Temple Grandin

Later, Grandin worked on a project for the Spencer Foods Plant in Spencer, Iowa. The plant was supposed to be kosher, meaning that workers slaughtered cattle carefully, according to ancient Jewish laws that were meant to keep the cattle from suffering. The laws stated that the cattle should be killed by quickly slitting their throats. What Grandin found was that workers at Spencer Foods were following that instruction to the letter of the law while ignoring the actual suffering of the cattle. The animals were forced into the slaughtering location by using painful electric prods. They were then pulled upwards by one leg, causing them great pain, before being killed.

Grandin was horrified by what she found there. She realized the entire situation was hellish: The cattle were being mistreated, the rabbis in charge of slitting the cattle’s’ throats hated the suffering, and even the workers in the plant hated and dangerous the process was, both for the animals and themselves. Though it greatly pained her to see this suffering, because she was so attuned to what animals felt, Grandin was able to deal with the nightmarish situation because she could “see how good things could be” (106). She designed a new, humane system for the slaughterhouse that adhered to kosher laws but also minimized the suffering of the cattle.

Experiences like this led Grandin to become a vegetarian for a while. However, this created health problems, and she switched back to eating meat again. People have criticized Grandin for working with an industry that kills animals. However, she realizes how important animals are for human society—not only for food, but also for a range of products used in everything from cars to computers. She takes a compromising point of view; while she does not see the end of animal production happening anytime soon, she is committed to making conditions better for the animals. She has worked to improve facilities, equipment, and systems, not only for cattle production but also for chickens, turkeys, pigs, and egg farms.

Grandin was asked to be a consultant for McDonald’s restaurants. She taught McDonald’s how to inspect beef farms to ensure that they are cruelty free. Grandin insists on clear standards about how much space animals should have, how much electric prods can be used, and other details. She also recognizes that standards are not uniform, but instead must vary from location to location and region to region. She advised McDonald’s and other groups to rely on observable, measurable data that can indicate how whether the animals are suffering. For instance, she advised the McDonald’s officials to count the number of moos they hear, since cattle moo when they are distressed.

Over time, Grandin has branched out from designing equipment to concentrate more on management. She teaches others how to run production facilities to ensure the humane treatment of animals. She advises others to use intuitive, honest guidelines like the “ten-people-from-the-airport rule” (119). This describes the idea of hypothetically considering whether ten random people met at an airport would consider a particular treatment of animals cruel. This guideline has helped eliminate hurtful practices, such as pig gestation stalls—cramped spaces where pregnant pigs were kept. In addition, Grandin has supported the installation of cameras in plants, farms, and even slaughterhouses to monitor practices.

Grandin’s condominium in Fort Collins, Colorado is covered in memorabilia, figurines, toys, keychains, awards, and more. Being a visual thinker, Grandin closely associates these physical objects with her memories of experiences from her life. While she has been very successful in her career, Grandin’s autism still has a major impact on her life. She is still bothered by loud noises, must wear certain clothes so that she is not bothered by their feel, has trouble with some words, and takes low doses of antidepressants to deal with her anxiety. She continues to work on speaking clearly, learning how to make small talk, and finds expressions and emotions hard to understand.

Overall, though, Grandin is happy to have had a life focused on helping others. She still has her squeeze machine, though she does not have to use it very often. She says, “I’m getting into hugging people now” (130). The text concludes with an appendix offering Grandin’s advice for kids on the autism spectrum. This advice encourages individuals to follow their interests, learn to work with others, develop a portfolio of their accomplishments or creations, look for supportive people who can open doors, focus on their strengths, have faith that they can succeed, and be prepared to go for things, even if no one else believes they can.