WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- The video may be difficult to watch and surprising to some.
The president of Farm Sanctuary, Gene Baur, says it's certainly not shocking to him.
"Farm Sanctuary has been investigating slaughter houses for the past 20 years and we've routinely found sick and diseased animals entering the food supply," said Baur.
The USDA does have a policy in place that prohibits downed animals, those that cannot walk, from entering slaughter houses. The fear is downed animals are more likely to carry diseases that can make people sick.
"They're on the ground wallowing in manure and they are more likely to be contaminated with pathogens," Baur said.
The Sanctuary's president says despite the regulations, sick animals do make it into our food supply.
After the largest beef recall in U.S. history, the United States Department of Agriculture is thrown into the spotlight. Our Ryan Dean tells us organizations such as the Farm Sanctuary located in Watkins Glen say the USDA's policies are extremely lax, which allows animals to suffer and puts people's health at risk.
"If you have an animal that is sick and you can sell that animal, in doing so, there is a strong incentive to get that animal into the system and onto people’s plates," Baur said.
In a written statement, the USDA says there are safe guards in place that allow the United States to enjoy one the safest food supplies in the world. Farm Sanctuary believes more needs to be done to ensure violations like this cannot happen.
The USDA says the California Company that issued the recall failed to contact a veterinarian when the downed animals were discovered.
Farm Sanctuary says more inspectors are needed at slaughter houses.