Postville, Iowa – Rubashkin Consolidates Hechsher To OU & Rabbi Weissmandl, In A Marketing Move.

I’m not usually the one to deal with such issues; I have neither the knowledge nor the patience to deal with blind mud-slinging that ultimately happens when discussing these kinds of issues, but here I think I can handle it. Those of who’ve been duped by Yudel Shain for all these years, and who think that he’s some kind of “expert,” may think that this (KAJ removing the Hechsher for Aaron’s/Rubashkin) gives credence to his years of trying to find dirt on the great Rubashkin family. After all, if the straight-shooting KAJ took off the Hechsher they must’ve finally seen the errs of their ways, and they’ve decided to stop putting their name to this “terrible” brand of meat and poultry. But consider this; if there was a real problem would they wait three and half months to terminate the Hechsher? three and a half more months of real problematic meat and poultry? I doubt it. The answer is very simple: follow the money trail, friends.

Ever since KAJ has added their stamp to Empire Rubashkin has not been happy. After all, would you be happy if your chief competitor got the same stamp of approval as you did after years of not being able to, and that keeping them on a lower tier with consumers? I think not. Granted, most Frum people still stay away from Empire because it’s been ingrained in their collective consciousness that Empire is Treyf, and no matter how many Shochtim with white beards they advertise as having they still won’t get the frum consumer to buy it, but many have overcome the fear of Empire and have crossed the invisible line into Empire. So, ever since that happened there’s been bad blood between the two, as can clearly be seen by those of you who bother to read between the lines. This “bad blood” seems to have boiled over now, and the result is the termination of their relationship. That also explains the three and half month waiting period; there seems to be a contract until then.

What appears to have happened is Rabbi Weissmandl has decided to allow his Supreme Kosher stamp to appear alongside the OU. Rabbi Weissmandl had long refused to allow this. It seems in return for changing his mind, Rabbi Weissmandl both moves out KAJ and gets more money.

I think everyone needs to calm down a bissel.

Agriprocessors is currently carrying the imrimaturs of several kashrus agencies: OU, KAJ, Weissmandl, CHK, Margareten, UMK (any I left out?). Each one of these costs in excess of $100,000 per year. Meanwhile, all of them rely upon the same ShuBi”M at the plant (fixed cost). It makes sense for AP to cut some overhead by removing redundant imprimaturs from its products. Frankly, I am surprised they are only terminating the KAJ; Margareten and CHK are much more “niche” and target far more limited communities.

SaCH; This is a business move to cut costs by trimming overhead. There is no practical difference in Kashrus as Weissmandl has already been running things for a while. The OU mark will be retained as it provides the greatest hechsher visibility and the UMK will continue providing the “fig leaf” for their non-glatt.

Is Yudel Shain crazy? Is everyone who no longer trusts Rubashkin crazy? Why is everyone who doubts Sholom Rubashkin called crazy?

Yes, Yudel Shain is a crazy person. Poshut kipshuto. Is it possible that everyone who talks against Rubashkin called crazy? Very easily – if no normal people talk against them, then the only ones who do will be crazy.

“I personally observed that when an animal was still very much alive (after shechita) they shot it in the brain right away & it was used as a kosher animal. It is an accepted practice by all rabonim machshirim NOT to use such an animal.”

This is simply a lie. There is no such “accepted practise”. Every kosher behema in Australia is shot after the shechita, and every rov in Australia, even the most machmir, permits it without any question. You are motzi laaz on an entire country full of Jews, just in order to get at Rubashkin.

Once a kosher shchita has been done on an animal it is dead, and nothing you do to it can make it treif. I don’t care if it stands up and dances a hora. It’s still dead, and you can shoot it, pull its simonim, or whatever you like.

As for the possibility of shaking off sirchos, the sources you quote are probably talking about a practise that was done for that express purpose. If you’re trying to remove sirchos, that’s a potential problem. But this is done for a different purpose, not to every animal, and we have no basis for guessing that there might have been a sircha that fell off.

