A Meat and Dairy Article used with permission from All-Creatures.org

Suzanne McAllister shares her experience participating in a vigil near a slaughterhouse, where compassionate people showed up to express their care for creatures whose fates were already sealed.

Vigil for these beautiful cows
From Suzanne McAllister, Post Animal Use World (PAUW) Substack, suzannemcalllister.substack.com
July 2026

Photo from Post Animal Use World (PAUW) Substack

JBS Foods - who bill themselves as ‘global, diversified protein company creating delicious products for customers and consumers around the world’ is set to close their Souderton, PA plant next month. It is a tiny part of their large operation.

I’ve never liked the term ‘meat packing plant’, the euphemism for slaughterhouse. It sanitizes what goes on out of sight so that people don’t have to think about what happens to the animals that end up in the grocery store and on their plates. Admittedly, I never gave it a second thought, until I did, so, I pass no judgment here. I just feel sad.

I attended a vigil yesterday with a group of other compassionate people who care about animals, even when we cannot do anything to help those on their way to slaughter. We stood on a corner where the transport trucks turn to make the short trip up the rise to the plant. Over the few hours we were there, we would see the trucks make the turn where we caught glimpses of brown, or brown and white, hides pressed against the openings on the sides of the trucks. An hour later, we would see the truck, empty of its cargo, reverse its course.

Seeing the living, breathing animals pressed up against the metal grate of the truck, knowing they were minutes away from being taken off the truck, and then held, who knows where, for who knows how long, was heartbreaking. The feeling of helplessness mixed with love for these innocent beings was palpable. How to transmit our care to these creatures when we have no power.

We stood with signs - some just with words ‘One less slaughterhouse. The future is vegan.’

Photo from Post Animal Use World (PAUW) Substack

Others with photos of cows who had passed that way in earlier years, with sores on their hides and gentle eyes. The women who took those photos, and sent blessings to those individuals, were with us today.

We could do nothing for those animals being transported today, or those facing the same fate in the coming days, weeks, and years. But like these women who have for years stood witness, we will keep showing up. We can feel inconsequential in the face of the overwhelming and persistent culture that sanctions cruelty, but we care, and we send out love to those beings we could not save, with the hope that loving, caring energy counteracts a culture of habit and indifference.

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Posted on All-Creatures.org: July 27, 2026
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