Please Sir, may I have more

This morning I took the dog for a walk and retrieved the newspaper from it's assigned receptacle on the mailbox post. Reading, while the dog sniffed around for the most perfect spot to deposit his gifts, I found some really exciting news right there on the front page of the Argus Leader just above the ad for AMC's Madmen.

Packers can opt to label embattled beef trimmings

BPI backs voluntary move

By Dan Piller and Christopher Doering 

Des Moines Register

Regarding it's ground beef filler ('finely textured lean beef' aka Pink Slime), the article said  BPI will "allow the meatpackers who buy its product to affix a label if they so choose." I was thunderstruck, this is the best news I've heard since Dick Cheney got his new heart. According to a BPI spokeman:

“We believe USDA’s decision to allow companies to voluntarily include information on their label regarding (lean fine textured beef) content will be an important first step in restoring consumer confidence in their ground beef,"

The article cited an increased interest in 'ground beef' containing the 'trimmings':

Tyson Foods Spokesman Gary Mickelson: “But we have recently seen an increased interest in purchasing ground beef containing (lean, finely textured beef) as customers and consumers gain access to more accurate information.”

Hy-Vee spokeswoman Ruth Comer cited a surge of support for the beef trimmings as a factor in chain’s reversal of an earlier decision to take ground beef with the trimmings off its shelves. Hy-Vee now will offer consumers a choice from separate, identified displays of ground beef.

The article was accompanied by a photo attributed to AP, looking much more wholesome than previous photos (see previous post).

 My curiosity having been piqued, I hopped in the old Chrysler Pacifist and headed over to the nearest Hy Vee store. Arriving at 26th and Sycamore. While I looked for an open space in the congested parking lot one woman holding a fistful of cash left here car running in front of the store and ran for the entrance. I jostled my way into the store and was pushed by the crowd towards the back of the store where I encountered a large group swarming around the meat department. As I arrived they began chanting "We want pink slime, We want pink slime." Then suddenly the mob became silent, parting as a small boy with a bowl and spoon approached the meat counter. Holding up the bowl he said in a weak voice, "Please Sir, may I have more."

When I heard the man say they were sold out, I had to leave that heart breaking scene. I elbowed my way to the Restaurant area where Viva Bianca (the Cheerios server lady) was holding a large tray of bowls: "Okay, who ordered the healthy lean finely textured beef and who had the yummy finely textured lean beef?"

Leaving this chaotic spectacle, I remembered  the news article paradoxically stated in the final paragraph:

"Mark Dopp, senior vice president at the American Meat Institute, noted that companies have been free to do the labeling for 20 years."

Whooda thunkit.