There are a lot of video's and articles going around right now about the 'pink slime'.
It got me inspired to write about meat again and what to look for when you buy meat. I am sorry if I offend certain people but I am not going to sugar coat this issue. These are facts and I use my own words to explain it.
'Pink slime'
Pink Slime is animal trimmings that used to go to dog food (their stomach's can handle way more) but now got back into the human food supply.
The USDA has allowed 'pink slime' to be used in school lunches.
'Pink slime' contains fat trimmings, the outsides from digestive organs that are full of bacterias and salmonella and other parts of the cow that are not intended to be consumed by humans because they are contaminated.
But, hey, some smarty pants came up with a way to process all that 'shit' and turn it into burgers, taco meat, sauces, stews... you name it.
The cow trimmings go into a meat centrifuge to process it into small pieces, then it gets washed with ammonia and pushed through a meat processor to make it look like ground beef.
If you watch the video from the ABC News Investigation (find link below) you will see a lady totally defending this method. It is sad that processing factors and chemicals used to process any food really don't have to be labeled.
The talk is about beef right now, but just so you are aware, the same happens to chickens. Chicken heads, feet, trimming from the guts, they all turn into 'pink slime' and then they bread it and call it chicken nuggets.
You think that can happen to you since you cook at home and don't go to fast food restaurants?
Well, I am sorry to inform you that also grocery stores sell 'pink slime' known as ground beef or finished products like burgers. And the USDA does not require company's to label it. It just says 'ground beef' or 'beef'. It doesn't tell you that it has nothing to do with good meat and that is was washed with ammonia and whatever else they use for it, because you know, after it was washed with ammonia it must stink like hell. So they have to add flavors again. And maybe some coloring, because really, it might not look like beef at all.
11 reasons to consume organic animal products only!
Even though I am not a big meat eater, I don't necessarily tell people to become vegans. That is a personal choice.
But please, if you and your family choose to eat meat/animal products, go organic. Eat a little less, spend a little more on good quality, the animal was treated like an animal and your health will thank you too!
1. Grass fed beef is leaner than grain fed beef
2. Cows are meant to eat grass, not corn (evolution made them that way!)
3. Corn is genetically modified, so basically the environment gets screwed twice when you consume corn fed cows. Genetically modified corn is injected with pesticides and needs to be sprayed with pesticides, the poor cow gets to eat that 'shit' and we don't know yet what really happens over time to our animals genes when they eat only GM food. (Even though there are reports of cows suffering from miscarriages in high numbers after only consuming GM corn all their life's)
4. If a package of beef doesn't say 'grass fed' it is most likely from a corn fed cow.
5. Everything the animal eats, goes into its body and gets either digested or stored in fat cells. So, everything the animal eats, the consumer of that animal gets to eat it in one way or the other as well.
6. To prevent large groups of animal to get infections, antibiotics are administered on a daily basis. Those antibiotics end up in our food supply as well and create 'super bugs'. Bacterias are smart and they mutate fast to become resistant to antibiotics they were most exposed to. A person might get infected with a bacteria like that and because that person consumed a lot of antibiotic treated meat in the past the bacteria is already resistant to it. (has resulted in death in the past and will for sure again in the future)
7. Bovine Growth Hormone. or BGH, is injected into cows after they had a baby to produce more milk and to produce the milk over a longer period of time. And they even came up with the genetically altered version of BGH 'rBGH'. (recombinant bovine growth hormone) Fun, isn't it?
Those poor Mamma Cows produce so much milk that they get a mastitis. Mastitis is an inflammatory reaction of udder tissue. And guess what, they have to treat that mastitis with antibiotics. So pretty much, if you drink non-organic milk you get the whole cocktail.
8. Organic cows are not allowed to get antibiotic shots (or if they do, the meat can not be consumed, or there is a certain time they have to wait until the cow gets slaughtered)
9. Organic animals do not eat GMO's
10. Organic animals do not get hormone shots ever!
11. Your health will thank you! What you safe on cheap food now, you will pay in medical costs (multiplied by thousands) later!
Tips on the side:
Try Buffalo! Buffalo meat is leaner than beef . And Buffalo's are by law protected from getting antibiotic and hormone shots! Lucky them!
Always remember: the USDA and the FDA is failing the people. They no longer (well, since a while) have the best interested of their people and their health in mind. They are the 1% who make money off of 'cheap' food and our declining health. So if the USDA says something is safe. Don't believe it, do your own research!
If YOU don't protect your families health
nobody else will!
Resources and more info:
If you are in Colorado consider buying meat at
Four Sisters Farm
If you are nowhere close to here, find out if there is an animal farm closer to where you live that is doing the right thing! Support them!
Jamie Oliver's stunt cow
Food Safety Network on the Science on Antibiotic Resistance
ABC News Investigation
much love, n.
