Pink Slime in 70% of Ground Beef Products in America?

Yep, I've been railing about this for over two years, and I've even posted a few times about it on here. I haven't eaten any beef (especially ground beef) that I cannot certify is organic since 2009 when I read a NY Times article about it. It's healthier anyway, and this is one of those things that truly disgusts me! It's so gross that it hasn't been hard to give up for the most part.

I think anyone can say anything they want to scare people into doing one thing or another. Years ago it was pork, it gave people cholera. Then it was chicken because of this or that. Then it was veggies with e-coli. If you look you can find someone who will say anything to get a group to stop or start doing something. I think the media starts this to see how many people they can get to follow a fad. Tomorrow it will be something else.

We buy from a local organic cattle farmer who is very dedicated to quality. Buying local is always a great way to bypass all the nasty things you hear about in the news.

I just want to cry when I read stuff like this. How in the world did we get to a point where mega corps are allowed to adulterate our food so shamelessly?

Very few things make me angrier.

STOP SCREWING WITH OUR FOOD!!!!

It's disgusting and just one more reason why I try to eat only organic foods in this country. I just don't understand why something like "pink slime" is necessary. I don't actually have a problem with using every part of the cow - if it's giving its life to feed us, we should darn well try to use the entire animal and it's common in other cultures to eat parts of animals that Americans would freak out over - but the part that kills me is the use of the ammonia and "disinfecting solution". And adding it to ground beef that people unknowingly purchase and eat. Don't even get me started on the school lunches part...it's just plain trickery. And, of course, what it actually looks like is so very far from anything "natural"...

If you want cheap, you get what you pay for!

If you want quality, you go to your butcher, watch them grind up your choice of cut for you and know what's in it.

The problem with our food system is that 98% prefer quantity (and cheap at that) over quality.

And yes, it makes me mad... and sad.

This grosses me out so bad...it is just disgusting and makes me so sad! So does the state of our 'corn' fields/products these days! It sucks so bad b/c I feel helpless to change it. Darn it!

~For what it's worth, I think the 70% statistic is probably high and inaccurate. My BIL is a butcher at a major grocery store chain and they get ALL their beef whole and he grinds it himself and packages it up...all except those prepackaged bulk tubes...and those only take up a sliver of shelf space, so in our area most of the ground beef that is bought of the shelf does not have it...thankfully there has been a big push for local beef in our area and hopefully most areas these days?

Eww. After reading the link you provided - EWW! I am so thankful that here in Texas where I live, it's easy enough to call a neighbor and ask to buy his cow from him then have it butchered by a local butcher with a great reputation. (Maybe there's a reason my handle can't handle ground beef when I buy it from the store. We buy from a local farmer or buy ground turkey).

I don't eat meat. Personally I think pink slime is just as gross as an expensive steak. Both rotting flesh ripped from a genetically messed with Frankenstein like produced murdered animal.

Organic beef can be very expensive, so a lot of people either avoid it to save money or simply can't afford it.

However, here is an option. In the supermarkets that I shop at, there is a section in the meat department marked "manager's special" or "clearance". It's meat that is getting close to it's sell-by date. I can almost always find a brisket or some cut of beef, and sometimes pork or chicken. Often the pork is a thin cut pork chop or pork chops that just aren't very even and don't look appealing. The bargain prices can be pretty astounding, and the meat is perfectly good, especially for grinding up.

So I buy the cheap beef or pork, and make my own ground beef. If I have a lot, I use the grinder attachment on my stand mixer. If I'm just making a small amount, I cut the meat up into cubes and just pulse it (important to use the pulse button) about 10 or 12 times and when it's done I have ground beef.

That way you can customize the beef. If I'm making Italian meatballs I'll add in some herbs, garlic, and use a combination of beef and pork, making sure to use a little pork fat for taste. If I'm making burgers, I add in Worcestershire sauce and garlic. For meatloaf: beef, pork and veal. For taco meat, some chilies and cumin, etc.