Zebus is a non-issue. There is simply no basis in halacha for this letter of the Chazon Ish, and no hechsher in the world worries about it. A zebu is a cow, just like a black angus or a holstein or a jersey or whatever. If you only want to eat breeds that existed in the Shach’s Poland, then you cannot eat any beef, because none of those breeds exist today. What’s more, zebus were known in Eretz Yisroel in Chazal’s time, and they don’t mention anything about a kind of cow that isn’t kosher. The CI was simply wrong, and there’s no way out of that.

Traveling Rabbi Don’t you work for Rabbi Wissmandel or Rubashkin????

This is all Rabbi Mantel’s work,

As a Rabbi aware what goes on in Kashrus worldwide. It is known that Rabbi Weissmandel’s Hechsher is a stronger Hechsher then the KAJ, so it is fair to say that this move by Rubashkin is a step up on Kashrus? So I’m very confused as to why people are so upset about this, in all honesty people should be very happy about this move?

from ou.org
As a result of a diet that is heavy in grain, dairy cows sometimes suffer from displaced abomasum (hereafter referred to as “DA” ). This condition signifies that the fourth stomach section – the abomasum – has moved out of position, due to built-up gas or fluid. DA impedes a dairy cow’s maximum functionality, and it is often addressed by veterinary intervention. (See Metabolic Diseases of Dairy Cattle-Displaced Abomasum, BJ Harris and JK Shearer – University of Florida-IFAS Extension.)
Although there are several treatments available to rectify DA, one common treatment involves piercing the three walls of the abomasum by making three unaligned holes, allowing for the release of excess gas when the holes are momentarily aligned. Some poskim have questioned this procedure, suggesting that it might render a cow a tereifah (as a punctured abomasum, or keivah, makes an animal a tereifah – YD 48:1). Other recognized poskim, including those whose opinions are consulted by the accepted national kashrus agencies, have ruled that as a practical matter, there is no concern. Among the arguments for this latter position is that the incisions in the three layers of the abomasum are not aligned, such that there is not a direct puncture flush through the abomasum. Furthermore, the Shach (YD 57:48) rules that an animal of questionable tereifah status can be proven and established to not be a tereifah if it lives for 12 months subsequent to the condition that may render it a tereifah. This may well apply to DA cows, whose halachic status is at worst a questionable one. Some poskim additionally argue for leniency regarding DA cows’ kosher status because the puncture for treatment of DA is totally sealed upon completion of the treatment. (For a complete discussion of the halachic implications of DA treatments, see Rabbi Y. Belsky and Rabbi M. Heinemann in Mesorah v. 10 pp.62-78, Rabbi M. Genack in Tradition 29:2, and Rabbi J.D. Bleich in Contemporary Halachic Problems vol. 5.)
Producers of cholov Yisroel milk are also exposed to the problem of DA cows. Segregating non-DA cows from a herd is an arduous task that requires a large measure of diligence. Mashgichim, veterinarians, farm managers and workers must all be vigilant and cooperate in order to effectively segregate non-DA cows from a large heard.
It must be noted that the halachic status of DA cows is not a very new issue. Surgery on DA cows has been performed for many decades, and prominent poskim (see above) have addressed the issue over the years.
Irrespective of the status of an animal which underwent surgical correction of DA, there is a broader halachic consideration, for an unknown, widely-varying minority ratio of cows in grain-fed herds develops DA, and one needs to question whether or not this divergent minority of DA cows impacts the larger milk supply.
Statistics indicate that 1-9% of cows in a random herd are affected by DA. (Documented mean DA rates are 1.4%-5.8%. See Causes and Prevention of Displaced Abomasum in Dairy Cows, Dr. Randy Shaver – Department of Dairy Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison.) The incidence of DA depends on several factors, including environment and diet, and there is no set method to calculate the DA risk ratio. Research by this author of two farms in one region of Upstate New York indicates that one farm had a 4% population of DA cows, whereas another farm had less than 1%. The overall national average population of DA dairy cows is 4%, but the truth is that the statistical ratio of DA cows in milk herds which factor in for halachic purposes is somewhat less than this figure, as not all DA cows undergo surgery, and many farmers permanently remove DA cows from their herds as a result of such cows’ poor productivity and long-term stability for milking.
