So what is the big deal over this "pink slime" thing?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Abner, Apr 8, 2012.

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  1. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

  2. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    Because all of the protein is used. The fine puree that they create from using less desirable beef portions grosses people out. Fat, sinew, connective tissue, offal, etc. are used with the meat to stretch it out. People feel that buying "beef" means they should be buying whole muscle- and pink slime isn't whole muscle. That said, the part that makes people feel tricked, is that because the pink slime is FROM beef, it doesn't have to be labeled as anything other than beef. It's like when you taste baby food and the texture is strange, but you can't figure out why because the label says "peaches" or such. It's because by-products like pectin are naturally found in the food- so can be added back in without labeling as an additive. Really, the issue is ratio. If you have 80/20 beef, you think 20% is fat and 80% is beef- but within that 80% you don't have pure muscle. Maybe 15-20% of that 80 is pink slime, so you are getting less muscle while paying full price.
     
  3. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Oh, thanks. It makes more sense to me now. It kind of sounds like when people buy a deep friend chicken sandwich at MC where ever. The chicken patty is made from all the left over stuff like, skin, fat, etc. and made/ground into a patty. It is sold as a chicken sandwhich, probably making many think it is healthy. But of course, when you take this inferior chicken material, like skin for instance, it is highly fattening. What makes it worse is the gobs of mayo, and the deep frying, thus making for a very fatty unhealthy meal.

    But then..... You turn around and buy a chicken breast sandwhich that has been grilled, and the food place has to sell if for $5.00 instead of 99 cents. This is probably a poor explanation, but this is the best comparison I could come up with. You have to pay a premium to eat healthy.

    Thanks once again for explaining this to me!

    Abner :smile:
     
  4. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator


    Makes me happy to be a vegetarian :cool:
     
  5. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    No kidding. It amazes me that people are all up in arms about pink slime, but couldn't care less that normal beef has things like hormones, antibiotics, and cow shit in it. Yes, cow shit. It's a shitburger. You're eating actual shit. But see? Tell people that and they'll still eat it. Crazy.

    -=Steve=-
     
  6. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member


    Holy shit!!!!! Don't hold back Steve! j/k When you put it that way, it is kind of tragically comical. :evil:

    You just made me spit out some of my sugar free rockstar. Some of it rickoshayed and hit my bull dog Lulu in the face. Now she is giving me sideways looks. Ay dios mio!

    Abner :smile:
     
  7. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    :thinking: Nothing but the real thing for me, man. The only processed food I eat on a regular basis is sliced bread, and that's only because I haven't done a great job in keeping up with a baking schedule.
     
  8. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Good man! You are what you eat.


    Abner :smile:
     
  9. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    You realize that many vegetables are fertilized by shit, right?

    I lived on nothing but MRE's and water for over 6 months....pink slime and shitburgers don't concern me. :bandit:
     
  10. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    LOL @ Bruce.

    I nearly spit out my cereal when I read that.
     
  11. friendorfoe

    friendorfoe Active Member

    Personally I have a problem with the man made chemicals added to the beef while still calling it 100% beef. Ever notice how McDonalds hamburgers don't ever decompose? That ain't right. Anyhow, being that I live in Fort Worth (cowtown as it is affectionately known) and having grown up on a ranch I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to create a quality beef product. The trouble is small sized and/or family owned ranches are going out of business due to large companies building massive beef manufacturing plants (that's the best term I can come up with since they don't do what I'd call "ranching"). Also the cost of food for cattle is rising, largely because of the corn put in so much of the cattle feed we use these days is also going into our dang gasoline, thus raising the price of food, gasoline and cattle feed all in one ingenious policy.

    Having seen and worked around grain silos and train yards where veggies get pulled through, I hope you don’t think veggies are just a world better than shit burgers. Rat piss carrots, mouse dung bread, etc. Be sure you wash those veggies…

    But pink slime? Yeah I don’t do that. Neither will I do the “Grade D but fit for consumption” beef that has to be treated and super-heated to make safe. I’d rather eat saw dust. Ground up chicken butt holes shaped into a nugget aren’t exactly appetizing either, but my daughter loves them. Hormones, immunizations, etc. given to cattle have been on the increase but honestly I remember having to give injections to cattle as a kid and I cannot imagine any of that was more toxic than the lice, flea and tick dip we used to use when we ran them through the chutes.

    The food business is a nasty business and a hard business. We as a society have become so far removed from sourcing our own food we tend to be disgusted, shocked, horrified, etc. when the curtain is pulled back. That’s also why I have no time for people who get indignant over hunters “killing innocent animals” or vegetarians who think “meat is murder”. A well fed society can be a finicky society, we’re lucky that we get to make that choice and for now, I’ll choose my shitburgers slime free. But if I had no other choice? It’s slimed shitburgers with rat piss fries for dinner and I’ll wash it down with a chemically infused carbonated beverage sweetened with a substance more unnatural than Mike Tyson in a dress.
     
  12. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    Technically, I'd like to hear a biological explanation differing shit from muscle. ;p It's only a few molecules between the two.
    That said- it's all about culture and perception. It's more interesting to watch people's reaction and interpretation. I've always been fascinated with this topic. People make up their own criteria, and then hold the world to that standard.

    Edit- the human body is highly capable of managing what we throw at it, thus most "nutrition" advice is nothing more than woo.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 10, 2012
  13. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Nearly 100% of fad diets and popular nutrition are "woo" (channeling James Randi, I suppose?).

    The truth is a lot simpler, and a lot more delicious, than most seem to want to believe. There are only three basic nutrition principles that have ever been proven by science and what's more everybody already knows them. The healthiest people, in general, are the ones who 1) eat their fruits and vegetables (especially leafy greens), 2) maintain caloric balance and 3) go easy on the junk food. That's it. It isn't complicated nor ascetic.

    I don't get why so many people are happy to go on lemon juice and herbal tea fasts but groan at the idea of munching on a few grapes before walking out the door in the morning :dunno:
     
  14. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

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