Disclaimer: No one likes a good hamburger more than me, and I don't at all agree with most of PETA's philosophies (e.g., they would like to stop all animal research, etc - but let's not get TOO far off topic).
After reading dman6666's post above, I followed a few links and eventually wound up on a news site called King5, which as far as I can tell has absolutely nothing to do with Burger King. They had links to videos of hidden camera footage shot by a slaughterhouse worker. I have a pretty thick skin, but I was really taken aback by what it showed; cows being hung up on chains by one hind leg, while fully conscious, scrambling with their front feet to try to reach the ground, until they reach the "leg removal" station where their legs are removed while they are fully conscious and unsedated. This almost made me heave. In another part of the video, they showed a cow being deliberately, cruelly, maliciously tortured with an electric prod to the point of having it shoved into its mouth.
I'll reiterate, I am no bunny hugger and I'm not calling for a nationwide letter-to-your-senator campaign, but I do think people should be aware of this. Here is the link to the news page if anyone wants to see the videos.
I've really enjoyed this humorous thread, and I apologize if this ruins it for anyone. But this seems important to me.
King5 Investigators video of slaughterhouse activity