The American Meat Institute (AMI) has released a video tour of a pork slaughter plant hosted by leading animal welfare expert Temple Grandin, Ph.D., professor of animal science at Colorado State University. The video is available on the Institute's dedicated animal welfare web site http://www.animalhandling.org/.
Also released with the video was a print companion brochure that may be downloaded from the website. Single copies also are available upon request from the AMI.
This pork video tour starts on the farm in a finishing barn, depicts pig loading on trailers, unloading at the plant, stunning of pigs to make them insensible to pain, which is required by law, the bleeding process, carcass chilling and fabrication of carcasses into cuts that consumers eat. The video details the widespread use of the AMI animal welfare audit, developed by Grandin for the industry in 1997, and now a global standard.
Grandin selected the plant featured in the video as representative of a typical pork slaughter plant. She was on-site for the taping and narrated the videos in her own words.
Smithfield Foods also has released a video about fresh pork production. This educational video is available for viewing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuSpUKnFu8g.
