But can you swaddle it?

This almost as disturbing as the fetus shaped cookie cutter I saw for sale at the Crafty Bastards Festival the other week.

The NYT outlined on Sunday why ground beef might be the most dangerous thing on the supermarket shelves. It’s a behemoth of an article which starts with a young woman who is paralyzed by eating a contaminated beef patty, but then goes on to show how stores who want to do that right thing are often helpless against the mega slaughterhouses and what a joke our regulations and government agencies are.

The retail giant Costco is one of the few big producers that tests trimmings for E. coli before grinding, a practice it adopted after a New York woman was sickened in 1998 by its hamburger meat, prompting a recall.

Craig Wilson, Costco’s food safety director, said the company decided it could not rely on its suppliers alone. “It’s incumbent upon us,” he said. “If you say, ‘Craig, this is what we’ve done,’ I should be able to go, ‘Cool, I believe you.’ But I’m going to check.”

Costco said it had found E. coli in foreign and domestic beef trimmings and pressured suppliers to fix the problem. But even Costco, with its huge buying power, said it had met resistance from some big slaughterhouses. “Tyson will not supply us,” Mr. Wilson said. “They don’t want us to test.”

These meat producers are so powerful that they can refuse to do business with a massive chain like Costco.  Not only that, but it is so important for them to make sure their meat is not tested that they are willing to forego a huge contract that is probably worth millions upon millions of dollars a year. Its not just the retailers that are controlled by these agri-businesses though.  They own government agencies too.

The meat industry treats much of its practices and the ingredients in ground beef as trade secrets. While the Department of Agriculture has inspectors posted in plants and has access to production records, it also guards those secrets. Federal records released by the department through the Freedom of Information Act blacked out details of Cargill’s grinding operation that could be learned only through copies of the documents obtained from other sources. Those documents illustrate the restrained approach to enforcement by a department whose missions include ensuring meat safety and promoting agriculture markets.

The government is not just hiding their secrets though.  These industries are their number one priority - above and beyond the consumers that they are supposed to be protecting.

In October 2007, the agency issued a notice recommending that processors conduct at least a few tests a year to verify the testing done by slaughterhouses. But after resistance from the industry, the department allowed suppliers to run the verification checks on their own operations.

In August 2008, the U.S.D.A. issued a draft guideline again urging, but not ordering, processors to test ingredients before grinding. “Optimally, every production lot should be sampled and tested before leaving the supplier and again before use at the receiver,” the draft guideline said.

But the department received critical comments on the guideline, which has not been made official. Industry officials said that the cost of testing could unfairly burden small processors and that slaughterhouses already test. In an October 2008 letter to the department, the American Association of Meat Processors said the proposed guideline departed from U.S.D.A.’s strategy of allowing companies to devise their own safety programs, “thus returning to more of the agency’s ‘command and control’ mind-set.”

Dr. Kenneth Petersen, an assistant administrator with the department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, said that the department could mandate testing, but that it needed to consider the impact on companies as well as consumers. “I have to look at the entire industry, not just what is best for public health,” Dr. Petersen said.

Are you scared yet?

Just from watching this commercial.

Cause what says “Manly Man” more than a big pat of butter on your burger?  (H/T So Good)

I love the food network.  The crazy food scientists, the Secret Life of Tootsie Rolls, the fact that they just rolled out an show called ” What Would Brian Boitano Make”. I even love Emeril, with his cheesy grin and overused “Bam!”

But Emeril does not love me, and neither does the Food Network.  In fact the entire food establishment seems to scorn people like me, with maybe one exception.  See, I don’t like meat.

I know this is shocking and crazy sounding after all the bacon posting I do here.  But the bacon posting is really for you dear reader, because I am afraid that you won’t love me for my meat-less ways.  I kid, but there is a certain amount of truth here.  Non-meat eaters tend to be persona non grata around foodies.  Could you imagine if a Top Chef contestant refused to cook meat? Colicchio would laugh them off the stage. Could you imagine “Cooking Manly Man Style” Emeril Lagasse being told that he had to forego the pork belly to feed the likes of me? “Bam” would not encompass that temper tantrum.

Even Boitano invites “bacon-crazed” roller derby girls over for 4 course bacon extravanganza. It’s lonely being veggie.  The one bright spot in all of this is Mark Bittman, who actually wrote a cookbook for us of the non-meat variety.  Boston’s Vegetarian Festival has gotten so popular they’re expanding it to 2 days.  And Meat-less Mondays are gaining steam.

