The Humane Society of the United States released a video Wednesday, showing various abuses on dairy cows done by workers in a California slaughterhouse, in possible violation of federal and state statutes.

This incident also raised many questions about food safety in the U.S. in general and the nation’s public schools in particular.

The video shows slaughterhouse workers kicking cows or landing jabs on the area near their eyes. They repeatedly gave electric shocks to the cows. At some points, they rammed the cows with a forklift and forced water in high pressure hoses up the noses.

The cruel treatment was apparently aimed at forcing the animals to their feet in preparation for slaughter. There was a big reason the animals were down on the ground: they were too sick, very weak, or otherwise in such a sorry physical condition that they could not stand on their own four feet.

Downed cows and animals are more likely to get contaminated with pathogens and diseases that may harm consumers. U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations do not allow the use of disabled or contaminated livestock to be processed for food.

The Hallmark Meat Packing Company, which owns the slaughterhouse, has a sister company, Westland Meat, that distributes meat products to federal programs, one of which is the National School Lunch Program.

Westland Meat is the second biggest supplier of beef for the National School Lunch Program and has supplied beef to schools in 36 states. In 2004-2005, the USDA named the company as “supplier of the year.”

The Humane Society called for the U.S. Congress and the USDA to act quickly to ensure that farm animals receive humane treatment and that recipients of federal food programs, especially the children, the elderly and needy families, are protected from potentially dangerous meat products.

A member of the U.S. Senate said that while the treatment of dairy cows was appalling, the greater and more significant concern is the safety and quality of the ground beef being supplied to the National School Lunch Program and the nation’s schoolchildren. The senator observed that the slaughter of weak and sickly animals violated USDA regulations and appeared to pose a danger to the food supply.

The Agriculture Secretary assured that they are investigating the facility and assured that there was nothing to indicate that the nation’s beef supply had been compromised. The secretary said there was no immediate health risk found in their investigations so far.