I am very proud of how our beef community handled the recent case of BSE.  It seemed to be noted, explained and taken care of in a matter of hours.  I wish I could say the same for the finely textured beef (FTB) episode.  It has been interesting to see the advertising campaigns of places like Burger King and McDonalds trying to distance themselves from the controversy.  31 years ago Eldon Roth’s Beef Products Inc (BPI) bought tons of fatty scraps left over after cattle were carved into steaks and roasts.  He found a way to use centrifuges to spin the fat away and quick-freeze the meat into pink pulp that made ground beef leaner when mixed in. Last Fall he was inducted into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame.  Then last month a news article referring to FTB as “pink slime” caught the eye of a food blogger and due to her online campaign to have it banned from school lunches, the rest is history.  Roth’s customers began abandoning him, he was forced to start laying employees off..…we have always been told that words, like a stone, cannot be brought back once thrown.  In this day and age of internet super speeds, we are advised to be careful what we say.

A big thank you to our April hostesses Gale Moore and Marcia Carlson (sorry you were sick, Marcia!).  We had a wonderful roast beef dinner at Eat Your Heart Out Catering.

Pat Hunt

PS: May Meeting, Tuesday, May 8th, Red Barn, Hostess: Arley Howard.