pink slime, no

tragically, much of this "food" is destined for those students who receive free or reduced meals through the public schools. for many it is the majority of the food they get.
i think if we could get enough students to reject the meat offerings in school lunchrooms for other, more healthy options, then perhaps the government would rethink its policies and feed pink slime to dogs rather than children.

to protest this stupidity. The dietary qualities of such non-beef beef are disgusting! Unfortunately those that this most impacts are also those who have the least amount of time to do anything about it.

Is your opinion based around there being evidence that its causing illness and or disease in humans or is it based upon the idea of ingesting "pink slime"?

Heck, besides being valid, it was basically what and how you were asking him/her.
Night.

the stuff.

It's just a shitty food source because it's crappy meat leavings, assholes and elbows, if you will--you'd probably get better protein from low grade dog food.

I wish they'd use quality cuts of meat (chicken, turkey and beef) mixed with soy. That makes a nicely digestible "burger" or "meatball" for the kiddies.

I have not seen any proof that Ammonium Hydroxide will eliminate the prion threat. All those 'meat trimmings' were cut from the parts that used to be considered too close to bones, CNS tissue, etc.

Yum yum yum, pink slime spine special for the school kids today!

-app

the ammonia and the high heat it's cooked at, pretty much does the trick. I make this assumption based on the fact that no one has dropped dead of mad cow traced back to a lunchroom burger.

Have I done scientific studies? Nope, and I have no plans to, either!

However, I'm guessing that the slightly-firmer-than-toothpaste quality of that crap requires that it be put under pressure in order to create it, and pressure DOES, if not kill, "inactivate" prions:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/pressrelease_prion_infectivity_050503.htm

That has its own side effects.

What ever happened to meatless pizza day, or fish sticks, or vegetable pot pie?

You're absolutely correct that opinions about this 'pink slime' and many other items that our system of public education routinely feeds our children should be grounded in defensible evidence. Therefore, I strongly encourage you to do your homework about the fat- and sugar-laden meals that set the bar for 'good nutrition' for our school children, one-third of whom are overweight or obese.

Furthermore, I doubt sincerely that the vast majority of adults would eat this 'pink slime' or most of the other 'foods' our schools routinely feed our children. I remember the first time I considered getting breakfast at my school's cafeteria (I was teaching 7th grade math). The children were getting a slice of white bread with a slice of processed cheese food melted on top. Their other options included a biscuit (full of hydrogenated oil) with an overcooked piece of turkey/soy sausage (unappealing to all senses). Most of the students I saw go through the breakfast line opted for the cheese toast.

As I walked out (without 'breakfast'), I noted that the trashcan beside the tray return window was chock-a-block full of uneaten cheese toast and cheese toast crusts. Apparently, most of the children filled up on juice and milk. In fact, I asked my students what they liked to eat from the cafeteria, and they laughed at the thought of 'liking' anything from their cafeteria. To a one, they admitted that they only liked the pre-packaged ice cream treats they got for dessert.

"slime" and if their objection to it is based on actual facts with proof say of it being unsafe or if its based on their distaste at the idea of ingesting it.

I STILL would not feed it to a child, nor would I 'ingest' it myself.

based on something tangible such as say a medical report indicting it causes or may cause something like say cancer for example.
Please, do keep in mind also I am not advocating for the use of this stuff in meat nor would I care to eat based purely by its looks but I am just wondering what yours and others views are and why they reached a similar area where they wont be eating it.

since, apparently, you seem opposed to doing your own research:

First, there's the fact that pathogens have been detected in samples of the 'treated' pink slime, proving that treatment with ammonium hydroxide does not eliminate all of the E. coli and salmonella contaminants likely in the meat by-products used in this crap.

Second, there's the potential for the ammonium hydroxide used to 'treat' the 'meat' to turn into ammonium nitrate, a common chemical in household cleaners and fertilizers. Both of these chemicals are harmful to humans. Ammonium hydroxide causes eye and skin irritation; contact can lead to ulceration of the conjunctiva and cornea, eye burns and temporary loss of sight, severe irritation and burns on skin. Ingestion can cause vomiting, nausea, gastric irritation and, in severe cases, perforation, central nervous system depression, shock, convulsions and pulmonary edema. Ammonium nitrate dust can irritate the respiratory system, causing coughing, sore throat, shortness of breath, or even suffocation. When swallowed in high concentrations, ammonium nitrate may cause headaches, dizziness, abdominal pain, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, weakness, a tingling sensation, heart and circulation irregularities, convulsions, collapse, and suffocation.

Third, there's the fact that the 'meat' by-products used to create this pink slime have little nutritional value--just what our growing and developing children need: less nutrients.

Last, but certainly not least, I find it abhorrent that our government is promoting a nutritionally inferior 'meat' product that must be 'treated' with a corrosive chemical in order to render it safe to 'ingest.' How revolting.

on this topic though so its only good manners for you to explain your stance if asked for which I do thank you for finally doing.
I am not sure though if some of those reasons will sway the FDA though, they dont after all have the best record lately in protecting the public.

If you want to eat ammonium hydroxide treated ground up connective tissue and misc parts, feel free. But don't try to sell it to me as ground beef.

if there is any proof one way or the other that it causes any disease and or health problems?

people.

