Ultimately, the real problem is that the beef industry represents a new and dangerous form of colonization and exploitation of the poor in the name of health, happiness, and hamburgers. To really understand this scenario, one must look at the consolidation within the agriculture industry. The Assistant Secretary of Agriculture was once the President of the National Cattlemen's Association and owns a cattle ranch, and the administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service is a trustee in the Livestock Industry Institute. This case of the fox guarding the henhouse is hardly unique to the beef industry, of course, but it takes on a special urgency when dealing with the food we know so well. The USDA, which oversees inspections, is chronically understaffed, and has had the same budget since 1981, even though their responsibilities have increased.
Inspectors now have as little as two seconds to examine each animal that passes by.
There is also the matter of fecal contamination, which is legal as long as it is not visible. Often, meat that is fecally contaminated is, when caught, just sent back to the plant and reworked, and then sold right back to consumers. A further danger comes in what the cows are fed. Their natural inclination is to eat grain, but that is too inefficient and expensive for the massive companies' farms. The workers in these facilities are treated in a sub-human manner.