NY Times Article: Pink Slime Beef

Back in December, the New York Times published it's article on beef processing, Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned, and people have been rethinking their consumption of ground beef ever since. In a shortsighted industry solution to an industry problem of E. coli and salmonella, a major meat processor has been using ammonia (a substance classified by EU as "irritant", "corrosive", or danger to the environment" dependent on it's concentration) in an effort to kill pathogens without actually reducing levels of contamination in beef. This processed beef-like substance, referred to as "pink slime," has made it's way into the majority of fast food burgers and into school lunches. Grist.org food editor Tom Philpott wrote a predictably smart and angry piece in response. From his Lessons on the food system from the ammonia hamburger fiasco:

To make a long story short: Beef Products buys the cheapest, least desirable beef on offer—fatty sweepings from the slaughterhouse floor, which are notoriously rife with pathogens like E. coli 0157 and antibiotic-resistant salmonella. It sends the scraps through a series of machines, grinds them into a paste, separates out the fat, and laces the substance with ammonia to kill pathogens.

Sustainable Nutrition Bottom-line: Pink slime, of course, is not healthy for us or the planet. Factory farmed beef is the largest environmental polluter in the food system (see previous posts Changing Climate Change or Meat's Deep Eco Footprint ) and the end product is high in saturated fat and goodness knows what else. A better choice for dinner would be grass fed beef or bison—higher in healthy fats like omega 3 and conjugated linoleic acid. Or choose beans—inexpensive, high in protein, fiber, and antioxidants, and low in fat and impact.