Westland/Hallmark, of the famous “downer cow” footage, has nothing on this one.

I got an email a few days ago with a link to footage taken at a Vermont slaughter plant. I often receive videos depicting horrific animal treatment, but this one stood out. The footage I was sent showed veal calves—only days old—unable to walk or stand on their own, repeatedly kicked, slapped and shocked.

Once again, we have sickening proof that there are people who just don’t get it. In a civilized society we have to do things right. The USDA, despite the industry’s best efforts, does have rules that cover some parts of a slaughter plant operation. Slaughter plants that operate like this can’t hide anymore. People are no longer satisfied with being spoon-fed lies about production practices that are “in our best interests”; the consumer is educated, interested and is paying attention.

Lee and Georgia Ranney and their cattle and egg laying hens are living the good life on Kinderhook Farm in Ghent, New York. “When we first started with the farm,” Lee says, “there was minimal fencing and pasture water, so we knew we had our work cut out for us to move to an intensive rotational grazing system. It’s been five years of hard work, putting up miles of fencing and placing water systems but it’s all been worth it. We really wanted to get the animals outside on pasture where they belong.”