How cows are killed in slaughterhouses?

The slaughterhouses that the United States have are pretty unique in terms of the speed of production. We have slaughterhouses that will process 300, 400 cattle an hour, which is as much as twice as many as anywhere else in the world. read more

In order for beef to be served at dinner time in the form of, for example, a Porterhouse Steak, sacrifices must be made in order to get that steak. read more

Slaughterhouses supply meat which then becomes the responsibility of the packaging department. Slaughterhouses that process meat not intended for human consumption are sometimes referred to as knacker's yards or knackeries, used for animals that are not fit for consumption or can no longer work on a farm such as work horses that can no longer work. read more

FRONTLINE asked Bill Haw, CEO of one of the country's biggest cattle feedlot operations, and journalists Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser to describe what it's like -- for the cows and the people who butcher them -- inside the slaughterhouse. read more