The fact is that there is currently no actual health or safety concern about this "pink slime", and the only reason for the outcry is an emotional reaction to what it looks like before it's mixed with the ground beef.
I would wager that many of them would have an equally emotionally charged reaction to seeing the butchering and separation process for the rest of the beef they eat, but would forego campaigning against it because it's the same beef they've always eaten, and that makes it more "real" or "authentic".
When it comes down to it, any process for turning an animal into edible meat is gross and offensive.
"the only reason for the outcry is an emotional reaction to what it looks like before it's mixed with the ground beef."
Not true. The reason for a lot of people is the expectation that food is minimally processed. When I buy I steak, I have an expectation that it is literally a cut out of a cow.
This expectation is far larger in Europe than in the US, however it's the same expectation.
I buy a meat product, I am getting a natural thing. The only reason it wasn't an issue before is no one knew. There was no proper labeling.
So simply label things as they are with all the processed parts. Then you will know if there is a real issue with the public.
The refusal to label things is because there will be an outrage, and if people want to refuse to eat pink slime out of their own concerns, that is there choice.
I don't get the minimization of this. You act like this isn't a reasonable choice, it is.
You can choose a different direction, but there should be explicit labeling so we all have that choice.
Then your (and their) expectation is uninformed. There is relatively little food that is "minimally processed" anywhere in the industrialized world, and expectation to the contrary is willful blindness or lack of information.
Zikes is right. The sudden outrage is nothing more than knee jerk reaction based on an emotional response rather than based in science.
"There is relatively little food that is "minimally processed" anywhere in the industrialized world" Perhaps you have not seen any of the organic food markets/brands that are popping up all over the country. Organic/minimally processed foods are even sold at wal-mart and big name super markets. Many of these fruits/veg/meats are certified by the usda to have no "unnatural" additives, chemicals or additional processing.
There are real health concerns about changing the ph by adding ammonia as well as the actual safety of pink slime bacteria wise.
The meat they use for it was thrown away before the ammonia process because it often comes from the edges of the animal and bacteria has had more of a chance to take root (I assume from more oxygen being available?). And the USDA decided that the ammonia process was so full proof that they didn't need to test the meat but some independent testing of meat with pink slime has shown higher levels of bacteria than is acceptable in some cases.
This is a real issue not just a emotional knee jerk reaction. We NEED to study our food processes and their effects on human health before we approve them for use. And I mean real studies not half-assed ones funded and ran by the company selling the product due to the obvious conflict of interest.
Consumers should have the right to know what is in the food they purchase and our governments need to do a better job at giving us that right.
I would wager that many of them would have an equally emotionally charged reaction to seeing the butchering and separation process for the rest of the beef they eat, but would forego campaigning against it because it's the same beef they've always eaten, and that makes it more "real" or "authentic".
When it comes down to it, any process for turning an animal into edible meat is gross and offensive.