Is cloned meat coming to Maine? (to buy, shops, mold)

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by Toria

yes, I'm well aware of the attempts to clone Scamper (and they did produce a colt eventually), but your post said the horse people had worked it out fairly well - that seemed to imply it was routinely being done. That is not the case, obviously (at those prices! ). I agree with you that the process is far too expensive at this point to be supplying the meat market.

Oh, no, I certainly didn't intend it to mean routine, only that there doesn't seem to be the same health problems that have been mentioned for cattle. (And I say "seem" because there could be problems that have not been publicised or that may emerge at a later date.)

[Bydand]

Another thing to remember is to look at the meat AWAY from the meat counters. The ones with florescent lighting use bulbs that will bring out the reds more than other lights in the store (remember, I'm an Electrician, and change these a LOT). If you are buying your meat in a store like Wal-Mart, look at the meat again over by the clothes, those lights are closer to daylight color and more true.

[AliceT]

Cloned or not, the issues with commercial meats goes way past that which we can see, feel and touch. It was late in life that I started raising my own pork, beef and poultry. Lemme tell ya, there is no comparison between organically raised meat animals and that which you find in the supermarkets. None, zip, nada.

If you've never tastes organically grown pork, beef or poultry then you've never tasted pork, beef or poultry.

If you've never tasted a tomato you grew without pesticides or chemicals and picked ripened on the vine, you've never tasted a tomato.

If you've never tasted the eggs produced from free-range, organically raised laying hens, you've never tasted an egg.

Yes, it's that big of a difference. And I'm not the only former city slicker to have come into the light. That's why there is a real demand for organically grown everything.

Cloned meat? It'll never get off the ground.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by AliceT

...
If you've never tasted the eggs produced from free-range, organically raised laying hens, you've never tasted an egg.

Folks are constantly remarking the huge difference in my eggs.

Shells are hard and must be cracked with an intent, they are not soft shelled.

The yolks are dark, or orange; and once in a pan the yolk will move out of the way and you have to chase it to get the yolk to break open. It wants to hold it's form.

[Zymer]

"If you've never tasted a tomato you grew without pesticides or chemicals and picked ripened on the vine, you've never tasted a tomato."

I've grown some of my own veggies, I can't tell the difference. Maybe it's just me.

[Maine Writer]

Probably your soil, not you.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Zymer

Growth hormones and antibiotics don't worry me-

They should. The human body becomes immune to antibiotics from being overexposed/used. The amount of 10-12 year olds who are becoming fully developed is going through the roof-you can thank growth hormones for this. Keep in mind that what goes into the animal goes into you.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Zymer

It's extremely expensive to clone any mammal, which is my point. Sure, you can find some people who will pay the price to clone an animal that is going to be kept alive, but cloning for slaughter...no point, the market wouldn't support it.

I don't think we need to worry about cloned beef in the supermarkets any time in the next few forseeable futures. Improperly maintained abbatoirs, mad cow disease, and other problems would be much more pressing concerns.

Yes, it is expensive-but there is a point to it which you touch on. It's not so much cloning cows that they are after, but rather to genetically 'grow' lumps of meat that are immune to such things as mad cow.

[mainebrokerman]

cloned meats is a non-issue to me also,,animals and plants have been modified to the wants and needs of people for a longggggg time,,, i read that there was only three original breeds of dogs,,now there are thousands with human interference,,

someone mentioned what scares folks more is the sanitation practices, and shrink recovery in stores and supermarkets, tho, im not an expert, im a pretty good authority, on meatcutting practices in maine, ive probly worked or been in or supervised more stores than anyone i know,,,
i worked for hannaford for 13 years, most years as a meat department manager, and a butcher before that, i can tell you first hand, hannaford, has very high standards for sanitation,,,and also,,,very strict procedures of anything questionable,,when in doubt, throw it out,,,,ive seen whole trays of rib-eye steaks, porterhouse, steaks,,thrown out,,and they were still good,,,,why?? its overkill,,if one hannaford has a foodborne illness,,it affects, ALL the hannafords in the state,,
and its no different in the smaller stores,,,if a store gets a bad reputation for spoiled meat it goes thru the town like wild-fire, and can kill the store, shut it down...its in the stores best interest to sell only fresh meats,,for a good reputation.
i know most of the laws regarding food safety and sanitation and most stores try to exceed the standards ,,so as not to get a bad reputation..

