Lean, Finely Textured Beef and the FACTS. A must read!

Ok, people. This has gone on long enough.  All this fear mongering, media hooplah and general misleading of our nation is really starting to irk me.  I guess it's time to bring out the big guns.  

This blog wont be filled with pretty pictures, it wont be all that humorous either but will it will be is educational and chalked full of information that I urge you to share with your friends and family that may be on the fence about the whole Pink Slime deal.

We recently received an email about a monumental upcoming event that proves that Beef Products Inc, BPI, has nothing to hide about their LFTB (Lean, Finely Textured Beef).  They are organizing governors tours of their plants in South Sioux City, NE.  "Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and Texas Gov. Rick Perry will visit the one Beef Products Inc. plant that’s still in operation to combat misconceptions and misinformation about the company and its “lean, finely textured beef” product, company spokesman Rich Jochum said.  They’ll be joined at the South Sioux City, Neb., plant on Thursday by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy and South Dakota Lt. Governor Matt Michels." -Associated Press-

The point of this tour is to bring in these elected government officials, who the people have obviously put their trust in to, to see for themselves the process of LFTB and what it all entails.

Here are the main points I want you to take home to combat misconceptions about LFTB :

1. When the larger roasts and steaks are cut, it creates the extra meat that then becomes the ground beef you all buy and love.  BPI uses a process to remove much of the fat from that trim to create a healthy lean product for you.
2. Ammonia is then applied to this meat just as it is to multiple other products in the food industry to prevent EColi and Bacteria from growing on the meat.   "Ammonium hydroxide is naturally found in beef, other proteins, and virtually all foods. It is widely used in the processing of numerous foods, such as baked goods, cheeses, gelatins, chocolate, caramels, and puddings. One result of this food safety system is the dramatic reduction in the number of potential pathogens that may be present in foods, such as E.coli O157:H " Beef Products Inc 
3. Watch this :  Why Ammonia is used
4. The US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection are aware and approve of this process as a safe and effective way to protect consumers
5. If you were to compare the nutritional profiles of LFTB and ground beef they are virtually identical.  LFTB is 90%-95% lean which is actually BETTER than most people are willing to buy in the super market and it still contains 10 essential nutrients.   

I understand that this onslaught of  misinformation from the media about LFTB can come as a surprise.  That's why the media is so effective in what they do. They are why we buy certain products, why we watch certain channels and why our lives take the certain directions that they do.  But, as I'm sure you all know, the media can have adverse effects on our lives as well.  Consider the damage this smear campaign in doing to your fellow Americans and how it's going to weasel it's negativity into your life.

1. Since the beginning of this Pink Slime smear campaign, over 650 people are out of work for an indefinite amount of time.  These are the workers for BPI who are trying to help produce healthy and nutritious beef for you.  These are your neighbors in Amarillo, Tx, Garden City, KS and Waterloo, IA.  
2. After last years drought in the southern states, the US cowherd is at an all time low.  By removing the capability of utilizing the LFTB, we not only will be wasting hundreds of millions of pounds of LFTB but we also will not be using the cattle to their full potential essentially wasting the product.  
3. How will that affect you?  America's farmers and producers are already under tight watch, restricted land and diminishing resources. Now the media is forcing us to produce more cattle on our already limited resources to meet the inevitable demand that will come from wasting all this LFTB.  If this is not possible by American producers, we will then have to turn to imports.  YOU HEARD ME, WE WILL HAVE TO RESORT TO IMPORTING OUR BEEF FROM OTHER COUNTRIES.  People are already complaining about the price of ground beef being too high as it is, can you imagine what this will do to your supermarket bill?
4.  And finally, the economy is on some what of a recovery.  If you don't care about the cattle, and you don't care about the bills, at least care about the lives and families this will affect.  Not only the thousands of people in the plants that will lose their jobs and the whole trickle down affect that will have all the way back to the farm. 

I challenge you to spread the word. There are endless resources out there for you to get all the information you could possibly need.  Your local Livestock Association would be more than happy to chat with you or go to www.beefisbeef.com  to get very user friendly tips and information on how to combat these lies and smear campaigns.

It's up to you, America, to decide whats going to happen here.  Make the right decision.