When Harris Ranch renovated and expanded its cattle receiving and harvest floor at its Selma, Calif., processing plant earlier this year, it unveiled a design that maximizes animal welfare, food safety and ergonomics.
One of the primary claims anti-meat activists make against the beef industry revolves around animal handling and welfare. Often, beef processors face significant challenges to maintain better-than-average animal-welfare standards because of outdated, decades-old equipment and facilities.
Furthermore, cattle-handling and kill-floor equipment and facilities can be a significant capital investment. Harris Ranch Beef Co., headquartered in Coalinga, Calif., knows the pain all too well when it comes to anti-meat activists — having endured a direct attack from activists in 2012 that destroyed several trucks in its fleet — yet it has not wavered in its commitment to animal welfare.