The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investigating "disturbing evidence of inhumane treatment of cattle" at a California meat supplier, the agency said.

After receiving video from an animal welfare group, the USDA sent investigators to the Central Valley Meat Co. and found violations of humane handling, the agency said in a statement.

"We have reviewed the video and determined that while some of the footage provided shows unacceptable treatment of cattle, it does not show anything that would compromise food safety," said Al Almanza, administrator of the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The USDA suspended inspections at the Hanford-based company, effectively halting slaughter operations there.

Read the full story: USDA suspends slaughterhouse after video appears to show animal cruelty

Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up.

You know the drill. You’re on line at Starbucks, you order a mocha cookie crumble frappuccino from the barista, give him or her your name and wait impatiently for it to be called out so you can grab the last available armchair.
 
Or not - at least if you’re a Brit lining up in a London Starbucks. There, locals resent giving up such classified info, according to a BBC News story titled "Will You Tell Starbucks Your Name?" "I am not looking to make friends when I go into a coffee shop. I just want a drink," the English actor Arthur Smith told the BBC. "I don't want to go clubbing with them."
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Over at the Belief Blog our colleague Dan Gilgoff delves into the ongoing flap between gay rights supporters and the management of fast food chain Chick-fil-A.

The restaurants, founded by businessman Truett Cathy in 1960s Atlanta, operate on a "Five–Step Recipe for Business Success" that includes a mandate for all branches to remain closed on Sundays as "our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business" and puts "principles and people ahead of profits" through community service.

At least one of Chick-fil-A's other three guiding principles is in peril, though: Never lose a customer. Activists and gay rights groups including the Human Rights Campaign launched a letter writing campaign after the company donated free food to a marriage seminar sponsored by the Pennsylvania Family Institute, an organization opposed to gay marriage.
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