U.S. Department of Agriculture Reopens California Slaughterhouse

Aug 27, 2012

Slaughterhouse Reopens It’s Doors after Questionable Undercover Video

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that the California slaughterhouse that was shut down last week due to animal cruelty and food safety allegations can now reopen its doors.

The slaughterhouse under question is ‘Central Valley Meat’s’. The Handford, California, plant was ordered to shut down their operations after the release of video footage captured by an undercover Compassion Over Killing animal activist, claiming animal cruelty was taking place inside the slaughterhouse.

On Thursday, three California Republican Congressmen - Devin Nunes, Kevin McCarthy and Jeff Denham made a request to the USDA to reopen the slaughterhouse, noting that the region’s high unemployment rate would be exacerbated with the prolonged closer of the slaughterhouse. The unemployment rates in the region have been reported as high as 20%. The plant employs over 450 people.

Central Valley Meat’s met USDA’s approval to reopen after the submission of a corrective action plan outlining how the company planned to comply with inspection regulations.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.