Bushway Brutality to Bob Calves is a symptom of Big Bureaucracy and Business

By: Lynn Swearingen Copyright 2009 All rights reserved

 

The inspection schedule in Vermont is not publicly known, however information provided shows that at least 3 times in the past 6 months Bushway was shut down for one day due to non-compliance. Not for a burned out light bulb in the loo, but for “mistreating animals”.

Conflicting information is provided through various sources on the inspection authority. Vermont ‘s website shows that Bushway is a State Inspected facility. yet the Burlington Free Press quotes Diane Bothfeld, deputy secretary of the Vermont state Agriculture, Food & Markets Agency as follows:

“Bothfeld said the state did not know about those citations until Friday, when the U.S. Agriculture Department divulged them in a letter to the state outlining its response to the society’s investigation. Bothfeld said the reason the state did not know about the previous citations was because federal inspectors are not required to disclose such information to the state. The federal government oversaw inspections at the Bushway plant because the meat it was processing was being sold in other states as well as Vermont.”