Tell Rep. Young: Urge USDA to stop buying pink slime for school lunches. Dear Melissa, Thanks to more public pressure from than 175,000 CREDO members, the USDA announced Thursday that starting next fall, they would allow schools to choose whether or not to include pink slime beef filler in their school lunches.1 That's a positive sign that USDA is feeling vulnerable on pink slime, but it's not enough. Pink slime should be fully eliminated from the National School Lunch Program. Now is the time to keep the pressure building. Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree has written a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and is asking other members of congress to sign on. (The full text is below) Tell Rep. Young: Co-sign Rep. Pingree's letter urging USDA to fully eliminate pink slime from school lunches. Click here to automatically sign the petition. While allowing schools to choose whether or not to serve pink slime is a positive step, it still has two big problems. First, the USDA will go ahead with the purchase of seven million pounds of pink slime this year, and continue serving it to kids until the fall. Second, giving schools the choice may only have the effect of forcing poorer school districts to keep serving pink slime, potentially creating what Rep. Pingree calls "two-tiered school lunch program where kids in less affluent communities get served this low-grade slurry." What's more, the non-pink slime beef option will have more fat — so all school districts will be forced to choose between pink slime or a fattier hamburger. It's simple. Kids need safe, healthy, whole foods. Pink slime shouldn't be served in school lunches. Period. Please urge your Representative to co-sign Rep. Pingree's letter to Secretary Vilsack. Click below to automatically sign the petition: http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5541933&id=36811-4888946-wTV5z4x&t=9 Thank you for fighting for safe food in school lunches. Elijah Zarlin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets 1. "'Pink Slime' For Lunch: Schools Can Opt Out Of Ammonia-Treated Ground Beef Filler," Huffington Post, 3/16/12 Full Text of Rep. Chellie Pingree's Letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack: Dear Secretary Vilsack: Thank you for your recent attention to the issue of "finely textured lean beef trimmings" or "pink slime" in our children's school food. While we appreciate your recent statement that schools may 'opt out' of purchasing the slurry meant for animal feed, we are writing to urge you to completely end the purchasing of pink slime for school food. As you know, "pink slime" is a term used for an industrial slurry of beef scraps and connective tissue. This product, produced by two companies in the United States, Cargill Meat Solutions and Beef Products, Inc., is treated with ammonia hydroxide to remove E. coli and Salmonella. Although fast food restaurants like McDonald's and Burger King have stopped using pink slime in their food, the USDA has not yet made this policy change, and recently authorized the purchase of ground beef containing an additional seven million pounds of pink slime destined to be served in school cafeterias. If these fast food chains won't serve pink slime, why should school cafeterias? We are also concerned with the consequences of creating an 'opt out' or two-tier system for schools. If pink slime laced ground beef is less expensive to make, we are very concerned that lower funded districts will be forced to use it. Creating a two-tiered school lunch program where kids in less affluent communities getserved this low-grade slurry is wrong. We share the concerns of people around the country about this bi-product being fed to our children. We hope you will do everything in your power to eliminate it from the National School Lunch Program. |