I'm sure that several if not all of you have heard of the notorious "pink slime". If not, let me inform you. Pink slime is, literally, all the bits and pieces that no one wants, mainly consisting of connective tissues and fat trimmings. I think this "pink slime", or chemically modified...meat, should be illegalized in Texas.
"Pink slime", or the trimmings, are originally NOT edible. The "slime" must undergo a unique process before it is considered consumable. First, the slime is separated from the actual meat using heat and spinning it at high speeds. The slime then undergoes an extremely delicate process that uses ammonia as well as many other toxic chemicals to turn the "meat" into a tallow, kill the E.coli and salmonella, and essentially make it "edible". This is an extremely precise precedure. Too much ammonia, you get sick. Not enough ammonia, you get sick. I'm not entirely sure how they test it which makes me even more uncomfortable.
Some of you may be thinking, "well who's in charge of such repulsive procedures?", well, let me tell you. The main "pink slime" producer is Beef Products Inc. An honest little company that tries to redeem themselves by saying some rubbish about the slime being "90% lean". My question is, 90% lean... what? Beef? No. Meat? Not quite. Spam? Doesn't even get that benefit. This is GOO we're talking about. Literally. Unrecognizable slime. The ends and edges of something that's already been pumped full of hormones and chemicals.
It's funny, I can recall another time when this was a problem. In the early 1900's Upton Sinclair wrote a book called "The Jungle"(which again, I'm sure many of you have heard of but for those that haven't...) about an immigrants work in the meat packing industry and how outrageously disgusting it was. The book primarily focused on the chemicals being put into the meat and really forced the reader to realize how grotesque the meat packing process WAS. Well, When I read the book I found myself thinking, "man, I sure am happy that we evolved past that. Good thing we have the FDA!"... oh wait. We didn't evolve past it, all we did was give the ol' chemical process an update! Basically what's happening to our meat behind closed doors is the EXACT same thing that Sinclair wrote about. The only difference is that the meat packing industry gave the chemical process a hip new makeover with modern technology.
What's even crazier is that this pink slime is being found in packages labeled "100% Ground Beef", which I'm trying to figure out how in the hell that's legal. False advertisement? Chemically altered beef? How is it not clearly labeled on the package? That's just the beginning. Pink slime made it's claim to fame by showing up primarily in children's lunches at school. It may by 90% lean but there is literally no nutritional value. No protein for their growing muscles, no iron, no necessary vitamins or minerals, no nothing. How is this not already illegal?
What we call "organic" or "all natural" is simply... food. Somehow we've gotten to the point where we have to search and pay extra for something that happens on this planet naturally. It's absurd. If the FDA (who is probably in cahoots with someone at Beef Products Inc. ... we were all thinking it) insists on keeping this junk legal, I think it should be absolutely mandatory that it's CLEARLY labeled on packaged meats. I also think that kids and their parents have the right to know what they're ingesting. I just have a feeling that if this "pink slime" were more widely recognized by kids and their parents, it wouldn't be legal for long.
Lastly, please note that this process has been illegalized in several countries including the United Kingdom. I really do think it's time for America to follow their lead and just set down the extra cash they're piling up from this sanitized crap.
While reading my classmate’s article, “Unnatural Consumption”, I couldn’t help but to continuously nod my head in agreement with the facts and opinions she stated in her article. Being a young mother of a three year old, I try my best to make sure our family consumes organic foods and in efforts to maintain a healthy diet. I have always felt a bit “iffy” about the chicken nuggets at McDonald’s and the lunches provided at our local elementary schools. My question has always been: What’s really in the meat?
ReplyDeleteChristine does a great job of explaining what the “pink slime” is and how it’s processed. It is quite upsetting that we allow this concoction of ingredients to be on the market without the appropriate labels. As a parent it is unacceptable to let our children indulge this product.
I agree with Ms. Christine and believe that every meat product offered, not only to our children but to adults as well, should be clearly labeled with what hormones and chemicals are being put into it. It is only fair for us to know what really is in the “pink slime” and from there we can decide whether or not to buy it. I hope that one day Christine’s notion that we should take it one step further and actually make it illegal to process and sale the “pink slime” is possible. In my opinion, the United States has always been the last to make a situation better in regards to the well-being of her citizens. We seem to be more worried about monetary issues rather than protecting our health.
As a whole, I completely agree with Ms. Christine’s stance on the “pink slime” issue. My family’s health is the most important thing to me and therefore I want to always be educated in everything I do and give to them. Being able to clearly and easily know what is in the food that we feed our children will not only make a parent’s life easier, but make our children’s lives as safe, happy, and healthy as possible.