Interesting article on "Pink Slime"

[DECI4]

I think this guy is right on the money. Discuss.

"So recently I've been doing some thinking about all of this controversy over 'pink slime' which a particularly harmful layman's term for beef products that have been sterilized or preserved with a chemical treatment (primarily ammonia).

All animal meat (treated or not) is pink and slimy. But when one hears the word 'pink slime' one thinks of something sordid and toxic. It is certainly not something that you would want on your dinner plate. The news media with it's overwhelming Left-wing bias likes to create these sorts of terms in order to scare the public in to clinging to it's anti-business agenda. The media is responsible for demonizing and often destroying entire industries by using such eloquent and responsible language as "black assault rifles" and "mad cow disease" and "human sex trafficking" and "cop-killer bullets."

There is no evidence that consumption of ammonia in reasonable amounts is dangerous to one's health and there can be no amount of ammonia in a serving of beef (or dozens of servings) that could pose any sort of health risk to anyone.

We do know that ammonia has some positive health benefits. It has been used for thousands of years as action-preparation device by combatants and athletes alike. Ammonia has a stimulant effect and for this reason it is often used by powerlifters and weightlifters (typically by inhaling but also by swishing a mouthful) for the purpose of "psyching up" prior to a big lift. It is also used to revive people who have been knocked unconscious.

One can clearly see why a typical high school student might WANT to be exposed to ammonia. Most high schoolers don't get a lot of sleep and they are expected to complete a daunting amount of mental and physical work on campus. A little ammonia-treated beef might give them the competitive edge that they need to excel in academia. I think I'd prefer ammonia over Ritalin or whatever the hell else our quack doctors are prescribing to our children nowadays. Unlike Ritalin, ammonia is not bad for your heart; on the contrary, ammonia promotes good cardiovascular and respiratory health.

How wondrous, the aromatic essence of ammonia. I think that no two things could better compliment each other than beef and ammonia. Ammonia is like a powerful cologne for food that enriches the culinary experience. I'm a proud consumer of this so-called 'pink slime.' I even buy the beef that hasn't been treated with ammonia and spray it with my own ammonia. How do you like them apples?"

[navkat]

I...

Ah HAH! You almost got me.

[Salty]

I...

Ah HAH! You almost got me.

[AFK]

I like my slime a healthy gray color

[Reginald Ret]

Looked up some data.

160 ppm ammonium hydroxide in meat.
The liver usually handles 0.00004 mol/L, that is the normal concentration in blood.
Let's assume the concentration is the same all through the body.
If you are 60kg then you can handle 0.0024 mol.
Let's assume humans are pure water.
Water is 55 mol/L and 1 L = 1 kg
That makes our 60kg person 3300 mol.
Now remember 160 ppm is in the meat, with 1 kg of meat(again lets assume water) that's 0.0088 mol.
This woud mean that eating more than 272 grams in one meal would start being risky if increased ammonia concentration in blood were actually dangerous. There is no proof for this, ammonia's main danger is it's tendency to form alkaline ammonium hydroxide, the effect this has on acidity and the heat that that reaction creates.


tl:dr version chill the fuck out, it's not especially good for you but is sure as fuck ain't as toxic as nicotine for example.


Also, i may be completely wrong here, my research was sloppy, i took an unholy amount of shortcuts and i am too tired to think straight at the moment.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I'm guessing there's a cumulative effect from eating tons of shit food of various kinds for years and years.

And even if there's not, it's still gross. I quit meat but if I wanted ground meat these days I'd just buy a roundsteak or something and grind it up at home.

[Triple Zero]

LUTEFISK!!!

(hey Iron Waffle, did you ever manage to fulfil that challenge?)

[Bruno]

When Native Americans use all parts of the animal, it's looked upon as a good thing, but when corporations do it it's bad?

That's racist!

[Doktor Howl]

I thought this was gonna be an essay about Mike the engineer.

THREAD DOES NOT DELIVER.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I thought this was gonna be an essay about Mike the engineer.

THREAD DOES NOT DELIVER.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I thought this was gonna be an essay about Mike the engineer.

THREAD DOES NOT DELIVER.

Did he decide to get into the failing reactor himself?

[Doktor Howl]

I thought this was gonna be an essay about Mike the engineer.

THREAD DOES NOT DELIVER.

Did he decide to get into the failing reactor himself?

Wrong guy.  That was Filthy Assistant.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I thought this was gonna be an essay about Mike the engineer.

THREAD DOES NOT DELIVER.

Did he decide to get into the failing reactor himself?

Wrong guy.  That was Filthy Assistant.

Whoops...

[EK WAFFLR]

LUTEFISK!!!

(hey Iron Waffle, did you ever manage to fulfil that challenge?)

I did! but the camera fucked up! I'm still trying to salvage the files.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I thought this was gonna be an essay about Mike the engineer.

THREAD DOES NOT DELIVER.