Pink Slime Gets a New Name

JenSD6

The pink slime thing has never bothered me. I feel we should be using as much of an animal as possible from both an ethical and environmental standpoint. How else would a place like McDonalds be able to sell cheap food to the masses, a lot of whom are at or below the poverty line. And can you imagine how many cows would have to be raised if everyone only ate the best parts? Some people are fortunate and can enjoy the best cuts of meat whenever they want, but others will be thankful for LFTB and being able to pick up a burger that fits a much smaller budget. The world has a lot of mouths to feed, and getting the most out of what's available is only right.

Just my small opinion.

DavidSTC

Does it bother anyone here how these animals are raised and why they need an ammonia bath? This meat isn't coming from sustainable farms, and it's not coming from healthy cows. The antibiotics needed to keep the animals alive do affect you when you eat it.

By the way, no, you don't have to eat anything you don't want to. That suggestion is always appreciated. But, I do have to live on Earth, and I do not appreciate the awful conditions of farms that pollute our environment. And, as microorganisms become more and more resistant to antibiotics because of the way we raise our animals, that also affects me and all of us. So, it's not just my choices I (all of us) have to live with.

JUDDDing

The meat is washed to prevent contamination that can occur during processing. Processing at the scale needed to feed 300
Million people is not necessarily as careful as processing a single animal for your family. This helps keep the safety at the levels required.

The antibiotics is getting a bit off topic, but when I was a kid we raised our own meat and even at low single family production levels - a periodic shot of an antibiotic like combiotic was regularly needed for their health. And human use, especially improper consumer driven use ("I don't care if they say I have a virus - I need antibiotics!") misuse ("I feel fine so I'm stopping taking them"), and overuse (toothpaste, soap, etc) of antibiotics surely has a much greater influence on the efficacy of antibiotics than incidental use in our food chain.

DavidSTC

The meat is washed to prevent contamination that can occur during processing. Processing at the scale needed to feed 300
Million people is not necessarily as careful as processing a single animal for your family. This helps keep the safety at the levels required.

The antibiotics is getting a bit off topic, but when I was a kid we raised our own meat and even at low single family production levels - a periodic shot of an antibiotic like combiotic was regularly needed for their health. And human use, especially improper consumer driven use ("I don't care if they say I have a virus - I need antibiotics!") misuse ("I feel fine so I'm stopping taking them"), and overuse (toothpaste, soap, etc) of antibiotics surely has a much greater influence on the efficacy of antibiotics than incidental use in our food chain.

Grain-fed cows in confined animal feeding operations are given antibiotics because they get sick from being fed grain. Cows are natural grass-eaters. When you pump them full of grain, they get sick and become infected with e coli. Their bodies can't break down high-starch diets. When you have a lot of e coli infected beef, you need to clean it. That's what's happening at those processing plants, because antibiotics aren't working well enough. The antibiotics issue is finally being addressed by the FDA (because it's a real issue):

http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/fda-changes-stance-antibiotic-use-food-producing-animals/168853.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fda-changes-stance-antibiotic-use-food-producing-animals

JUDDDing

Grain-fed cows in confined animal feeding operations are given antibiotics because they get sick from being fed grain. Cows are natural grass-eaters. When you pump them full of grain, they get sick and become infected with e coli. Their bodies can't break down high-starch diets. When you have a lot of e coli infected beef, you need to clean it. That's what's happening at those processing plants, because antibiotics aren't working well enough.

So... The cows should eat gluten-free?

Free-range, grass fed cows get sick too. There is this "new" theory called germ theory - this theory states that organisms get sick when they are infected with other naturally existing tiny organisms called germs. e.coli is one of these germs (a VERY common one).

You are also confusing surface cleaning with antibiotics - they are not alternatives, they are complementary. Even if you are on antibiotics - you still wash your hands after the bathroom right? Same thing here - during processing, some bacteria might escape - these are washed off in a "shower" of an ammonia and water solution.

Antibiotics are given to get and keep the animals healthy. Obviously, when more cows are living closer to one another they transmit germs more freely - like elementary school really. And sick cows don't grow as fast, and faster growing cows = more food for us at better prices.

Holly_Roman_Empire

First people complain that we don't use all of the animal. Then we use all of the animal, and they complain about the aesthetics of it. And the complaints invariably come from people with zero experience in actually growing/raising food.

This stuff is simply an extension of what humans have done to maximize use of livestock animals since we started keeping livestock animals.

Amen. Hot dogs are a fine example.

Holly_Roman_Empire

Grain-fed cows in confined animal feeding operations are given antibiotics because they get sick from being fed grain. Cows are natural grass-eaters. When you pump them full of grain, they get sick and become infected with e coli. Their bodies can't break down high-starch diets. When you have a lot of e coli infected beef, you need to clean it. That's what's happening at those processing plants, because antibiotics aren't working well enough.

