Slaughterhouse documents the daily atrocities occurring in United States slaughterhouses that produce beef, pork, and poultry. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are supposed to detect violations of the Humane Slaughter Act and enforce it, however they do not. Inspection is instead delegated to the regulated industry itself, which turns a blind eye to animal mistreatment. Fueled by greed, meat producers tell workers to cut corners and prioritize line speed over animal welfare and meat safety. The author, Gail Eisnitz, spends over a decade investigating numerous slaughterhouses and interviewing countless plant workers and inspectors, and, because no television station was willing to share her findings with the public, she wrote this book to get the information out.
Starting in 2023, I plan to no longer eat meat except: (1) when it is critical to important personal relationships, and even then to eat it minimally, and (2) when necessary for survival.