What is your opinion of the beef industry?

[99cobrablack]

That aside, my only problem with the Beef industry is how many cows I see piled up stomping around in their own crap waiting to be slaughtered. I recently drove by the stock yards in Texas off of I-40 and like usual, completely shocked at how many cows they can fit inside a fenced area.

Wut?? I-40 runs by stockyards in texas?? Usually if they are waiting to be slaughtered there isn't that much "crap" Cows aren't smart animals, they don't need lots of room to exist, and exist comfortably. You can take a bucket calf and raise it from birth and it will still crap where it eats, crap where it sleeps.

 

[lobra97]

eat it, shit it out and then get another one!

 

[Thursday]

If you don't like it, don't eat it.

 

[WP64]

I eat and enjoy certified organic beef bought directly from these guys Certified Organic Beef Supplier California Steaks, Grass fed Beef, Order Premium Organic Beef Steak Recipe, Grassfed Beef Producer - Home

With that said, I'm pretty much done eating ground beef, especially fast food ground beef, I just can't stomach the thought of eating ammoniated and carbon monoxide gassed ground beef and IMO, there is a huge problem in the US beef industry surrounding E. coli contaminated ground beef and the USDA is failing us all with their lack of oversight and testing requirements from the slaughterhouses to the grinders.

Meat companies and grocers have been barred from selling ground beef tainted by the virulent strain of E. coli known as O157:H7 since 1994, after an outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants left four children dead. Yet tens of thousands of people are still sickened annually by this pathogen with ground beef being the biggest culprit. Ground beef has been blamed for 16 outbreaks in the last three years alone; this last summer, contamination led to the recall of beef from nearly 3,000 grocers in 41 states.

If you don't think there is a problem consider this, ground beef is usually not simply a chunk of meat run through a grinder. Instead, a single portion of ground beef is often an amalgam of various grades of meat from different parts of cows and even from different slaughterhouses, some even from outside the US. These cuts of meat are particularly vulnerable to E. coli contamination. Despite this, there is no federal requirement for grinders to test their ingredients for the E.coli pathogen and unwritten agreements between some companies appear to stand in the way of ingredient testing. Many big slaughterhouses will sell only to grinders who agree not to test their shipments for E. coli; slaughterhouses fear that one grinder’s discovery of E. coli will set off a recall of ingredients they sold to others.

Until the USDA steps-up their oversight of the slaughterhouses and grinders in regards to testing for E. coli contaminated ground beef before it gets to the public, my family and I are staying away from ground beef and encourging others to do the same.

EDIT: Before anyone gets their knickers in a knot, understand that I have no problem with the cattle ranchers, it's the USDA and their lack of oversight and testing requirements of the slaughterhouses and grinders that I have a problem with.

 

[5point0guy]

Beef? I'm all for it! Hamburgers, steak, prime rib, it's all good. Every Sunday my parents fix a steak, Caesar salad, and baked potato meal, it can't be beat.

 

[KingJay]

Steaks are good. Eat enough and you can get a heart attack. YUM.

 

[SonicDTR]

MMhm, steak is where its at!! I dont give a shit about cattle "suffering" they're sole purpose in life is to be slaughtered for food.

As to whoever asked about Kobe beef, if you've never had an authentic Kobe beef steak in Japan then you have no idea...it is incredible! Almost an entirely different food than your typical american steak...

 

[piss&vinegar]

There is nothing like a baked potato and steak after the gym!! Mmmmmmmm!!!<doing a Homer Simpson noise at the moment!>

 

[SNCBOOM]

I love beef. A quality Ribeye medium-rare please :beer:

 

[TexRob]

Moar steak. That's my opinion.

This.

 

[Fox-4]

Beef is good, hippies are bad.

 

[TrueBlueGT]

I eat and enjoy certified organic beef bought directly from these guys Certified Organic Beef Supplier California Steaks, Grass fed Beef, Order Premium Organic Beef Steak Recipe, Grassfed Beef Producer - Home

If you knew the cruelty & suffering to which "organic" beef is subject, you would think differently. Mother nature can be a very cruel business partner & organic beef is at the mercy for all of it. Next time you purchase an organic cut, think about the animals that suffered or died unnecessarily because this market niche requires even the simplest of preventative medication be withheld. We semi-annually 'deworm' our animals with a product called ivermectin. It is used the world over as a mass anti-parasitic........IN PEOPLE. Its benefits are shown for a multitude of mammalian species, cattle being one obviously. It inhibits the life cycle of worms, mites, lice, & grubs in cattle allowing them to live a healthier & more comfortable life. This is one very elementary example of the benefits of implementing technology into beef production & there are dozens more just like it.

Your fearful example of carbon-monoxide packaged beef is just as misinformed. The FDA maximum allowed ppm for CO packed beef is 0.4% or 4000 parts per million. This is touted as an OMG factor for the hippies (not implying you are one) because the vast majority of people never look deeper into an issue. The truth here is the average air in your (or any) major city contains 1.4% to 1.8% carbon monoxide. So, if you're scared of the benefits CO treatment offers for the shelf life of beef products, you had better find a way to stop breathing too because you inhale 4 to 5 times that amount of carbon monoxide with every breath.

BTW, cook your ground beef to a core temperature of at least 160*F for 15 seconds & your family will enjoy all the benefits beef has to offer...except e. coli which cannot live at that temperature or higher. But since you seem well versed in what e. coli is & is not, I'm sure you already knew that as well as knew that every fruit & vegetable you bring in your home needs to be scrubbed & soaked in chlorinated water for at least 15 minutes to kill most of the bacteria it contains.

Fear tactics in food blind people to the real issues as well as very simple solutions.

 

[96badvenm]

Omaha Steaks FTMFW!!!

 

[SLVRBLT]

I love beef. The less people eat it. The more for me.

+1 :thumbsup:

 

[hoamskilet]

just had an awesome strip last night. I'll never stop eating beef

 

[stangin99]

I laugh at most vegetarians. Many of them are semi-fat or just not healthy looking and claim they love how healthy they are now that they don't eat red meat.


But I don't complain. That leaves more red meat for me!

 

[wvmystichrome]

I don't think its healthy to eat a burger or steak for every meal every day.

Now someone tells me. The doctor did about 15 years ago when my cholesterol was 380/348. I had to cut down on the fatty beef and only eat lean cuts. I could eat beef morning, noon and night. Beef is here to stay no matter what some little pansy whines about. I see a good future for beef.

 

[WyoTechMSA]

Well...

I <3 STEAK!!!!!

This. And more power to any beef cattle operation that runs properly. Thank you for putting meat on my table :rockon:

 

[oldmodman]

I vote beef.

Steaks, roasts, prime ribs YUM........

But I must say that the absolute best beef that I have ever had was Kobe Beef from Japan. Absolutely Delicious! But around $100.00 per pound.

 

[04Cobra23]

Who do you supply? My family has a plant in San Diego, not a kill plant, a processing plant. We use alot of beef, but mainly pork. About 130,000 pounds of pork a week. I have no problem eating steak, one of my favorites. I also eat veal. My only concern is that the animals are treated right, some of these videos that end up coming out to the public of these kill plants are discusting. The way these scum treat the animals is horrible. I have a restaurant here in Florida, I would rather pay more and buy from a reputable company who treats the animals well.