Does Pink Slime Freak You Out, Too?
Have you guys heard about this whole pink slime in ground beef thing? Ew. Just ew. According to recent reports, the cheap meat filler is estimated to be in 70 percent of the ground beef sold at supermarkets and up to 25 percent of American hamburger patties. Yeah, that’s a lot of meat.
While the beef industry is saying pink slime—which they call Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB)—is totally fine to eat, I’d still rather get my meat from a source I trust. The idea of eating re-purposed pieces of meat that are sprayed with ammonia is far from appealing to me. (Not to mention that pink slime/LFTB only used to be used in dog food and cooking oil, but since the recession has been used in our meat to keep prices down.) Throw in the fact that it’s almost impossible to know if the ground beef you buy at the grocery store has pink slime in it or not since there’s nothing on the package to indicate otherwise (unless your meat is stamped USDA Organic, which means it’s pure meat with no filler)? And I just get the heebie-jeebies. Oh, and to add insult to injury, pink slime is being served in many school cafeterias, despite already being banned by fast-food joints like McDonald’s, Burger King and Taco Bell.
But what about you? Does pink slime freak you out, or do you think the whole thing is overblown? Or is it a moot point because you’re a vegetarian or vegan? Sound off! —Jenn