Just Beef

The Jungle and USDA

Before the United States Department of Agriculture was established the conditions in the different meat companies was disturbing.

The 1906 novel, The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair describes the conditions and work of the meat packing industry.

USDA

Fourth largest agency

*Regulates meat, poultry, and processed eggs

* Attempts to meet needs of farmers and  ranchers

*Promotes agricultural trade and production

*Assures food safety, protects natural resources through food inspection

*Oversees safety of hormones and pesticides in livestock and agriculture

Prions Diseases and Proteins

Prions

Prions are proteins. It’s a sheet and a helix. When cattle are fed other meats it is possible for proteins in their body to misfold due to mutation. When proteins misfold they are capable of transmitting diseases.

PrPc

• Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

• Only affects cattle

• Alpha Helix structure

• Unknown function

PrPsc

• Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease

• Only affects humans

• Beta sheet

• Toxic function

Both of these diseases affect the brain. One misfolded protein is a template to misfold correctly folded proteins.

Meat Recalls 2012

The USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Services(FSIS), surveillances the safe production of meats in the US. This organization has already begun recalling 17 meat products in the 2012 year alone. The causes for these recalls vary from pathogens such as Listeria and E. coli to unidentified ingredients and allergens in meats products.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/Open_Federal_Cases/index.asp

This link takes you to the current FSIS recalls and alerts.

Follow the USDA on twitter! (@USDAFoodSafety)

Medium rare please…

I go to a restaurant

I scream — APPLEBEE’S

I want STEAK

Medium Rare please!

mashed potates with vegatables

dont cook my carrots, geeze

I want it how I want it

if its not running red

dont put it on my plate

if its not running red

I damn sure wont pay

I rush to the doctors the very next day

My stomach is sick

for some strange reason I think its something I ate

I’m suing a company the very next day

I come out with 0.00 percent because of their claim

they said that I asked for uncooked meat?

I go to a restaurant

I scream — APPLEBEE’S

I want STEAK

Medium Rare please!

mashed potates with vegatables

dont cook my carrots, geeze

in what sentence did I say I wish to eat

uncooked meat my oh my these companies

are insane next thing I know they are suing me for bad press.

They say something about uniformed claims

and them being blamed

damn them damn them

they are simply insane…

I go to a restarunt

Golden Coral I scream,

I want my steak

MEDIUM RARE PLEASE !!

bearingthegiftofanewheart:

“The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined. If beef is your idea of ‘real food for real people,’ you’d better live real close to a real good hospital.”

-Neal D. Barnard, M.D., President, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Washington, D.C.

Beef Process

Processing is a way to make up for the loss in weight due to trimming of excess fat and bones. During the beef process, every step and safety precaution must be taken into great consideration. Before processing, the beef should hang for at least two weeks.  There are many rules to the beef process and how the beef is handled by the processors can determine the freshness and taste of the beef. The C&C, one beef processing brand, carries out their carcass beef processing on a “hanging weight” basis. To process the beef, the carcass meat is cut into ready to cook proportions and sold by how much it weighs.  After processing, table ready meat weighs less than the carcass did before. Though this loses profit for beef companies it is the best way to ensure that the finished product is of its best quality. The percentage of the weight of the beef lost during processing is 65%.