The USDA is expected to announce that schools will be able to request beef patties with or without the controversial filler.

Robin Shreeves
Mother Nature News Network

As I told you last Friday, the USDA announced they were going to purchase 7 million pounds of pink slime, or “lean finely textured beef” as its makers call it, for our nation’s school lunches next year. When that was announced, the mainstream media ran with the story and it got people’s attentions.

Enough people were upset about it that a petition on Change.org started on March 7 already has over 223,000 signatures. The petition asks Agriculture Secretary Vilsack to “put an immediate stop to the use of ‘pink slime’ in our children’s school food.”

Looks as if the USDA is trying to head off an all out “immediate stop” by giving schools options. Seattle Pi is reporting that an anonymous source says the USDA is expected to make an announcement today about it.

Under the change to be announced Thursday, schools will be able to choose between 95 percent lean beef patties made with the product or less lean bulk ground beef without it. The new policy won’t affect ground beef at schools until this fall because of existing contracts, according to a USDA official with knowledge of the decision.

If this choice is actually given to schools, I’ll be talking with my District Nutrition Advisory Council about seriously looking into the “less lean bulk ground beef” without pink slime. Will you be doing the same in your school district?