Why is that so bad, a farming business owned by a corporation ? Why not let coyotes eat dead chickens? After all, most communities have laws against burying dead animals- so what the heck do you do with them? BTW-I'd like to know if this is fact or just some thing you heard....( when my family was looking into buying a chicken /broiler operation, dead carcasses were dumped into a covered pit which no doubt has been outlawed....)

That sounds a lot like Dr.Jordon Rubin who wrote among other books "The Maker's Diet." And that Kevin guy,can't think of his last name,he is on some infomercials tho.

Most of us can't live like that even if we so chose to.I for one don't "long for the good ole days" like granny/grandpa had it in every single aspect.I don't want to raise hogs and deal with all that it implies,and then slaughter one and hang it in the smokehouse,ect.Or go out and do as Ruby Twes in "Cold Mountain" and wring off a chicken's neck and go 'put him in a pot.'Although I fully believe that is one reason our ancestors weren't eaten up with cancer as we are as a nation today.Heart disease,yes,diabetes in their later years,yes.But a lot less cancer.I've been a home health nurse 18 years,and my clients are all elderly,and came from the era of chickens scratching in the yard "organic,range fed" they call it.And organic grass fed beef (no steroids,antibiotics or feed lots) and raised their own hogs.That is why I say what I do.

But for the majority of us,it's a question of practicality and convenience,loveduffy.I'd lots rather run by the store and pick out my meat already cut,wrapped and ready to take home to cook than be faced with "well,better go out to the freezer for a cut of that steer to thaw out" or "I'll have to try to run a hen to ground for supper" nowadays.Hence the modern feedlot/slaughter house/chicken house,ect.How would you like to try to be a grain farmer and try to grow some of the  the best rice crops in the world only to have Europeans reject it because some genetically engineered traces of rice showed up in some exports? Being the fault of one of the lesser "big boys",Riceland Foods.Sorry to venture out into this,but,I could just feel it coming on this particular thread. 

OK what the heck is a factory farm? I'll tell you- another term coined by those who oppose progress much like "urban sprawl" which is ,in fact, ecomoinc growth ( a good thing BTW) Why is it its ok to bulid YOUR house not not allow someone the same opportunites?

We have the highest standard of living at anytime in history, people living longer and heathier ( the chicken story not withstanding) We are also fatter at anytime time since we have more money to spend and more food to buy than we need to exsist. We never wonder where the next meal is coming from except to think take out or eat in? And why? factory farms that mass produce dairy,beef and chicken pork. They can do it cheaper and with a higher standard of quality than small backyard farms. Of course, we are in antion of malcontents that don't apprecaite that unitl heaven forbid they can't find the cutof meat they wanted for that BBQ at dad's house this wekeend....

factory farms are nothing more than large scale operations that hires people, buys good and services, pay taxes, stimulates the ecomony and produces a product that is safely consumed by people here and abroad. And for that, we complain......ahhhhh yes..we live in a great country.

I'm thinking (hoping) this herds problem wasn't likely mad cow, but without testing we'll never know. And since these cows have long since been slaughtered, sliced and ground up, we will never know. If this plant or the farm that sold them these cattle had been more interested in public health and not cutting their losses, we would know and the animals would have been euthanized on the farm.

 "Do we ask miss chicken to politely lay her egg?"

This comment is exactly what I was talking about - the problem today is the lack of logic and honesty. There's no logic to that comment, especially if you understand farming. My point was that throwing three - four chickens into a tiny cage, no sunlight, no room to roam, their feathers falling out - yes, I have a problem with that. And yes, as a large production farm, they can do a better job. They've already outlawed this practice in Europe. But I'm not saying "running wild through the woods" is the answer either.

The situation with coyotes dragging dead chickens into neighbors pastures is true - it happened on my parents land when the first chicken houses were built around their property. I don't know if the problem has been resolved, but I will ask.  I don't even know what the "law" is here in OK about it.

I'm seriously thinking about starting my own chickens for eggs - not because I'm some weird hysteric extreme person that's afraid of the country's food, but just because I want to! I think my son will benefit from experiencing the responsibility of rasing hens, and my friends will enjoy the eggs! Don't put me into box with a bunch of nuts!! As I said earlier, I was raised a farm - I know the difference. But what we've done to some animals just to produce this country's food supply is a shame.

That's all I saying. No replies. I'm not getting into a word fight with someone on this website.

OK you don't have to reply but here is this- if you were raised on a farm, the you know unhappy,sick,ill kept animals do not make you money. I am a owner of a farm, working everyday with our animals, making our living with animals so I know first hand, not some distant memory. I even raised chickens and it was not unusual for hens to squeeze in together in one small hutch to lay eggs. The problem here is we think aniamls need to be housed and treated in the same manner that we would expect for humans. Not so. Warm, comfy barns are health hazards to animals. We have many barns for our heifers to run into when the weather is bad yet they prefer to stand outside. We have water founts for feash water yet they will go into the woods, find a small spot of water and drink that too. Som people think its cruel to dehorn cattle, but have to seen what a cow can do to other cows with horns> they can and will start using them.. I am sure it hurts but not forever and they recover. We have never lost a calf to dehorning.

The biggest problem is ignorance. Not being stupid ( there is that too) but there so many people that have no knowlege of how to farm and raise animals yet they want to tell US real farmers what we can and cannot do BY LAWS. If they think its cruel or inhuman, they by gosh it must be and lets outlaw it . of course, they have no clue what they are talking about but it makes them feel good. Its the real farmers who are left to deal with the consequences.

Flying- I am glad you described the hen house..a commercial hen house no less. See, real farmers keep animals in a environment that will keep the  animals healthy. It might not be what we PEOPLE think will be comfortable but trust me, the animals generally are. the fact is, farming is about profit. The cows are not pets, we don't name them and except for the usual milking and animal care, we don't see them. When a cow no longer makes us money ( and we do everythng we can to keep her around) she is shipped to slaughter. She isn't retired to the back 40 to live out the rest of her days. Thats farming. hogs, chicken,cattle- they are raised for profit in doign so, consumers have meat and milk in the stores.

There are some who won't eat meat or milk because they don't think animals should be raised for slaughter. Thats fine...but don't tell me I can't eat meat. There is the problem- these NUTS are trying to do just that. Me thinks the video is just one of the tools they use to force about changes in society, namely passing laws dictating animal care.......

Just read an article and said that one school found and destroyed 18 cases of the tainted meat that was sent out.  The district was notified Feb 4.  Did anyone else read about other schools or places finding and destroying the meat?  Just wondering?