Who are they kidding?

US orders massive recall of beef

Workers at the plant are also accused of animal cruelty. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has ordered the recall of 143m lb (64.9m kg) of beef - the largest meat recall in the country's history.

It comes from a company in California, which officials said allowed meat from cattle unable to stand at the time of slaughter to enter the food chain.
But the USDA said the health hazard was minimal. Much of the meat was purchased for federal nutrition programmes.

The meat-packing plant is also being investigated for animal cruelty.
The USDA had suspended operations there earlier this month after an undercover video came to light showing crippled and sick animals being mistreated.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7249911.stm

I find this to be an outrage. The fact that the USDA states that "the health hazard was minimal" is what gets me the most. How is the health risk a minimum if they had to recall 143m lbs of beef? This goes beyond health risks though. The thought of animal cruelty isn't a cold spot in me. I may sound like a hyprocrit, being as I am not a vegetarian myself, but when I do eat meat it is a minimum and it is only from local butchers where the animal cruelty is at a low.

Still I want to hear your thoughts on this issue. What do YOU think about it?