So... The cows should eat gluten-free?

Free-range, grass fed cows get sick too. There is this "new" theory called germ theory - this theory states that organisms get sick when they are infected with other naturally existing tiny organisms called germs. e.coli is one of these germs (a VERY common one).

You are also confusing surface cleaning with antibiotics - they are not alternatives, they are complementary. Even if you are on antibiotics - you still wash your hands after the bathroom right? Same thing here - during processing, some bacteria might escape - these are washed off in a "shower" of an ammonia and water solution.

Antibiotics are given to get and keep the animals healthy. Obviously, when more cows are living closer to one another they transmit germs more freely - like elementary school really. And sick cows don't grow as fast, and faster growing cows = more food for us at better prices.

This, and in certain regions, there is added risk in what the cows eat WITH the grass they're eating. Blister beetles, for example, are a common cause of death among grazing livestock. It's better business sense to feed them grain.

It's amazing to me how uneducated people are when it comes to their food, and yet everybody is an expert.

DavidSTC

Grain-fed cows in confined animal feeding operations are given antibiotics because they get sick from being fed grain. Cows are natural grass-eaters. When you pump them full of grain, they get sick and become infected with e coli. Their bodies can't break down high-starch diets. When you have a lot of e coli infected beef, you need to clean it. That's what's happening at those processing plants, because antibiotics aren't working well enough.

So... The cows should eat gluten-free?

LOL. Yeah. That's right. I mean, I've read so much about this. Have you? If you were forced to eat something that you knew would make you sick, you'd get sick. That's not the same as saying by not eating what makes you sick you'll NEVER get sick.

DavidSTC

Grain-fed cows in confined animal feeding operations are given antibiotics because they get sick from being fed grain. Cows are natural grass-eaters. When you pump them full of grain, they get sick and become infected with e coli. Their bodies can't break down high-starch diets. When you have a lot of e coli infected beef, you need to clean it. That's what's happening at those processing plants, because antibiotics aren't working well enough.

So... The cows should eat gluten-free?

Free-range, grass fed cows get sick too. There is this "new" theory called germ theory - this theory states that organisms get sick when they are infected with other naturally existing tiny organisms called germs. e.coli is one of these germs (a VERY common one).

You are also confusing surface cleaning with antibiotics - they are not alternatives, they are complementary. Even if you are on antibiotics - you still wash your hands after the bathroom right? Same thing here - during processing, some bacteria might escape - these are washed off in a "shower" of an ammonia and water solution.

Antibiotics are given to get and keep the animals healthy. Obviously, when more cows are living closer to one another they transmit germs more freely - like elementary school really. And sick cows don't grow as fast, and faster growing cows = more food for us at better prices.

This, and in certain regions, there is added risk in what the cows eat WITH the grass they're eating. Blister beetles, for example, are a common cause of death among grazing livestock. It's better business sense to feed them grain.

It's amazing to me how uneducated people are when it comes to their food, and yet everybody is an expert.

Yeah. I was thinking the same thing.

DavidSTC

First people complain that we don't use all of the animal. Then we use all of the animal, and they complain about the aesthetics of it. And the complaints invariably come from people with zero experience in actually growing/raising food.

This stuff is simply an extension of what humans have done to maximize use of livestock animals since we started keeping livestock animals.

Amen. Hot dogs are a fine example.

Not all hot dogs are made the same. Not all burgers are made the same. I can eat one type of hot dog and know that it's full of fillers, because I'm still hungry when I'm done (and I can read the packaging to verify). I can eat a hot dog that has better ingredients, and know it because it filled me up. Pretty simple.

ajaxe432

Ill eat every part of the animal they put in it......I just do not care for the way they clean it. Amonia, then artificial coloring....thats what grosses me out.

nytrifisoul

Whats the big deal....When i make my famous hotdog sauce ( chili ) I mix pureed whole dried chiles into raw ground beef and it creates pink slime. After its cooked it taste awesome. Love that fine texture.

Holly_Roman_Empire

First people complain that we don't use all of the animal. Then we use all of the animal, and they complain about the aesthetics of it. And the complaints invariably come from people with zero experience in actually growing/raising food.

This stuff is simply an extension of what humans have done to maximize use of livestock animals since we started keeping livestock animals.

Amen. Hot dogs are a fine example.

Not all hot dogs are made the same. Not all burgers are made the same. I can eat one type of hot dog and know that it's full of fillers, because I'm still hungry when I'm done (and I can read the packaging to verify). I can eat a hot dog that has better ingredients, and know it because it filled me up. Pretty simple.

