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I Worked for Perdue By Ann Holmes I am a native of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, but I now live in Washington, DC. My first job out of college was working as a Quality Assurance Manager for Perdue, at the Accomac, Virginia chicken slaughter plant from 1995-1997. Truly it was the most miserable two years of my life, but it opened my eyes to a different world that the public rarely has a chance to see-behind the scenes cruelty. Generally, if people do not see this sort of cruelty face to face they tend to block it out and refuse to accept reality. I, on the other hand, will be haunted for the rest of my life by the horror I witnessed at Perdue. Along with the mistreatment of the chickens, the company has little concern for the safety of the finished product. The birds are soaked and repeatedly drenched in bleach. The birds spend approximately 70 minutes in a high concentration pool of chlorine and pass through dozens of chlorine misters before the product is packed and shipped out. The workers are allowed to run over stray chickens with forklifts without any sort of disciplinary consequences. When spoiled chicken products are located on the premises, the company serves the product in the plant cafeteria. The HACCP program [Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points program] is a big joke. The government allows the poultry industry to govern itself. A HACCP plan is in place, but no one enforces the checks. So much falsification takes place among the line workers and management when it comes to making hourly HACCP checks [for poisonous bacteria on birds, equipment, and in tanks of slaughter water] that I spent my time documenting the falsification more than I spent monitoring the production process. When I quit the plant in August 1997, I reported a State Inspector who was falsifying her paperwork. She was required to make eight checks a day in various departments of the plant, but she was rarely seen aside from walking to and from the plant. Perdue's management and the USDA [US Department of Agriculture] knew that this inspector was not making her inspections but failed to report her. I am happy to say that this person was fired, but it took my phone call to make it happen. I could ramble on with the many, many horror stories I have about working in a chicken slaughterhouse. After reading Carol Adams' book, "Living Among Meat-Eaters," I realize that non-vegetarians are blocked vegetarians and that I have to set an example. I've learned to stay calm in situations when I have to explain why I don't eat meat and why I feel so strongly about the suffering of animals. The Eastern Shore is a tough spot for a vegetarian, but I am excited to see small changes, including the White Wave Silk Tofu sold in all the grocery stores. People ask why Linda McCartney died of cancer. I cannot explain the cause of her death, but unfortunately she was not vegan and did eat dairy and eggs. I realize vegetarians have less of a risk of developing cancer than meat-eaters, but dairy and egg consumption increases your chance of the disease. Fellow Vegan - Ann Holmes 10 April 2002 _____________________________________________________________________ UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS http://www.UPC-online.org Promoting the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl PO Box 150 Machipongo, VA 23405 * 757-678-7875 The Moment You Turn Your Back You Are Involved --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
