It Came From the Media: What Prompted the Ruckus About "Pink Slime"? And Is It Unhealthy?
Recently,
news about a certain food product has come to light. "Pink slime"
(which the industry prefers to call "lean finely textured beef") has
caused much ruckus since being shown to the public by the media since early
March. It has been one of the top news stories for quite some time because
citizens are generally concerned about their health. This disturbing term was
derived by Gerald Zimsten, a former USDA scientist, who brought the process of
making this substance to the public's attention. He felt strongly that the USDA
should not be allowed to conceal the use of "pink slime" from the
American public. He has reported that some 70% of this mixture is used in meats
found in grocery stores. This substance is a mixture of fat and meat removed
from a standard meat cut. They are spun through a machine to separate the beef
bits from the fat. This mixture is squeezed through a thin tube and is puffed
with ammonia gas. The gas reacts with the water in the meat to reduce acidity
and kill bacteria. According to the article, this process was started in the
1980s. It wasn't until the 1990s that the ammonia treatment was added due to
safety concerns. This media outburst has prompted fast food chains such as
McDonalds and Safeway to address the media that they will discontinue their use
of "lean finely textured beef."
I
believe that this substance should be properly labeled for what it really is.
Instead of hiding ingredients from the consumers like most companies do, they
should label the packages and tell us what we are about to eat. In schools,
children should be told that their beef is really a slime consisting of
connective tissue, ammonia, and added trimmings. At fast food restaurants, customers should be
told that their beef patty only has a small percentage of actual beef. In
grocery stores, shoppers should be told that the chop meat they are about to
buy has ingredients not labeled on the package. The public has a right to know
what they are consuming. Although regular beef has a higher fat content than
treated beef, it does not make it any better for us. Who knows, maybe people
will continue to choose treated beef over untreated beef, because it is cheaper
in stores. In conclusion, I think that the biggest issue with this topic is the
transparency of it. Our government should not be allowing private industries to
hide additives from the consumer. As people, we have a right to know what we
are putting into our bodies, period.
Article
Title: "It Came From the Media: What Prompted the Ruckus About "Pink Slime"? And Is It Unhealthy?"
Author: Deborah Blum
Publishing Date: March 23, 2012
Website: Discovery Magazine
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