How do the above statistics affect the halachic considerations?
On a d’Oraysa (Biblical) level, we hold in all cases that Min b’mino batel b’rov – the status of a mixture of identical objects goes according to the majority. However, when dealing with min b’mino mixtures of liquids, there is a din d’Rabbonon (rabbinic law) which states that the mixture is kosher only if the amount of heter (kosher substance) present is sixty times the amount of issur (non-kosher substance). In cases of safek (doubt) as to whether there is bittul b’shishim (nullification by sixty), we are lenient, as the entire requirement of shishim is d’Rabbonon. (See YD 98:2 and Taz. Ibid. s.k. 3.) In light of the fact that the presence of DA cows in a given herd can vary greatly, such that a random tanker or silo of milk may be assumed to contain less than 1% or up to 9% milk from DA cows, there is a safek of bittul b’shishim, which would permit any milk. Furthermore, even if one were to assume that the average bottle of milk contains 4% milk from DA cows that underwent surgery, the milk would nonetheless be permissible, as there is a machlokes (halachic dispute) as to whether such DA cows are kosher, and since the matter is one of safek, and the need for bittul b’shishim is only d’Rabbonon, the result is that the milk is deemed kosher.
There is a rule that “Kol d’parish mi-ruba parish” – “Anything that separates out (of a series of sources among which the minority are not kosher) is governed by the status of the majority”. Thus, if there are nine kosher butcher shops and one non-kosher butcher shop in a common area, and an unidentified piece of meat that must have come from one of these shops is found in the public market nearby, the meat is deemed kosher, representative of the majority. (YD 110:3) The same logic may apply to milk from herds with DA cows, for even if we assume the worst – that DA cows are definitely tereifos and the DA cow population is spread out evenly at a 4% ratio – milk which is purchased at the consumer level may nonetheless be said to emanate from the majority of cows, which are kosher. Even though every container of milk derives from large dairy silos which contain blends of milk from hundreds or thousands of cows, the rule of kol d’parish may establish that the product before us is considered to be a blend from the (kosher) majority. (Kol d’parish applies when there is a known source of issur – non-kosher substance. Because a definitive presence of DA cows is not known in any given herd, it is reasonable that the simple rule of ‘Azlinan basar ruba’ – ‘We go according to the majority’ (Chulin ibid.) – may apply instead of Kol d’parish. This approach would yield the exact same result in our case as does Kol d’parish.)
There is also a maxim that “Kol kavu’a k’mechtzah al mechtzah dami” – “The fixed presence of a non-kosher substance creates a 50/50 chance (that an unidentified item taken from the source area is non-kosher)”, such that if one were to enter and purchase meat from one of the butcher shops in the above case and not recall in which shop he made his purchase, the meat purchased has a 50% chance of being non-kosher and can therefore not be eaten (YD ibid.). This rule does not apply to milk from DA cows, as it requires that a Yisroel have knowledge of the definite presence of the non-kosher source at the time the purchase was made (in the case of butcher shops) or at the time the milk was extracted (YD 110:5). In the case of DA cows, there is no knowledge on the part of a Yisroel as to a specific cow’s DA status and that it underwent surgery, for such cows are not recognizable, except to veterinarians (who can detect a cow’s DA surgical history based on scar tissue). The inability to identify a specific source of issur precludes the rule of kavua. (Shach ibid. s.k. 28), Furthermore, even if a DA cow would be clearly-identified as such to a mashgiach or Jewish consumer at the time of its milking, the rule of kavua would not apply to the milk when it is drunk, for milk from DA cows would never present itself to the dairy or consumer in its pure, original form. Because the milk of each cow is blended with milk from hundreds or thousands of other cows at the dairy itself, milk from this hypothetical known DA cow would be diluted to the point at which the regular rules of bittul would apply. Therefore, the din of kavua is inapplicable.
What about tereifah non-DA cows? Isn’t there surely a certain proportion of cows among the herds that are tereifos, especially cows with sirchos – lung adhesions – which are common? (Shach s.k. 2 on YD 39:1)
