Downer Loophole Finally Closed

The US government closed a loophole that permitted slaughtered downed cows into the human food chain.

The loophole allowed cows who went down after inspection to be dragged unceremoniously to the kill floor. There is no kind way to move a recumbent 1,300 lb cow so that she is conscious and close to walking when she gets to the actual site of her death.

Now the loophole has been closed to prevent potentially diseased animals from being fed to people. That is not to say that downed cows aren't going to be slaughtered - they will. They just are not (theoretically) going to end up in the human food chain.

Decrease your cow milk and cheese consumption and increase your consumption of alternatives milks, like soy milk, almond milk or rice milk. Many are fortified with vitamins to boost their already nutritious value. Because no matter how you cut it, the end result for almost every single dairy cow is the slaughterhouse, where she will be killed at the young age of four or five. Sadie, a former dairy cow, at Animal Place is turning eleven this month. She has many more years of life to live and she deserves to live them as much as a companion dog or cat.