A slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (French, ultimately from the verb abattre which means "to strike down"), is a facility where farm animals are killed and processed into meat products. The animals most commonly slaughtered for food are cows (for beef and veal), sheep (for lamb and mutton), pigs (for pork), fowl (for poultry), and horses (for horsemeat).The design, process, and location of slaughterhouses respond to a variety of concerns. Slaughtering animals on a large scale poses significant logistical problems and public health concerns. Most religions stipulate certain conditions for the slaughter of animals. Public aversion to meat packing, in many cultures, influences the location and practices of slaughterhouses. More recently, animal rights groups have levelled ethical charges at slaughterhouses.

Restaurant and school districts across the country have banned beef from a California slaughterhouse

At a time when government agencies should be working in unison on a plan to reduce carbon emissions in the environment from as many sources as possible, the FDA's cloning decision is a bad one. The carbon footprint of the beef industry is an enormous one. From livestocking to slaughter to meatpacking, it is a top polluter.

[photo] The loonie get loonier! Greenpeace has a solution to global warming down under. They are saying that eating beef contributes to one quarter of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

Shambo the "sacred" bullock has been taken for slaughter from a multi-faith community in west Wales, after police were drafted in to remove protesters.

First she had to find an organic cattle farm near Washington. Then a shochet, a person trained in kosher slaughtering, who was willing to do a freelance job. Then a kosher butcher to carve the beef into various cuts and other families from her synagogue to share it.