Coming to an agreement

摘要

There is a trend in animal welfare guidelines where many stakeholders are starting to agree on important points. It needs to be made very clear that certain egregious practices are never acceptable. The US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service was one of the first agencies to start using the term, "egregious." The North American Meat Institute's (NAMI) Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines and Audit Guide has a section titled "Willful Acts of Abuse/Egregious Acts." Most people in the meat packing industry are familiar with these guidelines. Some examples of egregious acts are dragging a conscious animal, intentionally applying prods to sensitive parts of the animal or beating animals. If any egregious acts are observed, the plant will fail a welfare audit. For buyers who are managing their meat supply chains, there is a need for clear guidance on when a supplier can either be immediately delisted or suspended. The producer groups are now accepting this concept. Buyers are now auditing more and more farms.