I had a chance to listen to Michael Pollan talk about his new book, Food Rules, thanks to my blogger friend over at Thy Hand Hath Provided. She posted a link to a radio interview at wbur.org. While talking, Michael mentioned a fact that was on the movie Food, Inc. that I had forgotten about until this radio cast. (Was it Food, Inc. or The Future of Food? I can't remember anymore. I've seen so many food documentaries lately, I'm starting to get them mixed up!)
So what's the scoop? Well, meat producers are now taking the worst scraps of left over beef, the parts that use to go in cat food and dog food, and they have learned to treat it with high levels of ammonia in order to kill anything that could possibly be living, mainly e.coli. It's actually called 'Pink Slime' by a USDA staffer, with a texture like that of cottage cheese, yet it smells like window cleaner.
What are they using this for? Your hamburgers. I'm serious! They are using this as filler in 80% of the hamburgers served in fast food chains.
And why are they doing this? To save a few pennies. Now the question remains... is it worth it to you to have cheap food?
Photo of my great-grandfather, Albert, on a trail drive from
South Texas to New Orleans and Alabama in July of 1909.
He's the handsome cowboy on the right!
Get to know your rancher. Seriously.