The truth is that even if, upon shechitah, an animal is determined to be a tereifah as a result of sirchos in its lungs, its milk is kosher. (YD 81:2) This is so because of a s’fek s’feika l’kula – a double doubt in favor of leniency – for there are two factors which combine to permit this animal’s milk: 1) There is a chance that the sirchos developed after the animal was milked, such that the sirchos were absent during the milking, which means that the animal and its milk were kosher upon milking. 2) Every time an animal is ruled to be a tereifah due to sirchos, its status as a tereifah is not definitive, as we are not truly expert in sirchos and are therefore strict in determining tereifah status based on them; thus, cases which are deemed non-kosher based on sirchos may actually be inherently kosher. (See YD ibid. Tur ibid. from Rosh, Be’er Hetev ibid. S.k. 8 and Aruch Ha-Shulchan YD 81:27.)
Based on the above, even if every milk cow would be slaughtered and found to be a tereifah due to sirchos, its milk would be permissible (with the possible exception of milk produced within three days of shechitah – see YD ibid.; this would not be a factor, however, in practical dairy situations.)
Furthermore – and this applies to tereifos of all types (such as punctured or missing organs) – the general chezkas kashrus (presumption of kosher status) of all animals (kosher species, of course) allows one to consume milk without concern for the possible presence of tereifos. (See YD 39:2 with Shach s.k. 8.) Unless one has information to counter an animal’s chezkas kashrus, its milk and meat are permissible.
One may think it logical to ask why we don’t take a totally different approach and reason that since a certain percentage (possibly 10% or more) of cows in the general cow population is comprised of tereifos, and since all milk processed in modern dairies is a mixture of the milk of large herds which on average have some tereifos (likely 10% or more, reflective of the general statistics), why not assume that all milk contains an admixture of 10% or more from tereifos? In short, shouldn’t all milk made from mixtures of large herds be assumed to be non-kosher? Should we not assume that 10% or higher of all milk in dairy silos is from tereifos and thereby renders all milk with which it is blended non-kosher?
The Shulchan Aruch and Remo (ibid.) rule otherwise, stating that a mixture of milk from one known tereifah animal and a herd of 60 cows that are assumed to be kosher is permissible; we do not treat the mixture as containing additional tereifah milk from the likely additional percentage of tereifos in the herd. The Shach (ibid. s.k. 6, quoting the Issur V’Heter and Toras Chattas) and the Gro (ibid. s.k. 11) explain that we can assume the balance of animals in the herd to be kosher, as Rov beheimos k’sheiros, and the Sifsei Da’as (ibid. s.k. 6) specifically notes that we do not suspect that the 60 animals presumed to be kosher are possibly really tereifos, as Rov beheimos k’sheiros is the governing principle. The rationale for this is that each animal’s kosher status is established at the time it is milked, prior to the milk from the herd being mixed together. We therefore view each animal at the moment it is milked as kosher, based on Rov beheimos k’sheiros, and its milk is considered to be kosher when it is subsequently blended.
To illustrate this principle, let’s travel back in time to the pre-industrial era, when a glass of milk derived from one cow rather than from a milk mixture of hundreds or thousands of cows. In this scenario, a dairy farmer who regularly drinks the milk of his own herd will likely consume over the course of his lifetime milk from hundreds of cows. Even though we may assume that at least 10% of cows are tereifos, and on a statistical level the farmer must have consumed some milk from tereifos, we do not view it this way from an halachic stance, as Rov beheimos k’sheiros dictates that each cow had kosher status when it was milked; every cow’s kosher status is determined individually, not collectively. So too in the case of contemporary milk production is the kosher status of every cow established when it is milked, regardless of the fact that its milk will be mixed with milk from hundreds or thousands of cows. Halacha does not look at the aggregate milk mixture and proclaim that the mixture is statistically 10% or more from tereifos; rather, the kashrus of the milk mixture is fixed beforehand, for the status of the milk of each cow which contributed to it was established as kosher upon milking. Therefore, the milk of each cow is ruled to be kosher as its exits the cow, and the fact that a given ratio of milk in any mixture may be 10% or more from tereifos is inconsequential from an halachic perspective.