Yeah, that's true. I guess I should have said "hot dogs, the way they were originally made" or sausage for that matter.

RGv2

Grain-fed cows in confined animal feeding operations are given antibiotics because they get sick from being fed grain. Cows are natural grass-eaters. When you pump them full of grain, they get sick and become infected with e coli. Their bodies can't break down high-starch diets. When you have a lot of e coli infected beef, you need to clean it. That's what's happening at those processing plants, because antibiotics aren't working well enough.

So... The cows should eat gluten-free?

LOL. Yeah. That's right. I mean, I've read so much about this. Have you? If you were forced to eat something that you knew would make you sick, you'd get sick. That's not the same as saying by not eating what makes you sick you'll NEVER get sick.

LOL, I like how you cherry picked the first sentence, ignoring the following 3 paragraphs.

DavidSTC

Grain-fed cows in confined animal feeding operations are given antibiotics because they get sick from being fed grain. Cows are natural grass-eaters. When you pump them full of grain, they get sick and become infected with e coli. Their bodies can't break down high-starch diets. When you have a lot of e coli infected beef, you need to clean it. That's what's happening at those processing plants, because antibiotics aren't working well enough.

So... The cows should eat gluten-free?

LOL. Yeah. That's right. I mean, I've read so much about this. Have you? If you were forced to eat something that you knew would make you sick, you'd get sick. That's not the same as saying by not eating what makes you sick you'll NEVER get sick.

LOL, I like how you cherry picked the first sentence, ignoring the following 3 paragraphs.

I think that my response did address a lot of what was said. I don't know all the answers. I do know that cows fed grain get sick and are fed a steady diet of antibiotics as a result. As for the other stuff he said, yeah, I don't know about all of it. I haven't researched all of that, so I didn't respond to it. I'm not an expert. I bet there isn't one expert in this thread. But, if you keep reading the same information over and over, and I have about grain-fed cows, then either there's a vast conspiracy or it's true. The one thing about the cleaning the meat with ammonia is that if it were necessary for all meat, all processors would be doing it. Is that true? It may be true that they're doing this partly because of e coli concerns from sick cattle AND unclean practices at these massive corporate farms and processing plants. Either way, I'm not eating that stuff. My original intent was to point out that just by not eating it doesn't mean that I (as a human being on this planet) can avoid the bigger health-related and environment-related issues caused by these practices.

Safiyandi

A lot of it is the high-density, close-quarters confinement. Feces and waste are in pretty high concentrations on those factory-style farms, which contributes to a lot of disease.

DavidSTC

A lot of it is the high-density, close-quarters confinement. Feces and waste are in pretty high concentrations on those factory-style farms, which contributes to a lot of disease.

True.

jenilla1

I don't eat ground beef anyway (could never stand the greasy, gristly texture), so none of this matters much to me. You all can have my share. :sick:

lynn_glenmont

The meat is washed to prevent contamination that can occur during processing. Processing at the scale needed to feed 300
Million people is not necessarily as careful as processing a single animal for your family. This helps keep the safety at the levels required.

The antibiotics is getting a bit off topic, but when I was a kid we raised our own meat and even at low single family production levels - a periodic shot of an antibiotic like combiotic was regularly needed for their health. And human use, especially improper consumer driven use ("I don't care if they say I have a virus - I need antibiotics!") misuse ("I feel fine so I'm stopping taking them"), and overuse (toothpaste, soap, etc) of antibiotics surely has [bold]a much greater influence on the efficacy of antibiotics than incidental use in our food chain.[/bold]

It's hardly "incidental" when antibiotics are used on livestock not just to treat disease, and to prevent disease, but to promote faster growth with less food. The FDA has just asked growers to stop doing that with antibiotics that are important for treating humans, because of the risk of drug-resistant strains of bacteria developing, but they'll just be able to say they're doing it to prevent disease instead. And since by weight 80% of the antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used on animals, not humans, according to the Pew Charitable Trust, I think it's pretty clear which use is likely to have "a much greater influence on the efficacy of antibiotics.


ETA: well, I took a guess on how to bold text in this system, but clearly I got it wrong.

Mangopickle

Connective tissue is loaded with glucosamine and chondroitin. Pink slime is extremely nutritious. Why do we have factory style farms? I used to run 38 head on 200 acres. Grass fed, no antibiotics unless they were sIck, rotated my fields, fenced them out of creeks. Worked my *kitten* off and never came near to breaking even. You never get a vacation with cattle, something breaks every 3rd day. Wonder why there are few farmers? Cause farming sucks. Hard physical labor and very little to show for it. Farming looks very romantic unless you are the poor *kitten* doing it.