"If it's pink, then it's MEAT!"- Joanne Smith, former Under Secretary, Dept. of Agriculture.
The story last night on ABC Nightly News with Dianne Sawyer, was enough to turn the stomach of any proper meat-eating American. It concerned how two former USDA officials no longer will purchase any ground beef from any grocer's, period. They instead do like my grandpa in Milwaukee used to do in his corner grocery: purchase beef fresh and grind their own in a grinding machine. (Which is why at that time, in the 50s, we knew what we were getting and could actually eat it raw if we wished!)
Not today! You risk getting a mouthful of compressed pink slime along with the residue of real meat. As the two USDA officials noted, as much as 70% of the ground beef sold is laden with a filler known as this pink slime, a waste matterial that was never even thought of for addition barely ten years ago. But now, in the era after Lehman's collapse and massive recession it's a way for producers (like 'Beef Products, Inc.' - the company cited in the piece) to retain profit margins.
How is this magic accomplished so that not even most consumers are aware? I append a little sketch diagram based upon the ABC News piece last night to show how it's done.
First, at point A, the slime laden with the entrails, fat, muscle etc is simmered over low heat to partly separate the fat from muscle. Then at point B of the process it's put into centrifuges to finish the separation. On account of there still being a residual obnoxious (and vomitous) odor and lots of bacteria, it's then sprayed with NH3 (ammonia gas) at stage (C) to kill most of the bacteria and get rid of most of the offensive odor.
Finally, at stage (D) the treated slime is compressed into small reddish blocks that are added to the ground beef. It is these compacted little hunks of the slime that convey the reddish color one sees and which most normal people think is freshness. Think again!
How did this crap even manage to enter the food supply? Ask Joanne Smith the former Under Secretary of Agriculture under the Bushies who approved it after so many regs were disssolved And btw, if you think THIS is bad, wait until or if Mitt Romney gets elected! One of his first executive orders is to abolish most food regulations so you will find similar crud to this throughout your meat as well as poultry! (See, e.g. The Economist, Jan. 14-20, 'The Romney Prospectus', p. 25). I just hope that Mitt's prospective voters are as endeared to treating their coming cancers of the pancreas, breasts, bowels, kidneys and liver as they are of "getting rid of Obama"!)
This nutcase Bushie actually was on record as asserting: "If it's pink, it's meat!" Yeah well, I guess if the typical Bozo repuke can assert "Ketchup is a veggie!" they can try to get away with this one too! But make no mistake, she was handsomely rewarded by the manufacturers of this crap, Beef Products, Inc. who then hired her and she made nearly $1.2 million there - after departing her Agri post. Revolving doors for agencies, anyone? Can readers say 'Corporatocracy'?
Needless to say this is yet another reason to lay off ground beef. (Except for that specifically marked:' USDA ORGANIC') . No other forms of packaged ground beef can be assured free of pink slime. I myself have gone nearly entirely over to consuming just chicken and fish, with only the occasional pork.
This is also another good reason for readers to get hold of the best expose of PR, 'Toxic Sludge is Good for You', and especially the chapter on how many communities were convinced to use the spinoff from an industrial sludge, hydro-flourosilic acid - to "flouridate" water supplies.
Is it any wonder the cancer rates across the board are soaring out of control and the poorest of the 99% are having to bankrupt themselves to get chemo, other treatments? See also:
http://brane-space.blogspot.com/2012/02/cancer-industial-complex-biggest.html
The story last night on ABC Nightly News with Dianne Sawyer, was enough to turn the stomach of any proper meat-eating American. It concerned how two former USDA officials no longer will purchase any ground beef from any grocer's, period. They instead do like my grandpa in Milwaukee used to do in his corner grocery: purchase beef fresh and grind their own in a grinding machine. (Which is why at that time, in the 50s, we knew what we were getting and could actually eat it raw if we wished!)
Not today! You risk getting a mouthful of compressed pink slime along with the residue of real meat. As the two USDA officials noted, as much as 70% of the ground beef sold is laden with a filler known as this pink slime, a waste matterial that was never even thought of for addition barely ten years ago. But now, in the era after Lehman's collapse and massive recession it's a way for producers (like 'Beef Products, Inc.' - the company cited in the piece) to retain profit margins.
How is this magic accomplished so that not even most consumers are aware? I append a little sketch diagram based upon the ABC News piece last night to show how it's done.
First, at point A, the slime laden with the entrails, fat, muscle etc is simmered over low heat to partly separate the fat from muscle. Then at point B of the process it's put into centrifuges to finish the separation. On account of there still being a residual obnoxious (and vomitous) odor and lots of bacteria, it's then sprayed with NH3 (ammonia gas) at stage (C) to kill most of the bacteria and get rid of most of the offensive odor.
Finally, at stage (D) the treated slime is compressed into small reddish blocks that are added to the ground beef. It is these compacted little hunks of the slime that convey the reddish color one sees and which most normal people think is freshness. Think again!
How did this crap even manage to enter the food supply? Ask Joanne Smith the former Under Secretary of Agriculture under the Bushies who approved it after so many regs were disssolved And btw, if you think THIS is bad, wait until or if Mitt Romney gets elected! One of his first executive orders is to abolish most food regulations so you will find similar crud to this throughout your meat as well as poultry! (See, e.g. The Economist, Jan. 14-20, 'The Romney Prospectus', p. 25). I just hope that Mitt's prospective voters are as endeared to treating their coming cancers of the pancreas, breasts, bowels, kidneys and liver as they are of "getting rid of Obama"!)
This nutcase Bushie actually was on record as asserting: "If it's pink, it's meat!" Yeah well, I guess if the typical Bozo repuke can assert "Ketchup is a veggie!" they can try to get away with this one too! But make no mistake, she was handsomely rewarded by the manufacturers of this crap, Beef Products, Inc. who then hired her and she made nearly $1.2 million there - after departing her Agri post. Revolving doors for agencies, anyone? Can readers say 'Corporatocracy'?
Needless to say this is yet another reason to lay off ground beef. (Except for that specifically marked:' USDA ORGANIC') . No other forms of packaged ground beef can be assured free of pink slime. I myself have gone nearly entirely over to consuming just chicken and fish, with only the occasional pork.
This is also another good reason for readers to get hold of the best expose of PR, 'Toxic Sludge is Good for You', and especially the chapter on how many communities were convinced to use the spinoff from an industrial sludge, hydro-flourosilic acid - to "flouridate" water supplies.
Is it any wonder the cancer rates across the board are soaring out of control and the poorest of the 99% are having to bankrupt themselves to get chemo, other treatments? See also:
http://brane-space.blogspot.com/2012/02/cancer-industial-complex-biggest.html
In a future blog I will look at whether 'Mad cow' was truly eliminated from the U.S. meat supply (as per a 'Project Censored' investigation in the late 90s) and whether in fact, a large proportion of Alzheimer's cases now occurring may not be attributed to over-consumption of prion-laden beef. Well, I imagine the pink slime at least makes those prions go down easier!
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