Archive for January 4, 2009

Mechanically Separated Chicken, it’s what’s NOT for dinner

Posted in Musings on January 4, 2009 by xxxicana

Ok, so I haven’t quite recuperated from the jet lag and all the walking I did during my trip to SoCal.  Photos and narrative will have to wait.
Meanwhile, I’ve been reading “The Ominvore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan (2006) — a great read albeit at the cost of your appetite!  Pollan explores the food industry and the manner by which corn came to rule the dietary world.   I’ve wanted to read this book for some time, but just hadn’t gotten around to it.  I highly recommend it to anyone interested in food.  If the addage “you are what you eat” is true, then a lot of us are walking casings filled with mechanically separated meat and corn derived compounds.  If you like chicken nuggets here’s the base material:

mechanicallyseparatedchicken

No, that’s not candy being extruded from the machine, it’s chicken bits (including lots of skin).    BLEEEHW!

Isn’t that just gross?  I’m far from committing to a vegetarian diet, but after reading this book, I’m really going to examine what I eat more closely!  I am a “whole foods” eater and try to avoid processed foods.  But now I’ll really have to think about where my food comes from and make better choices.