i believe zymer or someone else earlier stated,,,,he is more afraid of how markets try to revive and sell old meat,,,well,,25 yrs ago id hear some stories from the old-timers about 50 years ago,,using baking soda, etc,,,i can assure you none of this ever goes on now,,if by chance it does,,the person doing it will be fired immediately.
stores need a good reputation in meats,,you only get 2-3 days of good bloom for steaks (even tho they are better after some discolorization from breaking down)
beef steaks are actually good for about 15 days after cutting, they just discolor after 3, the five star restaurants and meat markets, will "age" meat for a good two weeks,
then skive off the outside .
pork and chicken,,is a different story,,,they usually have a shelf-life of 4-5 days, and they turn quick,,,
someone mentioned vacuum-sealing in carbon-monoxide,,this is what walmart does, the fresh meat comes in all "case ready" it is enhanced (injected) with a salt solution for longer case life,
they are the only ones doing this in maine,,,for case ready meats..
there's a sysco plant, that processes meat in portland, for restaurants,(and vacuum seals meat without carbon-dioxide),i toured that facility and it was very clean,
more and more smaller stores are buying a vacuum seal machine, why?? to ensure and guarantee freshness,, it freezes better also and doesnt leak,,more and more wild-game butchers are getting them too.
curtis customs meats ,,in warren, vacuum seals all his meats, and now his customers are telling him,,they wont buy it any other way (this is vacuum0sealing with no carbon-dioxide or enhancements)

meat in general has always taken a bad rep..education can go a longggg way.
for just one example,,lets take burger,,,the leaner grade you buy the quicker it will get dark in the middle, does it mean its spoiled?? NO!! i can grind a 90% lean batch of burger,,,either package it in foam trays or put it out bulk in a full-service case..and within 3 hours it will be dark in the middle,,why?? its called oxidation, it will bloom on the outside but not the inside,,because no oxygen gets to it,,,,,much like when we bleed the blood comes out purple,,then bright red..but yet half the population will say it is "spoiled" because we have a hyper sensitivity.

my grandfather was a farmer,,,he would slaughter the cows himself that needed it,,,this was done by farmers for generations,,and ill guarantee ya,,the conditions, and area ,,temperatures, etc,,,were far less than desirable for processing meat)
many older folks use to eat raw burger and steaks, years ago,,and think of the millions of pounds of meat consumed everyday, overall our meat supply is very safe,,
there is actually more cases of e-coli poisoning from vegetables, than from meats.
a maine dept of agriculture inspector, is quick to say,,,make sure you wash thoroughly any veggies from any store in particular, farmers markets,,,many gardens use fertilizer and the fertilizer they use could easily contain the e-coli.



sorry to ramble,,,but meat as a category gets many many darts thrown at it,,,in my job, im one of the good guys, making sure many stores have the highest of standards,,,i supervise over 130 stores throughout maine and can confidently say,,the stores and backrooms ive seen,,adhere to strict sanitation policies..

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by Bydand

Another thing to remember is to look at the meat AWAY from the meat counters. The ones with florescent lighting use bulbs that will bring out the reds more than other lights in the store (remember, I'm an Electrician, and change these a LOT). If you are buying your meat in a store like Wal-Mart, look at the meat again over by the clothes, those lights are closer to daylight color and more true.

bydand, come on now,,,,stores would actually use a light-bulb to enhance the color of fesh meats???
can ya give me a recommendation of what these bulbs are?? lol

promolux?
sp35?