Pink Slime Action Items

Thanks to Rachel for passing on this link to a petition to the USDA.  It is very easy to type in a few lines and get this message to multiple people regarding the use of "pink slime" in ground beef. 

Googling "pink slime" will, of course, turns up lot of articles.  Here is an ABC News article that contains more details on the filler and lists the practices of some of the major grocery chains.

We can make a difference in our local community as well.  Here are a few suggestions for taking action (these are just suggestions, and in no way are they intended to represent this group's official position - they are offered here merely as options for those who may be interested in taking a stand):

• First and foremost, always be polite :)
• Call the grocery stores where you shop, ask for the meat department, then ask if they use "lean beef trimmings" or "pink slime" as filler in their ground beef.  Let them know you do not want to eat ground beef that is filled with chemically treated scraps, and that you will not purchase there anymore if it is used.  
• If they do use the filler, tell them you will also be letting your friends and family know so they can make the choice to keep purchasing ground beef there or not.
• If you have an extra few minutes, we'd love to hear what you find out.  If you could, would you please report back to us at this page in the comments section?
• Buy meat from local farmers instead of the store.  Check out the links on our "Local Farms" page and see if you come up with an alternative that works for you.
• Letters to the Editor of the local paper are a great way to spread the word and invoke change.  Businesses (like grocery stores) are very highly motivated to stay in business!  That means they are sensitive to where your dollars are going.

What about you?  Do you have any other thoughts on this subject? 

"Pink Slime" ground beef filler not labeled

Yet another reason to buy meats and produce straight from the farmers: USDA whistleblowers have revealed that about 70% of supermarket ground beef contains a filler known as "pink slime."

The filler is leftover fat and scraps of unused beef (trimmings that have typically been used in dog food), heated then treated with ammonia, then packaged into pink "bricks" for grocery stores to mix with beef.  Consumers don't even get the courtesy of a label.

Retired USDA microbiologist Carl Custer calls the pink slime a "salvage product" and does not consider it beef.

People might look at you crazy if you're one of those folks who grinds your own food, such as ground beef or grains.  But if a former USDA scientist, Gerald Zirnstein, is now grinding his own beef, perhaps it's not so crazy after all.  

I don't know about you, but this makes my stomach turn.  What's equally sickening is that we don't get a label because, according to ABC News' Jim Avila, "Over objections from its own scientists, USDA officials with links to the beef industry labeled pink slime 'meat.'"  In fact, it was former Undersecretary of Agriculture, Joann Smith, who made the decision to call it that, and in so doing, paved the way for Beef Products, Inc. (the manufacturer of pink slime) to make "hundreds of millions of dollars."  Interestingly enough, after stepping down from the USDA, Smith was appointed to the Board of Directors for one of Beef Products, Inc.'s principle suppliers.

Folks, this ain't right.

Anyway, for our little co-op to start organizing and getting some firm connections to local farms, we need to hold an informational meeting.  We just need a location that's big enough, and free.  Please comment below or send us an email if you have any suggestions!