Yet, we are still the fringe.  I’m not saying the Food Network should take Emeril’s meat away.  But a veggie friendly show is badly needed.  Or even better yet - instituting Meat-less Mondays on the channel would be a phenomenal way to get all their shows to be a little more accepting of the non-carnivore foodies out there.

The wacky mad scientist Alton Brown from the Food Network shows us how to build BBQ smoker with a parts from the hardware store.

(via Lifehacker)

photo courtesy of flickr user blmurch

Argentina is known for having some of the highest quality meat in the world. Argentinians are also the one group of people in the world that eat more meat than Americans. To feed that carnivorous population, Argentina’s meat producers have been pressured to produce more and more.

Claudio Schonfeld, a member of the tradition-bound Argentine Angus Association, says that grass-fed beef tastes better and is lower in cholesterol.

But Rodrigo Troncoso, general manager of the Argentine Feedlot Chamber, sees a big future for feedlots.

“The truth is that we produce beef [with] grass, also we produce beef with grain. We are known [for grass-fed beef] historically. We have to show the world that we can do all kinds of beef,” he says.

Troncoso says a third of the 15 million head slaughtered each year now pass through feedlots — up three-fold from 2001.

The trend is the result of simple economics: The price of soybeans, corn and wheat skyrocketed in recent years and land owners made way for those cash crops.

Looks like those lucky duckies are having their beef industry “Americanized”.  One more great export from the good ole U S of A.

McDonalds - its synomous with the American Way.  Right up there with Fourth of July and Apple Pie. Except that now they’re making some of their patties with beef shipped in all the way from New Zealand. That’s one hell of a carbon foot print.

The beef producers association (aka lobbyists) are none too happy with Time’s cover story either.  As with the pork, not strong, independentally verified facts to back up the cries of ‘Liar, liar, pants on fire”.

Because this customer is not a happy man.

One must visit Primanti’s.

Just one last day in the week, and it was looking so good for eaters across America.  But not quite.  The USDA warns that ground beef produced between May 23 and June13 and are labeled “Est. 6250″ may be contaminated with salmonella. Yes, that does mean that the USDA did inspect this meat, it was sold to the public and it is in fact contaminated.

The meat was sold in the mountain west and central plains through King Soopers and City Market stores.

More Recall!

Jill asks why there’s such a big bacon fascination, and I think she may be looking pointedly at me.  As the regulars around here probably have noted, there is a lot of bacon blogging going on.  And I don’t even eat bacon.  In fact, the smell of bacon grease is a sure fire way to make me nauseous.  But there a re many, many people out there who just love their bacon.  There’s something for everyone, whether it is bacon as a weapon, bacon first-aid, bacon dresses, and of course lots and lots of bacon blogging.

There’s two possibilities - bacon is a backlash, and bacon is ironic.

If bacon is a backlash, then foodies should take note.  Bacon is a backlash then represents a revolt of the eat healthy mantra that has been growing.  This reaction is a normal consequence of change, but it can also be very powerful.  People who embrace bacon as a backlash are not dissimilar to military personnel adverse to gays in service.  It’s not reasonable - both the UK and Israel allow their service people to come out of the closet with no problems reported.  Yet this kind of adverse response in the face of societal change happens even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Yes, we all know that bacon is not good for you - but that’s the point.  Food is very much about identity, and when a segment of the population identifies themselves as “bacon eaters” then they are going to dig in their heels and proclaim their love from the mountain tops in defiance of all who warn about the dangers of bacon over consumption.

If bacon is ironic, then this latest bacon obsession that American society is experiencing will blow over like every other fad.  Like crocs and clogs, perms and mullets, there is every chance that bacon will go the way of the hula hoop.

Time will tell.  For our health and our waistlines I do hope its a case of bacon is ironic.

70% is the percentage of antibiotics in the United States that goes into animal feed. That’s why the Obama Administration is attempting to get legislation passed that would require a veterinarian to administer antibiotics to sick animals, instead of allowing CAFO owners to indiscriminately dump the drugs into their troughs. Yet here comes Steve Kopperud trying to spin the practice in the name of “science”.

What folks forget in these debates over emerging and existing technologies is that the argument should never be “either/or.” It’s ensuring lawmakers remain objective, perceptive and open-minded enough to allow promising technologies to flourish - with appropriate oversight - so that benefits can be achieved. It’s again a question of choice. No lawmaker - or company in search of a marketing niche - should deem itself smarter than the rest of us when it comes to whether we embrace a technology or not. It comes down to this: If it works, I’ll decide whether I’ll avail myself of the benefits. If it doesn’t work, I won’t waste my time or money.

