Chris's Sharebook 

A newsletter originally posted on the USDA website read, "One way to reduce your environmental impact while dining at our cafeterias is to participate in the Meatless Monday initiative." After backlash from politicians and agricultural interest groups, the USDA retracted their recommendation, tweeting that the "Statement found on USDA website was posted w/o proper clearance."

The USDA's own food pyramid lists beans, peas, processed soy products, nuts and seeds as protein sources along with meats. The average U.S. diet is unimaginative and heavy on meats, to the detriment of human and environmental health. No one is forcing citizens to give up meat. The Meatless Mondays initiative or similar promotion of non-meat proteins would simply encourage people to be more imaginative in their eating choices and more conscious of how their diets affect their health and the world around them.

Please click here to sign the petition to encourage the USDA to promote meat alternatives and put the health of citizens and the environment above political and financial interests.

A recent investigation of a North Carolina Butterball slaughterhouse by Mercy for Animals revealed shockingly sadistic, unnecessary cruelty to turkeys. Slaughterhouse workers were caught on video kicking, stomping on and dragging turkeys, bashing their heads in with metal rods and neglecting severely injured birds.

The cruelty displayed in these videos mirrors sadism exposed during a 2006 investigation of an Arkansas Butterball slaughterhouse. The 2006 expose documented an employee crushing a bird's head until it exploded and another employee sexually assaulting a female bird. These disgusting, malicious acts were unrelated to meat production and performed only for the sick amusement of sadistic workers. Clearly, animal abuse is an ongoing issue in poultry slaughterhouses nationwide.

Despite the USDA-confirmed abuse in the 2006 case, Butterball was not charged with animal cruelty. The U.S. currently has no federal law protecting chickens and turkeys raised for food, and the prosecutor assigned to the case chose not to charge Butterball for animal cruelty under Arkansas state law. Without federal protection, the cycle of animal abuse will continue all over the U.S. Please sign the petition to convince Congress to create a federal law to protect poultry from sadistic abuse.

After a five-year ban, Congress has recently restored funding for USDA inspection of horse slaughter. This decision opens the doors for slaughterhouses to legally butcher horses for human consumption, including shipment to overseas markets.

As of November 30, 2011, pro-slaughter activists estimate that slaughterhouses could open within one to three months. Dave Duquette, president of pro-slaughter group United Horsemen, claims, "I have personally probably five to 10 investors that I could call right now if I had a plant ready to go."

Horse racers, rodeo owners and carriage companies are to blame for the current overpopulation of horses. Due to the recent economy, many private owners are in a position to sell or give away their horses. Horse Feathers Equine Rescue owner Cheri White Owl is concerned that if slaughterhouses open, owners will sell their horses there rather than seeking out an animal sanctuary.

Horses are beautiful animals that have served humans faithfully for centuries. USDA inspections enable the slaughter of these creatures. Please sign the petition to stop funding horse slaughter inspections.