Send a message to the USDA
Slaughterhouses are already extremely dangerous, with slaughterhouse workers having some of the highest amputation and severe injury rates in the workforce. A recent study confirmed that most slaughterhouse workers are at high risk for developing musculoskeletal disorders from repeated, high-force movements as they are worked to the bone. As one worker put it, "Everyone works in pain and is afraid to speak out." Since workers must keep their place on the slaughter line, they are often denied breaks, even to go to the bathroom. Some workers wear diapers or have been forced to disclose personal health information just to be allowed to go to the bathroom.
Now, the USDA is eliminating standards regulating the pace of work and slaughter, enabling slaughterhouse working conditions to become even worse.
Not only is faster slaughter dangerous for workers, but it can increase the risk of nightmarish deaths for animals. While chickens and turkeys are supposed to be rendered unconscious before slaughter, some of them miss stunning, meaning they are fully conscious as they are cut at the throat and thrown into boiling water. Similarly, pigs who are not fully rendered unconscious during the gassing process face unimaginable trauma as they watch their peers be killed until they too are plunged helplessly into scalding water.
This already happens to thousands of animals each year, and increasing line speeds only risks more animals suffering unimaginable deaths.
Send a message to the USDA now and tell them that eliminating slaughter standards is unacceptable!
Dear Secretary Rollins,
I am extremely concerned and disheartened by the USDA's recent announcement to extend waivers for pig and poultry slaughter line speeds and eliminate worker safety reporting. Faster line speeds can increase errors during animal stunning and slaughter, threatening food safety. Even at current line speeds, errors such as sick animals entering the food supply, meat contamination, inclusion of foreign objects, or inadequate meat handling and storing are missed, enabling dangerous products to end up on store shelves. In addition, thousands of birds miss the electrical stunning bath before slaughter each year, which not only results in a horrifically cruel death, but it also renders their meat inedible, wasting time and money.
Second, staffing levels at slaughterhouses are not sufficient to handle faster line speeds. Slaughterhouse workers already face unacceptably high rates of musculoskeletal disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, and tendonitis, and have some of the highest hospitalization and amputation rates in the workforce. A study commissioned by the USDA published in January found that over 40% of pig and poultry slaughterhouse workers reported moderate to severe chronic pain, and nearly 50% of poultry and over 80% of pig slaughterhouse workers were found to be at high risk for musculoskeletal injuries and conditions. Many are not even allowed to go to the bathroom or drink water because there aren't enough people to cover the line. Eliminating line speed regulations without implementing additional safety measures such as minimum staffing, maximum piece rates, or ergonomic standards puts people at an even greater risk of injury.
During the Covid-19 outbreak, slaughterhouses were major hotspots for the spread of disease, killing workers and neighboring Americans. Even if staffing levels increased, faster line speeds could cause slaughterhouse workers to work even closer together on the line, increasing the risk of spreading colds, flus, and other diseases.
In all, fast line speeds will not make America healthy—rather, it will only cause more contaminated food to end up on store shelves, spread diseases faster, injure more workers, and cause more animals to endure needlessly horrific deaths. Please halt this decision as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
