No More Lean, Finely Textured Beef – Now What?

Lean, finely textured beef (LFTB) , also known as “pink slime,” continues to generate headlines and discussion in print, online and over the air. BestFoodFacts.org devotes a page to Q&A on the issue with Washington State University’s (WSU) Jude Capper and Jolena Waddell, providing expert commentary. Read what they have to say about the consequences of LFTB leaving the U.S. food system.
 
For instance, Capper, an assistant professor in the WSU Department of Animal Sciences, says:
"Lean finely textured beef adds 10-12 lbs. of lean nutritious beef to every animal processed. Each animal yields approximately 660 lbs. of boneless beef. That means that to produce the same amount of beef for human consumption we’d need to process an extra 1.5-1.9% more cattle each year – that’s between 516,000 and 654,000 extra cattle in the U.S./year.
 
And, Waddell, WSU program director of meat sciences, adds:

“To continue to produce 90-95% lean ground beef without lean, finely textured beef, we will likely have to import very lean beef carcasses from Australia and Brazil to mix with our fatter beef (or start growing some of our beef differently). This, in the presence of decreased American cattle numbers, will undoubtedly drive up the price of ground beef.

“In my mind this is a step back in efficiency and sustainability in our food supply. In a time when we need to make more safe, economical food for the world, the media sensationalism and falsehoods that were spread have pushed the beef industry in the wrong direction.”

Read the complete article here.