USDA Urged to Close Loophole on Environmental Review, Public Disclosure
The Center for Biological Diversity, the Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund filed a legal petition today asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to improve public transparency and oversight over the inspection and regulation of slaughterhouses and egg-processing operations. The petitioners are represented in this matter by Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA, the agency tasked with inspecting and regulating several aspects of meat, poultry and egg processing operations at approximately 800 federally inspected livestock slaughterhouses across the United States, has long been shielded from the public disclosure and environmental review requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The petition seeks to remove that exemption and properly require the agency to analyze the environmental impacts of its decisions related to its oversight of these operations.
“The USDA has to quit hiding the environmental harms caused by letting the country’s largest meatpackers expand relentlessly and increasingly use high-speed slaughter systems to kill and process animals,” said Hannah Connor, environmental health deputy director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The agency continues to skirt important public review and disclosure requirements, leaving all of us in the dark about dangers to the environment and local communities. The USDA must come clean and follow the law.”
FSIS’s regulation of slaughterhouses, meatpacking and egg facilities leads to substantial threats to the environment. The speeds at which animals are slaughtered result in significant harm to the environment such as diminished air and water quality, increased noise pollution, heightened risks of diseases in animals and threats to endangered species. Increased slaughterhouse line production also increases public health risks and contributes to the ongoing environmental injustices connected to the meatpacking industry.
The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies like FSIS to evaluate and disclose the significant environmental impacts of its actions. The objective is twofold: to compel agencies to consider environmental consequences seriously and to facilitate public transparency and involvement in governmental decision-making processes.
Since 1983, however, FSIS has been categorically excluded from environmental disclosure requirements because it allegedly does not significantly impact the environment. Today’s petition calls for a rescission of that exemption.
"By filing this petition, we aim to compel FSIS to adhere to NEPA’s mandates, ensuring that the agency conducts thorough environmental reviews of its regulations and actions, which historically have been excluded," stated Laura Fox, director of FAAC. "This action is crucial for greater transparency and public involvement in decisions that significantly affect our environment and for addressing harms to animals at slaughterhouses."
Today’s petition for rulemaking represents an important intersection of animal law, environmental protection and public policy because it emphasizes the important connection between the environmental threats of animal slaughter and the meat industry.
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The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. Visit www.biologicaldiversity.org for more information.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) works to end the cruelest practices toward all animals and fights all forms of animal cruelty to achieve the vision behind the name: a humane society. Visit www.humanesociety.org for more information.
The Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) is a social welfare organization incorporated under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and formed in 2004 as a separate lobbying affiliate of the HSUS. HSLF works to pass animal protection laws at the state and federal levels. For more information, visit www.hslf.org.
Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic (FAAC) provides students with hands-on experience in advocating for animal welfare. Through direct involvement in real-world legal challenges, students develop practical skills applicable to various career paths, all while making a tangible impact on animal protection, environmental stewardship and corporate accountability. Visit www.vermontlaw.edu/academics/clinics-and-externships/farmed-animal-advocacy-clinic to learn more.
Vermont Law and Graduate School, a private, independent institution, is home to a law school that offers ABA-accredited residential and online hybrid JD programs and a graduate school that offers master’s degrees and certificates in multiple disciplines, including programs offered by the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment, the Center for Justice Reform and other graduate-level programs emphasizing the intersection of environmental justice, social justice and public policy. Both the law and graduate schools strongly feature experiential clinical and fieldwork learning. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu.