Stephanie here:
As a follow on to the comments I made on whether or not RED MEAT WILL KILL US ALL, I thought I’d chime in with some thoughts on the latest meat talk.
It’s all the rage, eh? Pink Slime… where is it? What is it? Why is it in our food?
Since the USDA announced last week that it will disclose to school districts which of its suppliers use pink slime so administrators can decide if they want to buy it or not, pink slime has been more talked about than the Kardashian clan.
What is it? It is trimmings that used to be put in pet foods (rejected fat, connective tissues, blood). These trimmings are centrifuged to make a “product” that can be added back in to ground meats. Science food, anyone? Oh, and it’s sprayed with ammonia so that it doesn’t have E. coli coming to us in a shake form. MMM mmm.
Why is it in our food? MONEY. Isn’t that always the bottom line. Waste not, want not. It seems that it started as an innovation for freezing beef in a better way, using the ammonia to keep the E. coli at bay. However, a step back looking at what real food is should have halted this process, don’t you think?
So, how do we avoid this? What meats contain it? Perhaps where is it NOT is the better question. Here in the Puget Sound, stores that we shop in look like this: QFC and Fred Meyer are Kroger companies, and ABC news reports that Kroger says these are options for those who choose to avoid pink slime: Kroger’s Private Selection Angus Ground Chuck, Round and Sirloin; Private Selection All Natural Ground Beef and Private Selection Organic Ground Beef solid in 1 lb. packages, labeled 80% lean and above; Laura’s Lean Ground Beef; and ground beef prepared in store. Whole Foods doesn’t use pink slime. Costco does not use pink slime. Safeway chimed in today to say that they will STOP selling meat with pink slime mixed in with it. Thanks, Safeway! I can’t find information on Top Food and Drug stores and their “pink slime” status. PCC verified that their ground beef does NOT contain pink slime nor does the beef at Trader Joe’s.
School lunch, as mentioned earlier, is another place where this substance may be rearing it’s head. The Beef Products Inc. company that produces this stuff feels that it is good for your kids, too (see this article). SO, you can call your school district to see if this is included, or you can send lunch that you prepare. I choose the latter, as I’d like to know where my cavekids get their food.
Pink slime or more accurately but less colorful, “lean finely textured beef” (LFTB for short) does not appear on the labels of the meat that contains it. It’s not required by the regulators. Your best bet would be going organic, since the label organic is not allowed on meats that have been treated in this fashion OR go to your local butcher and ask for meats that are freshly ground or work with a local farmer to get your beef in a more “pasture to table” manner. This site helps you locate local farmers.
And, just to thoroughly gross you out, go read about the PINK SLIME TASTE TEST. Really, would you take part in this?
Extra reading on the topic:
Organic Beef Guidelines can be found here. Enlightening on what passes in conventional.
Do you want ammonia with that? article from a rancher.
Hown on fusing!!! Guess the only way for sure is….to be a vegetarian!!,
Let’s see, vegetarians get to chose from …Ergot, several hundred types of mycotoxins, several types of fatal mold that can occur in grains and vegetables, Oxalic acid poisoning, Ricin poisoning from castor beans several types of amino acid deficiency that can cripple or kill and likely other things I have overlooked.
It’s a jungle out there. Nature’s goal is to survive, usually off the corpse of something else, plant or animal and said things tend to fight back and since plants can’t get out of the way, they tend to go for the nastier static defenses like poisons..
Patricia, I agree, it can be confusing, but me being a vegetarian is laughable. I’m a beefatarian, honestly, hence the cavegirl getup.
BUT… I think following a way that I’ve suggested above is a reasonable way to secure yummy beef.
Jim has good points. I was thinking of the problem it is to find RICE that is untainted by arsenic, too. Rice is the staple of most of my veg buddies and it’s hard to come by in a nice form these days.
Happy healthy clean eating to you all!
Check this out: http://news360.com/#article/47386270
GREAT NEWS!
That is talkin’ with our dollar, eh? Nice going, America. Now, let’s do the same with other food-like substances.
I called Top Food and Drugs and spoke to someone in the meat department by the name of Russell. He told me that, yes, there are currently two products in the meat department that have the meat slime, but that they are working to get rid of them. Their Double R brand does NOT have pink slime and he suggested that one ask the meat manager at the store to steer you to the products with no pink slime in them.
Oops, forgot to mention, that I called the CORPORATE offices at Top Food & Drug.
Thanks, Jenna! Glad someone looked in to it. I always forget about that store, so it wasn’t on my radar! Thanks for your sleuthing!
Stephanie, first of all, you’re welcome. The funny part is that I went to Top Food yesterday afternoon to shop. I asked the guy at the meat department which hamburger had pink slime and which didn’t. What followed was hilarious. He said one thing. Then the gal over behind the other meat area (where the seafood and the more expensive cuts are) comes over and says the guy is all wrong. It’s “this and this.” The gal behind the deli counter and some other employee then stopped by and they chimed in. Doesn’t seem like corporate has gotten their act together to educate their store employees.
And yes, I did buy one pound of hamburger that they ALL agreed did not have the pink slime. In a related note, one of them mentioned that pink slime is used in other foods and she thought it was funny that they were only talking about meat. Whaaaaa? I’ve looked around on the internet, but “pink slime” keeps coming up ONLY connected to hamburger right now. Sigh…….
Funny story, Jenna. She may be right, there may be “lean, finely textured beef” (pink slime… so much easier to say) in more food than just beef. Wouldn’t surprise me, honestly. This is why we try to eat our food in forms as close to “whole food” as possible. Choosing to process your food at home can be a solution to this. I’d rather make my own date energy balls, for instance, than try to decide if someone else put good food in a treat for me.
I read a blurb today that spoke to this issue:
From the LA Times:
Huzzah! Now, let’s start the outcry on the other crummy foods that we don’t want to be eating. We change the food industry with our dollars.