Pink Slime

You guessed it, I didn't watch the news intensely tonight but I have one I from last night's news.  This has been in the news over the last few weeks so I think it is fair game.  I'm not really sure how long the rant will be but here goes.  Everyone is suddenly in an uproar over this whole "pink slime" issue.  I can see both sides of the coin on this but tend to lean more toward the "it's not right" camp.



Let's start out with the "it's fine camp" where the manufacturer, and previously the government, stands.  They have a point in stating that it is made from beef.  And if it is good enough for our pets, why shouldn't we consider it?  But let's think beyond that part of it because let's face it, pets aren't necessarily the healthiest of animals (they do lick their own butts you know).  If you watch some of the "high end" cooking shows you will see them cooking things that most of us get squeamish over.  How many of us truly think that eating fish eyes or beef marrow are worth $50 per serving?  I'm certainly not one of them!  But this is the kind of stuff that the pink slime is made from.  It is made from parts of the animal that we don't normally eat outright and I can see why they did it.  The federal government more than likely did a bunch of studies on how it effected some animals and other testing to be sure that it was safe for consumption.  Once those came back showing that there wasn't any harmful effects they gave it the go ahead because it meant lower the cost of school meals just a little more.  Of course no one was going to complain about the cost difference until they found out what it was made from because no one wants to complain about lower costs.  And be honest, how many of you could taste the difference?


Now let's look at the other side.  This is where I lean more than anything but probable not for the same reasons as most.  What causes me to be on this side is that this stuff was added and hidden by the simplicity of the government standards on labeling.  Because the product is made from all beef they were able to add it without having to even change the label.  I personally believe that this is where the downfall was.  I don't blame the company that produced the product, I blame the government for not having stricter labeling requirements to prevent this from happening.  Of course, the problem with strict labeling requirements is that you would learn more about what is used in the making of a lot of things and that may not be good for the packaged food industry.  But let's look a little deeper.  Ever wonder what meat is in hot dogs?  It's pretty much a mystery meat.  They started as a way to make sausage with scraps and I'm sure there are still some out there that are made that way.  Take a look at the label, I can hazard a guess and say that it will say beef, pork, chicken, and/or turkey.  Nothing specific at all in that, and that is part of the problem!  It is entirely possible that hot dogs are, and always have been, made with "pink slime" as a way to keep the cost down.  We don't know and probably never will know!


The last issue that I have is the way in which this got started.  ABC News will tell you they were doing an investigation into something but my real guess is that they had it in the bag for a while.  They were just waiting for a slow news week or just the right time to bring out the "breaking news" as they put it.


It is a really sad situation that we are in.  We pay taxes to the government for our protection yet we are forced into waiting until the media feels they can earn some money before we find out the truth about things.  It would be nice if the government did the right thing the next time and informed the public about a change they approved like this.  I'm sure it is safe for consumption but it doesn't sound appetizing to me at all.