To all of you in the outside world please note that within the KAJ HECHSHEIRIM the Rabonim don’t make “DIERACT” monies from the Hasgochos.

They get paid from the Kehila and the Kehila pay them
Thank You

Many individuals & rabonim are very disturbed because `”Rabbi Menachem Mayer Weissmandl shelita has undertaken to give a Hashgocha to AGRI plant without realizing the Michol.

I spent 3 days in the plant a few years ago. It is very disturbing that the RUBASHKIN Management, owners & Rabonim machshirim have no interest in having anything more
than basic kashrus standards.

I personally observed that when an animal was still very much alive (after shechita) they shot it in the brain right away & it was used as a kosher animal. It is an accepted practice by all rabonim machshirim NOT to use such an animal.

The system at RUBASHKIN is that nonJews do the physical “neekur” which is then checked by the “mashgiach. The rav hamacher was shown that the mashgiach leneekur physically can’t handle the load and some meat goes by without being checked. He responded “there isn’t enough full time work for 2 people, only for 1 ½ people & we can’t hire a half a person so we’ll leave it with one Mashgiach till there is enough work for two full time people”. Therefore, too often “NONMINUKER” meat is shipped to caterers. Most customers don’t know enough about neekur so they unknowingly use it & don’t complain, so we don’t even become aware of most of the tragic episodes.

A major problem strictly with RUBASHKIN’s beef operation is the following: RUBASHKIN owns the slaughterhouse and doesn’t have sufficient access to get rid of their “treifah” meat competitively. Rubashkin therefore made a deal with ShopRite to take off their hands as much treifah meat as possible, so Rubashkin will give them a special deal on the Kosher AARON’S meat. RUBASHKIN therefore has a tremendous $$$ incentive to designate as much meat as possible as kosher/Glatt versus not kosher etc.

The “system of kashrus” in the RUBASHKIN plant is “Don’t have any system” so it’ll be impossible for anyone to catch & track all of the kashrus problems.

RUBASHKIN commonly switches labels, as it was found on numerous occasions that on top of a nonGlatt label was stuck on a Glatt label, ‘cause they were short for an order. The NonJewish RUBASHKIN truck drivers have in their possession a box of different kosher labels to put on to boxes of meat as per a store’s request.

We are aware that some insignificant improvements were instituted in the Agri plant, e.g. a larger chiller was installed. We must be very astute and realize that we are dealing with individuals who have absolutely no problem in stating an outright lie without blinking. Therefore they will make many false claims, don’t be misled. The statement that Rabbi Weissmandl is not utilizing Lubavitch Shoichtim or that some shochatim wives have shaved their heads (like they do in India) for financial reasons (even if you believe them) etc is all irrelevant to the acceptance of the finished product in a Heimishe home. Don’t be the “nar’esher consumer they cater to.

The fact that many PETA members ARE a bit overboard, does NOT disqualify their findings!

Sometimes it take the extremists to find what others did not make the efforts to investigate.

The PETA video has been authenticated, and many experts have said it is horrific, and wrong, besides a DEFINITE KASHRUS ISSUE.

If a crazy person sees a car on the street, does that mean the car is not there?!?!

Just giving the old story “PETA” is crazy, does not mean they are wrong.

I love to eat meat, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO EAT MEAT AT THE EXPENSE OF TZAR BAALEI CHAIM.

I would rather have peanut butter for Shabbos than eat meat that is processed the way Rubashkin does it.

On top of it all, they have too many other shailos:

Zebus.
Not checking for penetration of the stomach to relieave pressure.
Keeping track of a shochets record of Nevailos, putting pressure on him to say Kosher.
No mashgichim of the schita

Ripping out the trachea, which someone said they stopped.

Rushing too much

Not allowing the behaima to die before yanking it away.

The list goes on. 7:37 is right.

Except that KAJ dumped Rubashkin, not the other way around.

And in the trade, RUBASHKIN IS KNOWN AS THE MAFIA. They come down heavy handed on any store who has the nerve to try to also carry any other Chassidish Schita. They punish them by missing shipments, or shorting them on orders.

Since many chabad baalei teshuva are under the foolish idea that ONLY Rubashkin is acceptable for them, these stores must carry it. But once they carry it, they find they can’t carry other fresh meat.

