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.

Finding Sustainable Seafood

Chinook salmon are joining the increasingly long list of fish at risk for extinction. The article Chinook Salmon Vanish without a Trace explores why the Pacific Salmon season is likely to be closed for this year.

Due to several colliding factors, salmon can not keep up with the high demand for one of the most often recommended sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

It's a familiar scenario; throughout the world many fish stocks are being depleted at an alarming rate. And much of our available fish contain unsafe levels of toxins. For much of the population, it is unsafe to regularly eat old standbys like tunafish anymore.

Farmed fish are not necessarily the answer. These fish have varying levels of omega 3’s depending on what they are fed as well as varying toxins depending on where & how they are raised. Farmed fisheries are also suspect for putting the wild fish population in danger when they escape; introducing weaknesses into the gene pool.

Obviously we need to do our part to preserve this precious resource, but how do we make sustainable seafood choices?

Luckily, others have done much of the work for us. The Environmental Defense Fund has created a free, online resource and printable pocket brochure that is available here to help us navigate some of these very issues. (I've used the brochures in cooking classes and with clients and have gotten good responses.)

Other options exist. Fish get there omega-3’s from algae, and though our bodies are not efficient at converting the shorter chained omega-3’s (like the ALA found in plants) into the longer chain omega 3's (like the DHA found in fish), we can also get omega 3's from plant foods. Flax, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and thier respective oils are all good sources of omega 3 fatty acids. Also consider that eating grass fed animal products (like grass fed meat, milk, eggs, and dairy) can be an important source of dietary omega 3's. The animals naturally convert the grass into healthful nutrients. Eatwild.com is a great resource for sourcing grass fed animal products.

Bottom Line
Choose your fish wisely to preserve fish-stocks for generations to come and to avoid eating too much mercury or PCBs. And look for other sources of omega 3 fatty acids to include in your diet as often as possible.