The Ethical Optimist

Since I’ve covered the Agriprocessors PR issues in previous posts, I thought I’d alert you to the latest news appearing on CNN.com.  The story is titled “Slaughterhouse charged with using child labor.”  To date, there is no official response from the company.

According to the story:

The complaint alleges more than 9,000 violations of Iowa’s child labor law at the plant in Postville, saying the violations involved 32 children under age 18, including seven who were younger than 16.

An affidavit said children were exposed to dry ice and chlorine solutions and were operating conveyor belts, meat grinders, circular saws, power washers and power shears.

It will be interesting to see what kind of response, if any, will be made on their behalf.

9-10-08: Since my last post, the following has appeared:

Statement from a company spokesman

“Within the coming days, or lets say a week or two, we will suspend our supervision unless there’s new management in place,” said Rabbi Menachem Genack, the O.U.’s head of kosher supervision.
If the Orthodox Union suspends supervision, they are out of business.

According to one blogger “…the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a citation against AgriProcessors for violating the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.”