"Warning: Pink Slime contained in this meat."
We haven't been crazy about the trend of plastering nutrition info on menu boards because the information is contained elsewhere and you (should) have some idea about those numbers. But we generously support any attempt to tell us what is in the food we are eating, especially when the government doesn't want us to know what we are eating.
While the news that schools could choose not to carry "pink slime" meat was thrilling, the actual numbers behind the statistics aren't thrilling. What's worse is that this is a reminder once again that the USDA doesn't want us to know that we are eating meat treated with ammonia.
Watching the U.S food supply in motion is sadly reminiscent of the Monty Python skit, "Crunchy Frog." Without spoiling the humor, the sketch is about a candy maker with deceiving names for peculiar confectionaries. At one point, the candy maker mentions a key ingredient for a candy as larx vomit. The constable suggests a big warning label that says, "Warning: Larx Vomit." The candy maker notes that his sales would plummet if they knew the candy contained the odorous ingredient.
The fine print on the pink slime in school lunchrooms is that the ban only applies to 20% of the beef, since the rest is purchased through USDA-approved vendors. And if already placed orders aren't reversed, the changes that may eventually come won't come as soon as was hoped.
"Warning: Ammonia is an ingredient in what you are about to eat."
Would you pick that up? Would you sniff it first?
Unless you are really good about where you source your foods or if you a vegetarian/vegan, chances are you have eaten pink slime. I'm virtually certain I have.
Jamie Oliver's take on pink slime in Season 2 of the "Food Revolution" was disgusting. Since no one sued Jamie Oliver for what he did, we have to assume that it's true.
Even the vast majority of those who watched Oliver do what he did have consumed pink slime since then because we aren't reminded often enough of what we are eating.
In the Monty Python skit, the idea is if a candy has a warning for larx vomit, you won't eat it. The underlying message is "Don't put larx vomit in your candy." Well, don't put pink slime in your food, especially for the children.
Ammonia is used to treat potential e-coli that stems from poor handling of animals and meat in the whole of the factory farm system. So even if we got rid of ammonia, we still have the underlying problem. But if the government considered ammonia to be an ingredient worth posting in our food supply, we would get a lot angrier at the prospect. And that would be a good start toward making things better.
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