An undercover operation conducted by
Mercy For Animals revealed severe abuse taking place at the Seaboard Foods Farm in Colorado. Seaboard is a major pork supplier for
Walmart. According to the
Denver Sun Times, the Phillips County sheriff did an investigation and contacted Seaboard officials, who then did their own investigation. In the lengthy, but less than apologetic
Seaboard's statement, the company claims seven workers at the farm were identified and fired, including two managers.
Some of the scenes in this video are horrific, and may trigger strong disturbing emotions. It did with me, and so I suggest strong viewer discretion. The Seaboard abuse gets progressively difficult to watch as the scenes show beatings, cruel living conditions, shooting pigs in front of other pigs (considered to be intelligent creatures), crating pregnant pigs where they can't even turn around or lie down comfortably, and scenes of sociopathic butchers cutting piglets and ripping out their testicles while still alive and without pain reducers. The reason for posting the video is not for shock. It's to verify the claims in the article/title, and to bring awareness.
I didn't want to write about this. I wanted to forget about it. It's almost too big for me to wrap my head around. I've seen videos like this before and it happens everywhere. It will never change, I thought. Well, yes, it can and
does change. It starts with exposure, which leads to awareness, which leads to protest, which leads to change. Mega companies like Walmart must
demand higher standards from their suppliers. A petition with over 60k signatures (and growing) is being sent to Jim Walton, Rob Walton, and H. Lee Scott.
The petitionstates in the last several years, companies like Costco, Starbucks and other food providers have implemented animal welfare requirements in their supply chains that engage 'third party auditors to ensure compliance.' It also
states:
"Over 60 major grocery chains, restaurants, and food providers, including Safeway, Kroger, Target, Kmart, McDonald’s, and Burger King, have all implemented policies requiring their pork producers to phase out inherently cruel gestation crates. Walmart should do the same. It is time for Walmart to follow the lead of your competitors and adopt new animal welfare requirements to prevent egregious animal abuse."
Walmart is spotlighted here because they are the world's largest retail chain by revenue. All too often they act as if they are above complying with the legal and ethical standards of other companies and countries. The mistreatment of their own employees has been highly
scrutinized and condemned as well. On a positive note, it has been proven, that with enough pressure from the public,
Walmart does listen, and sometimes they actually do take action. It's just a shame we rarely hear of them taking positive initiatives by their own good will and conscience. Perhaps the next generation of the Walmart dynasty will be different. Meanwhile, the public is taking note, protesting, petitioning, and boycotting. There is no reason - and no excuse for these innocent animals to be abused.
SIGN: The Petition To Walmart
You can share your thoughts on the Seaboard Foods Facebook Page, or use their website contact form. Some of their products include: PrairieFresh® Premium Pork, PrairieFresh Prime® Cuisine, Daily's® Premium Meats, 67th Street BBQ™ Made with Sweet Baby Ray's®, High Plains Bioenergy and a proud partner with Butterball.
To learn more about Mercy For Animals, visit: Mercy For Animals.