This is Mafia tactics all the way.
I have heard this personally from buyers in 4 different larger stores. They HATE dealing with Agri, but have no choice. They want to carry the other lines, like Vineland, MealMart and other Alle products, but are not allowed by Agri.

For this alone I would not eat their food. ANY OF THEIR FOOD. I would not even eat a parave product of theirs.

To buy Rubashkin is to help promote immoral behavior.

The fact that MM Weismandl gives them hashgacha, drops him in my eyes.

—–

Also, Mr. Novak of 10:39,
Anyone having the courage to speak out against Rubashkin MUST maintain anonymity, unless he is a wealthy person and can’t be hurt. You don’t understand whom you are dealing with when you are dealing with Agri processing. I would rather deal with the Italian Mafia.

7:37 was right to keep his name off.

And, everything he wrote is true except that he things Rubashkin dumped KAJ which he has backwards.

To all of you in the outside world please note that within the KAJ HECHSHEIRIM the Rabonim don’t make any monies from the Hasgochos or Companies, Caterers etc. The mashgiachim that go out to the field, they get their pay per diem.
About the other labels, that one mentioned at 12:24 A.M., they are still under KAJ. They HIGHLY RESPECT AND ENJOY a wonderful relationship.Should they leave KAJ ever is for the pure terrorist activities that the companies are experiencing, if they can not take it any more they will reluctantly buckle under the pressure. The companies especially those people that were directly involved with setting up productions ENJOYED and RESPECTED AND STILL RESPECTS the KAJ. As of now they are still under the KAJ,and enjoying and RESPECTING the KAJ.
The KAJ runs their Kashrus the way it was meant to be with Pure Das Torah, service to the Klal. The money they charge helps to cover the expenses.
What you are all reading should SCARE YOU ALL!!!!
YES, TERROR DOES WORK, AS WELL AS MONEY.

I agree with the anonymous poster of January 1, 2008 7:37 PM.
AgriProcessors is a filthy, dirty, corrupt establishment that needs to clean up it act (with regard to their treatment of the animals, and their treatment of human workers)before it can be considered even remotely kosher.
All the hechshers in the world will not change the fact that its practices are cruel, sloppy, and un-kosher.
Until Rubashkin allows unannounced visits and/or constant video surveillance by the Humane Society and/or PETA, let’s not pretend that their problems are “fixed.”

J.D.

By the way,
The KAJ did have more then one replacement for whatever reason Rav Wisemandel made sure there shouldn’t be any cooperation with any of the people thay wanted to put in.
You can ask Rabbi Y. S. of Monsey, which was one of them.

Anonymus from 12:24am
You know very well that the KAJ took their Hashgocho off, the reason for the date is that they have alot of labels and packaging which you are very well aware off.

About the other companies you mentioned, everybody knows for which reason it was taken off, the terror the owners went through from somebody.

If it is as you say How come that they didn’t advertise only Rubashkin, if this has nothing to do with Kashrus?????

If you don’t want to eat Rubashkin you’d better stop eating one of the other big names too. They swap product with each other to cover each other’s shortfalls.

And if you aren’t going to trust the O.U. you’d also better stop eating any processed food made in America because with all the heimesheh hashgachos in the world that candy bar or crackers you just ate had O.U. ingrediants in them and some of those Super Duper High Octane Frummer-then-you hashgachos rely on the O.U. entirely and never see the inside (or outside, for that matter) of any ao the production plants.

Now you know why they are called heimisheh hashgachos. Der Rav hamachshir blaibt in heim.

The entire hashgocha business stinks. Nobody in Klal Yisroel knows whom to trust anymore.

Everyday there is either a scandal or some type of controversy.

One rabbi drops a company and three hours later there is a different rabbi picking up someone elses problem.

Judiasm is officially a business and not a religion anymore.

Would anyone be surprised if we have all been eating treif all these years from all the meat companies?

Do we have any inkling as to what we really put in our mouth?

How do we really know who is trustworthy? Every kashrus organization says they are better then the next one but we have major problems from top to bottom!

Hashgochos and yeshivas have many similiraties. IT’s ALL ABOUT THE MONEY AND NOTHING ELSE.

