The beef with ground beef

Firstly, this article reveals the terrifying fact that we consume tons of meat that is not unlikely to be tainted. Secondly, it reiterates what many deemed cynics have been saying for a long time, that what everything comes down to is money.

Here are some excerpts that sent chills through my body:

"Many big slaughterhouses will sell only to grinders who agree not to test their shipments for E.coli"

"The department moved to require some bacterial testing of ground beef, but the industry argued that the cost would unfairly burden small producers."

At the cost of people's health? Wow.

Scarier even, is that the U.S.D.A. seems to lack the authoritative power to impose strict --or any for that matter-- safety regulations. "I have to look at the entire industry, not just what's best for public health" said an assistant administrator with the U.S.D.A.'s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The department has even gone so far as to accept research that is financed by some of the largest beef 'manufacturers' in the country at face value.

I'm definitely not coming within 10 feet of a hamburger patty any time soon.

An aspect of the article I particularly like is the detailed run through of the production process; from the moment the cattle arrive at the slaughterhouses, until the grinding of the meat (if we can even call it that). The industry is even called out on the obscurity of their labeling and their misleading people to think they're consuming real beef -- the muscle tissue that is.

I appreciated the effort put into this investigative report, and was impressed at how the author really got to the bottom of it, despite the many deterrences he faced-- tight lipped industry people, inaccessible confidential papers, and the invariable interview turndowns.

This is a scary reality, and until now and relatively unknown one. (Eerily, it seems not to have been a matter of chance that it didn't come to light sooner). I'm glad that it's now out here. I hope it scares the industry into cleaning up their act, literally.