Sounds so reasonable, doesn’t it? Let the scientists be scientists and the farmers will choose what works and the free market will solve our problems.  Except our health problems. You see, there is no provision in the free market that gives an advantage to products and services that are healthiest for us.  That’s where the free market fails.  Farmers have no incentive to stop a practice that may be causing a major health problem.  Yes, people can choose to buy antibiotic free meat, and many are. But those purchases aren’t goig to protect them from antibiotic resistant infections that start on a farm and then get carried into their hospitals and other public places.

While Mr. Kopperud does have a valid point that not enough people are taking into account that overuse of antibiotics in humans is a concern, the numbers don’t lie.  There is a much bigger problem with antibiotic use in livestock.

As for “science” and what does and does not work, there’s a whole bunch of real scientists out there not paid for by Big Food that say antibiotics in our food IS bad for us.

“Antibiotic medicines are losing effectiveness on humans due to their increased use in animal feed,” said Margaret Mellon, Ph.D, JD, director of the food and environment programme for the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Animals raised in natural environments rarely require the use of antibiotics. Americans who choose meat produced this way are making conscious decisions to ensure that antibiotics will still be working when they or their family need them.”

…

In the US the use of antibiotics in food animals has attracted the attention of Congress. Senator Ted Kennedy and Representative Sherrod Brown (OH) plan to re-introduce bills soon to phase out the routine use of medically important antibiotics in poultry and livestock. Similar legislation introduced in the last Congress was endorsed by over 170 groups, including the American Medical Association.

So Mr. Kopperud please don’t concern troll us with pleas for science to reign.

And in case you’re wondering why this is important, antibiotic resistant infections kill over 18,000 people annually - more than AIDS.

Today I got a smaller haul at my local Farmers Market, but it was still delicious.

Locally-grown shrimp (in Michigan!)

- 1/2 lbs of large fresh shrimp, grown and harvested locally at The Shrimp Farm Market, the country’s only inland shrimp farm. ($5)

- 1 small bag of freshly popped kettle corn from JW Kettle Corn ($3)

- 1 pint of fresh, locally grown raspberries ($4)

- 1 pint shelled peas, locally grown ($3)

- 4 oz of “Ohhh Maple” Chevre (goat cheese) from Greenbush Farms, a certified environmentally-conscious  local farm. The cheese is flavored with maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves ($5)

- 2 zucchini, locally-grown ($1)

- 1 quart of locally grown Michigan cherries ($5)

- 1 lbs of hot Italian sausage, made with locally-grown, sustainable grass-fed, dry-aged beef from McLaughlin Farms Ltd ($6.75)

Total spent: $32.75

While it may seem high, I’ve noticed that what I’m spending at the grocery store has significantly gone down. Frankly, I’d much rather spend my money supporting local agriculture at a Farmer’s Market than at a supermarket that’s shipping in foods from out of state, and in some cases, out of the country.

Not a bad day at the Farmers Market! (h/t to Betsy for the fabulous food photos of our trip today!)

“Mannequin threatens to slip nip, town in an uproar, News at !!”

The town of Reading, OH is embroiled in controversy after the local BBQ joint posted a bikini clad mannequin out front to advertise their rib deals. And the details are priceless:

“My wife thought it was a hooker standing on the corner,” said Chris Broerman, 51, a painter and construction worker who lives near KT’s Barbecue. “It’s absolutely appalling.”

Before the mannequin, business was down 40%, after she was installed, there would be days where the line was wrapped around the corner to get in.

BarBe Q is a model WL-25, a “European large bust” mannequin and costs $198.  The bikini top was borrowed from a neighbor’s daughter, and the mail-woman donated the cutoff shorts.

The owner dressed BarBe Q in a more modest tank top to take her to the city review board meeting, where the board told him she need to wear more clothes.

The owner also claims BarBe Q has not caused any traffic accidents.

“I’m jealous,” said Cookie Graff, 59, eyeing the mannequin. But “she really needs some high-heeled shoes to go with that outfit.”

I’m not sure who would want to walk around with bacon strips on their cuts and scrapes, but this is just one of the wonderful bacon items you can pick up in the meat aisle of Accoutrements.com.

Me thinks the Heart Attack Grill Should stock up, just in case.

H/T Vanessa.