Rough Draft

Dear Friends,

The animals are not the only victims of the food industry
I am writing to inform you that the animals are not the only victims of the food industry. Many people who are mployed by the food industry suffer a horrible lack of rights and gross mistreatment. It is a huge oversight of justice that these people are treated in such an inhumane manner. Aside from all the other atrocities provided by the food processing industry, such as the horrific abuse of animals and the vast lack of regulations concerning our overall safety as consumers, the way food service employees suffer adds more insult and more injury to the overall abuse of power and greed.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of an average processing plant worker’s daily routine is the massive risk of injury and infection. Many of us have perhaps seen images of animal carcasses being hauled by hooks through the assembly lines. However, the reality of working inside the food processing plants is much more graphic and repulsive. Every day these unfortunate workers are exposed to gargantuan levels of bodily fluids from the animal carcasses. They are splattered with blood, intestinal juices and large amounts of urine and excrement. The amount of protection provided to these workers is minimal, and many of them have infections and other health problems resulting from such high exposure to this level of filth.

Not only are the conditions incredibly unsanitary, but the employees are also treated as second-class citizens on more practical levels as well. They are overworked and underpaid, and many of these workers are living in poverty and lack the educational or financial means to find work elsewhere. The image of carcasses moving down an assembly line also represents the mentality of employment at these food processing plants. These corporations recruit impoverished people on purpose and view their workers as replaceable at any time. These workers have very little rights because they are highly dependent on these jobs due to their lack of resources. If they complain or speak up about their treatment, they are at risk of losing their jobs.
An additional psychological level to this mistreatment is that the corporations are basically totally in control of the situation. The workers are not protected at all. An example of how untouchable the corporations are is their ability to recruit workers in Mexico to come work in the USA as illegal immigrants. These same companies are not penalized for employing the illegals even though Immigration can arrest them. This is a prime example of how poor and uneducated people are taken advantage of by these food processing companies.

Despite the vast injustices committed to these hapless workers, many American are totally unaware of the dark aspects of the food processing industry. I urge you to consider not only the sad plight of animals in this system, but also the bleak reality many employees face every day. It is easy to blame all people associated with the industry for the cruelty and lack of consumer safety, but I hope that you will see that many people in this system are also victims of the corporate greed and mistreatment. Please take responsibility as a consumer and an American and educate others about the lack of rights many people experience at the hands of the food processing industry.


Sincerely,

Ben