I haven't read too deeply about the process but I don't understand how so many people (including people on here on HN) can get so worked up and refer to this meat as "pink slime".
Have you ever trimmed a large cut of meat at home? There are always pieces of meat stuck in the fat that you can't easily get to. They warm up the trimmings then spin them to separate the meat from the fat.
That doesn't sound like pink slime or filler to me. It sounds like little pieces of meat that would otherwise be thrown away and wasted.
Which are then spritzed with ammonia. As said above, that's really the big issue here - people cannot stand the thought of "contaminants" in food they generally think of as relatively un-processed and healthy. And I sympathize (although I don't actually have much a problem with P.S. myself).
What's with the downvotes - molsongolden is right - if it's edible, why shouldn't it be available for those who don't care? But obviously, the fact that most people care will drive this company and this type of meat off the market.
I also don't get why people avoid GM crops - just because they were modified by humans doesn't make it worse. After all, we drive cars and use electronics that don't kill us at every move, right?
Regarding GM crops, I'm generally for them. Almost all human food has been extensively modified genetically, albeit mainly through breeding and natural mutation, not gene transplantation. So I think a lot of people freaking out about GMOs have a false natural vs artificial thing going on.
However, I think people have reason to be cautious. Pretty much every new technology has a lot of surprises early on as people learn to manage it. Especially given that GM organisms generally can reproduce, it's totally plausible to me that we'll end up with at least one thalidomide or Chernobyl or cane toad or leaded gasoline sized problem for GM crops.
I have a problem with those who "care", yet probably don't understand why it's better to treat the meat with ammonia than not treat it at all. They obviously realize that processed meat has less fat and this panic may very well raise the fat content of what kids eat.
I think it is quite simple, consumers feel lied to. Beef marketing is heavily laced with imagery of farms, grass and cows grazing. Even going to a butcher and seeing him make the cut is quite understandable to a consumer. Seeing this un-natural process is a direct conflict with the marketing which has been imprinted upon beef consumers brains. Hence they feel lied too. Another thing to consider is that the fast growing, fresh/local/organic food industry is marketing directly against all kinds of food processing.
Have you ever trimmed a large cut of meat at home? There are always pieces of meat stuck in the fat that you can't easily get to. They warm up the trimmings then spin them to separate the meat from the fat.
That doesn't sound like pink slime or filler to me. It sounds like little pieces of meat that would otherwise be thrown away and wasted.