Mechanically separated meat

[gfish]

So, there is a picture floating around of a big pile of mechanically separated meat. And, yeah, it's kind of gross looking. But the fuss being raised around this image really kind of annoys me. First of all, aren't we a bit beyond equating visually unpleasant with morally questionable? It's the same tactic those hideous abortion protesters use with their giant posters. I suspect an appendectomy isn't very pretty either, but that doesn't make it a bad thing.

But also... am I the only person who already knew what mechanically separated meat was? It's not exactly a new invention. Everyone knows that chickens don't actually have nuggets, right?

Comments

[gement.livejournal.com]

I was curious about those points, but didn't have enough background to speak up.

Mind you, if it did look like that, my only response is "Neat!" I like the commenter who pointed out how expensive eating the wacky parts of animals is at a sushi restaurant. (I do not appreciate sushi personally, but appreciate the stand against hypocrisy.)

[basal-surge.livejournal.com]

Snopes already has a partial disclaimer up, but it doesn't address the image; However, having spent more time than the average lurker inside both icecream factories and abbatoirs/meatworks, I'm fairly certain the image is from the former, not the latter.