There was no proof that grinding up cow parts and feeding them to cattle caused any problems either, until many years later when mad cow became a problem and prions were identified.

It almost sounds like you would prefer that companies be allowed to let people consume whatever concoction industrial food processors come up with until there is some proof that it causes problems. I'm sure they could irradiate cow shit to make it 'safe' for human consumption too. And people would buy that too if they didn't know it was cow shit.

"There was no proof that grinding up cow parts and feeding them to cattle caused any problems either, until many years later when mad cow became a problem and prions were identified." is that its a dishonest, I mean hell if we used that reasoning we might never have decided that cooking meat was a good thing.
So focus on this product itself and its history and what the data shows about it.
Could it cause some problems down the road? Sure.
Now should it have be looked at more in depth before it was allowed to be used and should the companies who use it be required to list it as being added to their meats? Hell yes so new rules be put into place to address those areas.

Precisely. Upton Sinclair had little evidence that tainted meat caused illness, and we all know The Jungle was simply fiction... yet people read that book and erroneously made their own decisions... the nerve.

now if it were to only really provide something more like say facts rather than pure opinion, ah well.

work with a school with a large population that serves free or reduced lunch. The school does not get food from anywhere through this program. It has to provide meals that meet certain requirements (ala a meat, two fruits or vegetables, and a grain) for students - and get reimbursed (at a pretty low level) for that meal.

I have no experience in which schools get food provided to serve through the free and reduced program. It is always about food services meeting requirements and trying to drive the price of those meals to the level of compensation, as much as possible, so that it is not a further drain on the overall budget.

Where do schools actually receive food of any kind (let alone the pink foam), to serve for free and reduced lunch from the feds? It just doesn't happen (to my knowledge) in my state.

actually had kitchens in which to prepare the meals. The woman who used to make the lunches when I was in school made delicious meals.
They were nutritious, the plates full, and if we ate all we had, we could get seconds. The milk cost extra, but the meals cost 25 cents per student per day..and even then there were students who need free or reduced lunches.

My Grandmother was one of those lunch ladies

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I remember the school lunch ladies. In the morning you could go into the cafeteria and they'd be doing pans and pans of homemade rolls. Before lunch, you could smell them baking. mmmm, delicious!!! At thanksgiving we'd have turkey, dressing, potatoes and sweet potato pie w/whipped cream. I loved halloween because they'd make carrot cake with frosting and a pumpkin candy on the top. We had delicious lunches; sadly by the time my children were in school it came down to burritos and green hot dogs. I started packing their lunches.

Could be why I like school lunches so much. That and I was butt poor--it was often the only decent meal I got all day. I imagine that part is still the case for a lot of kids.

highest standards for nutrition. There is NOTHING healthy about this crap in the food supply. No wonder our kids are sick, obese, and unable to pay attention. This is just one more reason that kind of situation applies to more kids than ever before.

It's shameful. Defending adding little more than newspaper shreds to kids' meals shouldn't be defended by anyone.

Thanks meat lobby. Beef. It's what's for dinner. Connective tissue. It's what's in your kids' lunch.

No pink slime.

Thanks for reminding me. It was my mom's and has been sitting in the back of the kitchen cabinet for years. Really old school, my mom probably got it from her mom. You clamp it to the counter top and then use muscle power (gasp) to turn the hand crank after you stuff some meat in the top. LOL.

I've been thinking about getting one myself.... especially to make cornedbeef hash! yummy !!!

"All USDA ground beef purchases must meet the highest standards for food safety"
That's because the standards aren't high enough.

"USDA has strengthened ground beef food safety standards in recent years..."
After a broadening epidemic of killer E. Coli and other problems, you'd damned well better. Too bad it wasn't enough to fix the problems.

"...and only allows products into commerce that we have confidence are safe."
which implies that the system used to determine confidence has failed.

Bet they wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft. pole.

And I thought the "textured vegetable protein" in the high school burritos I devoured was weird!

It's good for you! And, no weird parts from cattle.

Yeah there was. Also lots of complaints about the smell of ammonia from the "ground beef."I'm sure ammonia is really healthy.

that pink slime is yucky... It was burger day yesterday at the school where I teach. Not fifteen minutes after we came back to the room I had 5 students complaining of tummy aches. They had all had the burger. Another student said that his mom said that since McDonald's is not using pink slime any more there is a lot of it that industry is trying to get rid of, so they are passing it off on the school "lunch" programs, and his mom will not let him get burgers any more at school. There is a hell of a lot of sugar in those lunches. Chocolate milk needs to be banned as it contains more sugar than a can of Coke.

then let's serve it to the FDA for theirlunches and the Whitehouse too...and film it on C-SPAN, that's the ticket...Yuummm, please pass the slime, it's just sooo goood!

And now they want to feed it in school lunches! Sigh.

There is a petition to the Secretary of the USDA on change.org to stop this from happening. Also more information on it and the company that is selling it.

It's important to know where your food comes from.

given her highly publicized commitment to be a spokesperson for health and nutrition in schools.

School lunch menus always balance price with quality. This balancing act is always contentious and is made especially so when there are so many differing diet trends.

Calling hamburger "pink slime" is new way to eliminate ground beef from school lunches.

...is people!

Isn't that an ingredient in some antiperspirants? Yummy!

When MycDees says its no good...