After the Beef Recall: Exploring Greater Transparency in the Meat Industry

On Thursday, April 17, 2008, at 1 p.m., in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building, the Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled, “After the Beef Recall: Exploring Greater Transparency in the Meat Industry.” The Humane Society’s undercover investigation that led to the largest beef recall in the U.S. puts into question the adequacy of the USDA’s oversight of slaughter plants. This hearing will explore the gaps in regulation and how transparency can enhance compliance with humane handling and food safety laws in the nation’s slaughterhouses. It will also examine the means for achieving such transparency.

Witnesses for the hearing include:

Panel One
Dr. Richard Raymond, Undersecretary for Food Safety, USDA
Ms. Lisa Shames, Director, Natural Resources and the Environment, GAO
Mr. Stan Painter, Chairman, National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, American Federation of Government Employees
Dr. Temple Grandin, Professor, Colorado State University

Panel Two
Mr. Bev Eggleston, Owner, Ecofriendly Foods, LLC
Mr. Joel Salatin, Owner, Polyface Farms
Mr. Patrick Boyle, CEO, American Meat Institute

Panel Three
Mr. Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO, Humane Society of the United States
Dr. John J. McGlone, Fellow, American Humane & Professor, Texas Tech University
Mr. Adam Aronson, CEO, Arrowsight