Firmly reject all kinds of backdoor lobbying and uphold fairness and justice

Working on the front line at slaughterhouses in production areas, meat inspection veterinarians may risk their lives when they use their professional judgment to determine whether meat products are up to standard. Besides the fact that sick animals may carry legally designated zoonotic infectious diseases, they sometimes also have to face threats from the cargo owners, yet meat inspection veterinarians must still strictly remove problematic meat products and hold fast to the conviction of guarding meat safety for the nation's people.

Because the value of economically important animals is considerable -- a single cow often runs into several hundred thousand yuan, a single pig often runs into tens of thousands of yuan, and although chickens, ducks, and geese are lower in price, if many are condemned the total amount is still quite substantial -- and because many cargo owners buy out the farmers outright, the condemned amount directly causes losses for the cargo owners.

Meat inspection veterinarians are hired and paid by the government and independently exercise public authority, but they are known to be subjected to verbal threats from cargo owners and even physical violence (being jumped and having a bag pulled over their head). Although afterward they can ask the police to uphold justice, sometimes the degree of violence is not properly measured, which may cause irreparable regret -- these are the things meat inspection veterinarians fear encountering most.

However, the safety of the meat products eaten at the nation's tables most needs the strict scrutiny of meat inspection veterinarians, which involves many little-known secrets, yet meat inspection veterinarians still grit their teeth and hold their posts, accepting no lobbying of any kind, and only release products from the plant after confirming the meat is healthy and sound. Despite the many difficulties of their work, they still use practical action to do their part for the nation's food safety.

Author: Kuo Hsu-ying, founder of Hearty Meat Shop / veterinarian who passed the government higher examination