Cargill advances animal welfare leadership with remote video auditing services
30 March 2009
Contact: Rebecca Hayne, (316) 291-2126, rebecca_hayne@cargill.com
WICHITA, Kan.-Cargill announced today that it has begun implementing a third-party, 24/7 video auditing program at its U.S. beef harvesting plants to further enhance the company's animal welfare protection systems. All of Cargill's U.S. beef harvesting plants will have the program in place by the end of 2009.
Developed and managed by Arrowsight, in collaboration with Dr. Temple Grandin, one of the industry's foremost experts on animal welfare, the program is designed to help plant operators teach and monitor performance in animal handling. "Cargill has adopted some of the most rigorous animal care guidelines in the industry," said Cargill Beef President John Keating. "This additional investment gives us the objective input we need to effectively train our people and improve our processes."
Dr. Grandin said, "Cargill has been a strong industry leader in the area of animal handling for many years. I am pleased that the company is working with Arrowsight and believe that the Arrowsight service is the most comprehensive solution out there. It follows the American Meat Institute's animal welfare audit system, compiles the data, and sends it to the plants for their use to continually help improve their animal welfare programs."
"We are pleased that Cargill has chosen Arrowsight as its partner to ensure that plant personnel are being conscientious in their protection of animals under their care and control," said Arrowsight Inc. Chief Executive Officer Adam Aronson.
Besides implementing the remote video auditing service, Cargill created an industry-leading, humane animal-handling training and certification program for employees. The company believes that its commitment and actions demonstrate Cargill's drive to be the industry leader in evaluating, developing and continuously improving animal welfare protection programs. "We believe that through our efforts we can raise the performance bar for our industry," Keating said.
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Cargill is an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. With 160,000 employees in 67 countries, the company is committed to using its knowledge and experience to collaborate with customers to help them succeed.
Arrowsight (www.arrowsight.com), a Web-based Application Services Provider, is the leading developer of remote video auditing services and software. Arrowsight has helped improve practices, compliance and employee morale in safety-sensitive industries, such as food processing, food services, manufacturing and health care. For more information visit www.arrowsight.com.
