No ‘Pink Slime’ – Local Beef!

A couple of months ago my husband came home and said, ” I will never eat McDonald’s again.” This was surprising considering he worked there in high school and although he doesn’t eat there frequently, he is the first to admit that he occasionally loves a Big Mac and a Coke from McDonalds. So after hearing this statement, I was intrigued.

Mike read an article on ABS News explaining how McDonald’s was getting rid of “pink slime” in their burgers. When I read the article I was shocked to hear that the FDA allowed ammonia treated meat remains to be used for human consumption. The article even explained that this pink slime is banned for human consumption in the U.K. Appalled, just like my husband, I also vowed not to eat there despite the fact that they are now changing their practices.

THEN, I heard two days ago that 70% of grocery store meat also contains “pink slime”! It’s no wonder that people today seem to be developing cancers and other diseases at an alarming rate. The amount of strange chemicals that we put into our bodies today unknowingly is quite concerning to me.

So what am I going to do about it? I did some additional research and CostCo and Whole Foods did claim that they do not use this technique in creating their ground beef, but I don’t always have a chance to get to either of these stores. Instead I decided that my family was going to purchase local, organic beef in bulk from one of our favorite Farmer’s Market vendors. There are many vendors to choose from, but the Dane County Farmer’s Market website is a great place to start. I was a bit nervous at first because we don’t have a large freezer to store the beef from half a cow or more. Luckily I found that Harmony Valley Farm allows people to purchase smaller amounts of beef and it more specific cuts (that was the other thing that I was worried about was getting a bunch of cuts of meat that we rarely use). They have as small as 15lbs. packages for families that can include just ground beef and steaks. I was also pleased to see that they have a variety of delivery locations and times.

Harmony Valley Farms

Even though I disliked the news when I heard it, I am glad that something that my husband and I had discussed for years is actually coming to fruition. Now if I could just pretend that I did not hear about the cancer causing chemicals in soda … I don’t think there is a great alternative for this vice.