And I always know exactly what is in the ground beef I serve. And it only takes a few seconds, and it's much cheaper than packaged ground beef.

And yes, to answer your question, I'm mad about that pink slime!

Yup, totally gross. I stopped eating fast food after watching the documentary "Food Inc." It talks about how beef destined for cheap fast food is sprayed w/ ammonia. I highly recommend that movie for anyone who is interested in seeing where your food really comes from. Quite enlightening. BTW, the U.S. govt. just purchased 7 tons of ground beef w/ pink slime in it ... destined for your child's school lunch.

There was a report on NPR yesterday w/ the NYT author who wrote the article on this. He says that the pink slime beef is beef parts that are closer to the outside of the animal, near the hide. The hide is where E Coli and salmonella resides since there is often defecation on the hide. That's why they spray it w/ ammonia. However, they've been finding E Coli even in this beef sprayed w/ ammonia.

Anyway, if you stick to organic/grass fed beef, you're ok. It's more expensive, but at what price health?

support your local farmer! it may mean you can afford less, but that's okay. don't buy mass-produced factory farm meat!
khairete
S.

We go in on a local New Mexico cow every year with 2 or 3 other families. So we get 1/3 or 1/4 of a cow all packaged up in bundles saying "hamburger" or "roast" or "steaks" etc. You can see these happy cows grazing on grass when you drive by that ranch. We have an extra freezer down in our garage. Actually, it does not cost all that much...I'm not sure if we are saving money, if it's slightly more expensive or if it is the same price because I never added up what I spent in beef before we started doing this. It's not a big difference though. I recommend this!

Glad we don't eat it at all. Hubby still eats some meat but swore off burger when he found out there are parts from hundreds of different cows in a single patty. EWWW
It's very easy to just not eat most of the junk that passes for food in this country. The FDA is not looking out for our interests, it's looking out for the interest of corporate food producers.
We need to work a little bit to find healthy choices but it's not hard. Read labels, buy local food when possible, educate yourself and avoiding things like pink slime isn't all that hard.

Its a terrible thing what has happened to our food supply.

For people what want a cheap product, this is what you are going to get. They sweep everything off the floor to be used....even the pigs and cows that are no longer able to stand get through.

Back in 1988 I gave up eating mammals and finding a good quality butcher or going all organic wasn't an option.

Not a problem in our house. I purchase a side of beef and have it processed with a home town butcher.

Yeah, I've heard that, but I've been eating organic for years now. Just another reason for people to switch to organic... and this won't be the last of them.

I am not shocked:)

It makes me feel bad in my belly to think that i ate this.

Gross!!! Thank gosh I haven't eaten red meat or pork in 6 years.. I don't buy it either, so my family rarely eats it~

I saw on Dateline, Publix and Costco do NOT sell ground beef w/the pink slime.......... Walmart had "no comment".

You might also want to google "mechanically separated chicken" if you think chicken nuggets are any better!

In this country, as long as it's fast, easy & cheap--people will turn a blind eye.

First I think it is a bunch of media hype to instill fear to those who live in fear of everything around them.

Secondly, I only purchase meats from my local butcher and i know exactly where it comes from. I pay a premium for choice and prime cuts which runs about $10-$15/steak. They are from the same source where the high end steakhouses get their meat and sell you a $50 steak for dinner.

We only eat high quality and we pay for it. I have not purchased any meats from a grocery (and I shop at the most high end one in my area) in years.

Bottom line, you go cheap you get cheap.

you need to move your link to the So What Happened so your post doesn't get pulled.

How did this happen? easy. society wants it NOW. gotta have it NOW!! Don't waste anything...make it last longer....so many different reasons....

Sorry - won't give up meat. Just selective about what I buy...so that I know it's "right" and not filled with stuff....although who knows what places can shoot into a piece of meat.

use a local butcher shop....that's what we do! Even the IQF chicken breast is all natural, without any additives. So much tastier!