Meat glue?
Though many people don’t consider raising and slaughtering their own animals (it’s cruel… I couldn’t do that… I’d get attached… etc. etc. etc.), there are some really compelling reasons why you should.
Such as this bit of trickery:
You have limited choices if you’re concerned about this kind of practice.
1. Become a vegetarian
2. Find a local farmer and stay away from the industrial stuff
3. Raise your own
I’ve gone with option three. I tried vegetarianism for about a year. During that time I was sluggish and couldn’t stay lean (though we saved plenty of money). Vegetarianism is not for me. And because we’re on a tight budget, we’re raising as much of our own protein as possible.
If you care about your health and the health of your family, do what you can… unless you simply enjoy the rich velvety goodness of meat glue.
Mmm. Meat glue.
If you want to learn how to grow food in the Sunshine state, check out my book Totally Crazy Easy Florida Gardening.
6 responses to “Meat glue: another reason to raise your own meat”
While this is disgusting, it's not that hard to avoid. For one, any meat that is stamped USDA Organic is forbidden to use meat glue.
Also, while they say it's impossible to detect, it appears to me that applies to "meat only" cuts, such as filets or ground beef (and why would you even need meat glue in ground beef?). It would be pretty hard to fake a T-bone steak, for example.
In a cursory web search, I found this report, showing several popular stores have at least publically claimed they don't use meat glue, including Publix (which is about the only chain where I will buy meat).
Unfortunately, the glue is not the only problem with meat. Far from it. More worrying to me are the feeding standards, hormones, and slaughtering standards for factory meat. It gets worse every year as the industry tries to wring every last cent of profit out of our system.
Sometimes Publix has grass-fed beef on sale for no more than twice the price of the cheap stuff. That's actually not too bad, in my opinion. I have noticed that when you buy grass-fed beef, there is less loss due to "cook-down", as the weight of what you are buying isn't artificially inflated with water and fat. I try to buy grass-fed beef even in small quantities when possible if it is on sale, as a way to send a consumer message.
Of course, I think it is still better to raise and butcher your own, or buy from a local trusted source. Or hunt your own venison, wild turkey and wild hog, which is possibly even better for you.
Publix is definitely the best choice – I'm a fan, though I'm too poor to buy much there. Good info.
Yeah, but you're not too poor to sterilize your garden shears with a martini!
I have definitely lowered the quantity of meat I eat. I am down to one meal a day (usually dinner).
Having spent the last hour and a half watching a movie about Monsanto, I know I don't want to become a vegetarian. And I'm rethinking your invitation to move to Florida. (No, not really. [sigh]) The only good thing in it was the one-second view of part of my drive to work.
So how's it going down there? Any more little Goods on the way?
It's going well. And yeah… vegetarian eating can be as bad or worse than being a carnivore. Everything is screwed up.
No children on the way right now, so far as we know.
And come on – Florida is the best state in the union!
Except for Arizona.