Mr. Anonymous   7:37 pm. You lost all my respect when you did not have the courage to put your name to your diatribe. How dare you pen the word “me” with the names of the other Rabbanim. If you do not have the courage of your convictions, then do not expect much of a following. Lastly you did not read Rabbi Belsky’s teshuva to Rabbi Schacter on this milk issue. It was not like you said it was

Alexander Novak

The fact is:
KAJ Rabonim do not make a penny of their Kashrus (from the only Hechshirim like that in the US), the only ones making the money is the Mashgichim on the field or the Kehilah. (The way Kashrus was ment to be)
Their Rabonim, are known to be Erliche people with no self interest.
The only thing is that Rubashkin tried to come out to the public before the KAJ has their adds in the paper tomorow.

KAJ did not show any support or defend any of thier own hashgacha practices when Rubashkin was under attack from Peta.
Where was the loyalty then?

Experts in animal welfare, veterinary medicine, and slaughter systems reviewed the disturbing footage recorded inside the slaughterhouse and noted the following about the abuses documented by PETA:

Cows remained conscious for as long as two minutes after their throats were cut open.
A worker ripped into conscious cows’ throats with a metal hook in order to make the bleeding process go faster.
Cows were handled improperly, resulting in fear and stress just prior to slaughter.
Workers removed identification tags by mutilating live cows’ ears.
AgriProcessors, the world’s largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse, has been ignoring the Jewish commitment to compassion and federal law by mutilating fully conscious animals, shocking them in the face, and slaughtering them in a way that has allowed many to stand and attempt to flee, even minutes after their throats had been slit.

The slaughter of animals certified as kosher is prescribed by Jewish law. The knife used to cut the neck of an animal must be completely free of nicks or imperfections, and it must be razor sharp so that the animal is almost unaware that it has passed through his or her throat. No pressure may be applied to the blade as it is drawn across the animal’s throat, and the major arteries, trachea, and esophagus must all be severed with absolutely no hesitation and with a continuous stroke. One of the five basic disqualifications of shechitah is the tearing of the trachea and esophagus. At AgriProcessors, cows were first cut by the rabbi, but following that procedure by just a few seconds, another worker, not trained in ritual slaughter, tore the esophagus and trachea out of the conscious animal, clearly in violation of both the intent and the letter of kosher law.

Cows and chickens aren’t the only ones who are being abused by AgriProcessors. The Jewish newspaper the Forward published an article detailing the horrors of working conditions at the AgriProcessors slaughterhouse, including severe injuries that require amputations, virtually no safety training, frequent verbal harassment, and very low wages.

PETA’s undercover investigator became very ill soon after he started working at AgriProcessors (as so many slaughterhouse workers do) as a result of the constant exposure to animals’ bodily fluids, extreme temperatures, and other dangerous working conditions.

Every day, hundreds of animals endured unimaginable cruelty at this AgriProcessors slaughterhouse. Maybe after seeing the fear and pain on the faces of the animals on videotape, you will go vegetarian and persuade family and friends to join you.

According to the Forward, in March and September of 2006 the USDA sent the AgriProcessors plant manager a “Letter of Warning” reviewing a series of problems, including: receiving 250 non-compliance records from the United States Department of Agriculture during 2006, five of them for inadequate safeguards against Mad Cow disease, and at least 18 records for fecal matter in the food production area (Including one, on December 26, in which the inspector wrote that during multiple checks of 10 chickens “fecal contamination varied between 70 and 80%.” and another, similar, citation a day later).

I am appalled by this chutzpah. It sounds like Rubashkin didn’t like something that KAJ said and drpped them. The problem with todays society is that Hechsherim is too big of a business and if one hechsher drops you, no problem there are twenty more ready to take you on!!! BL’N I ain’t eating Rubashkin anymore!!!

This changes nothing. Since he came in 3 years ago, Rabbi weissmandel has been in charge of the Kashrus at Rubashkin. All the others, OU,KAJ, CHK, and Margareten, are window dressing. Either you trust Rabbi Weissmandel and eat the meat or you dont.

I guess this means I’m gonna eat Empire. They have the KAJ.