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>>>What happened to the FDA's mission to protect the consumer? It was basically eviscerated in the 1980s. One example is the increased amount of fat and bone

>>>What happened to the FDA's mission to protect the consumer? It was basically eviscerated in the 1980s. One example is the increased amount of fat and bone allowed in meats. And did you forget about the infamous pink slime? FDA Approved!

mistercow 14y ago
1. While use of ammonium hydroxide is FDA approved, approval of pink slime is really under USDA's jurisdiction. 2. Of all the failings of government regulation and the FDA in particular, pink slime is such a red herring that it's hardly even worth mentioning. If you want examples of the FDA screwing up, you can find way better examples than that.
- mikecane 14y ago
  >>>pink slime is such a red herring So you think cast-off meat soaked in ammonia is a good thing? No, don't argue any science with me here. There is no way in hell this can be spun into anything good.
  - maxerickson 14y ago
    I think it is probably safe to eat (a pro meat propaganda website I was just looking at claimed that ammonia was present at much higher levels in other foods; given the prevalence of nitrogen in the environment, that isn't especially ridiculous). Products using it should be required to say as much though.
    - mikecane 14y ago
      >>>Products using it should be required to say as much though. Yes. But they don't want that, see? They don't want me and everyone else to be able to say No and spoil their payday.
  - mistercow 14y ago
    It's not soaked in ammonia. It's puffed with ammonia. And, no I don't think it's a good thing. I just don't think it's any worse than meat in general. The reason that pink slime caught the public imagination is that it sounds gross, but there's no scientific basis (and I will argue science because if you're going to go with your gut reaction, there's no point in discussing anything with you) for the hypothesis that adding pink slime to meat is harmful. And I find it pretty baffling that people can have no problem with raising an animal in bondage, shooting a metal slug through his or her brain, skinning the corpse, rending its flesh, and then shipping the chunks around the country to be eaten — but if any of it is slimy, they get squicked out.
    - mikecane 14y ago
      >>>because if you're going to go with your gut reaction, there's no point in discussing anything with you Well that's how people react, so get used to it. I also reacted that way when I saw "Human Placental Extract" in a list of a woman's cosmetic ingredients. Full disclosure means you don't always get the nice welcome you want. EDIT to fix clumsy sentence.
      - mistercow 14y ago
        The issue under discussion was "the FDA's mission to protect the consumer". FDA-approved products that sound bad but aren't bad are irrelevant to that discussion. It's not about public reaction. It's about objective facts.

mistercow 14y ago

1. While use of ammonium hydroxide is FDA approved, approval of pink slime is really under USDA's jurisdiction. 2. Of all the failings of government regulation and the FDA in particular, pink slime is such a red herring that it's hardly even worth mentioning. If you want examples of the FDA screwing up, you can find way better examples than that.

mikecane 14y ago
>>>pink slime is such a red herring So you think cast-off meat soaked in ammonia is a good thing? No, don't argue any science with me here. There is no way in hell this can be spun into anything good.
- maxerickson 14y ago
  I think it is probably safe to eat (a pro meat propaganda website I was just looking at claimed that ammonia was present at much higher levels in other foods; given the prevalence of nitrogen in the environment, that isn't especially ridiculous). Products using it should be required to say as much though.
  - mikecane 14y ago
    >>>Products using it should be required to say as much though. Yes. But they don't want that, see? They don't want me and everyone else to be able to say No and spoil their payday.
- mistercow 14y ago
  It's not soaked in ammonia. It's puffed with ammonia. And, no I don't think it's a good thing. I just don't think it's any worse than meat in general. The reason that pink slime caught the public imagination is that it sounds gross, but there's no scientific basis (and I will argue science because if you're going to go with your gut reaction, there's no point in discussing anything with you) for the hypothesis that adding pink slime to meat is harmful. And I find it pretty baffling that people can have no problem with raising an animal in bondage, shooting a metal slug through his or her brain, skinning the corpse, rending its flesh, and then shipping the chunks around the country to be eaten — but if any of it is slimy, they get squicked out.
  - mikecane 14y ago
    >>>because if you're going to go with your gut reaction, there's no point in discussing anything with you Well that's how people react, so get used to it. I also reacted that way when I saw "Human Placental Extract" in a list of a woman's cosmetic ingredients. Full disclosure means you don't always get the nice welcome you want. EDIT to fix clumsy sentence.
    - mistercow 14y ago
      The issue under discussion was "the FDA's mission to protect the consumer". FDA-approved products that sound bad but aren't bad are irrelevant to that discussion. It's not about public reaction. It's about objective facts.