You guys, the pink slime news is coming in so fast and furious I honestly can’t stay on top of it. Just a few things to report for those not following on TLT’s Facebook page:
Signature Count
At last check, almost 221,000.
I think I tweeted yesterday that we were only 8,000 from 1/4 million. Chalk that miscalculation up to historically poor math skills and the fact that I’m now operating mostly on caffeine and adrenaline — and virtually no sleep. (Wish I were kidding about that. I am one jittery, freaked out blogger, people.)
Congress Starting to Get on Board?
Hooray to New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez for being the first (I believe) federal elected official official to get on board with our campaign to get pink slime out of school food. You can read his statement here. Soon after, a similar statement was released from Congresswoman Chellie Pingree of Maine. And I have heard on the grapevine that other elected officials are about to follow suit. This is a fantastic development.
Media Coverage
Media coverage continues to grow exponentially – I can’t possibly provide all the links here. I did want to let you know that our petition is mentioned in the Wall Street Journal today, via Associated Press. (Here’s a version with a photo of me and my kids!) And the intrepid reporter who originally broke this story, David Knowles of The Daily, had a new report today on the degree to which school districts do or do not use pink slime.
A Personal Note
I certainly can’t claim I didn’t bring this craziness on myself, but I think you all know that I didn’t have the slightest clue what I was about to unleash with my Change.org petition last week.
Since then, the time and energy I’ve had to expend on pink slime has taken a real toll on my poor family (kids home for spring break, mom distracted and frazzled). So I just want to thank those of you who’ve sent “hang in there” sorts of messages over the last few days. A few of them have actually made me burst into tears — but that could just be the sleep deprivation at work. 🙂
Slime Humor
Finally, I thought I’d close it out with a little slime humor, courtesy of Daily Kos.
More updates as warranted.
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Carrie says
Alright, three things. First- Huzzah!! Woo Hoo!! Hurrah!! Second- Go Get Some Sleep!!! Everyone will be much better for it! 🙂 Third- that cartoon is a bit disgusting. And yes, I know it is supposed to be.
Veggievangelist says
Bettina, you’re fighting the good fight.
George from UC says
Just wanted to share this information obtained from several sites.
What the Beef Products process does is increase the amount of ammonium hydroxide in the lean beef to elevate its overall pH and make the product inhospitable to the survival of pathogens, such as E. coli and salmonella.
The Beef Products’ study that won USDA approval used an ammonia treatment that raised the pH of the meat to as high as 10, an alkalinity well beyond the range of most foods.
After complaints that the ammonia smell was too pungent in the meat, BPI decided to lower the ammonia levels and claimed that E. coli and salmonella were undetectable at a pH level of 8.5. The USDA had not been informed of this change and was only made aware of it through NYT’s inquiries.
Some of that research was done at Iowa State University. A law firm has asked for the records related to that research on ammoniated beef, but BPI has filed a lawsuit seeking a court order against the university to prevent the records from being released.
You can Google each paragraph to look for the sources and the entire articles.
Nina says
Thank you for all your hard efforts. I’m kind of going through the same thing with all the Monsanto stuff. Just trying to get the word out while ignoring my real work. Keep on keeping on.
Michelle says
So will the price point be the same for the healthy meat?
Bettina Elias Siegel says
If you’re looking for your comment and don’t see it here, it’s because you’ve violated The Lunch Tray’s longstanding policy against ad hominem, personal attacks on this blog. I welcome and enjoy dissent if it’s focused on the issue at hand. Comments about my earrings, which magazines I write for, etc. seem beside the point. If you’re unhappy with my “censorship,” feel free not to come back. – Bettina