Just as big pharma supplies dangerous substances to countless people worldwide, the meat industry may not be far behind in such nefarious deeds. Using a special product called "meat glue", meat suppliers have been caught using meat scraps, too small to sell, to create normal sized portions of meat for distribution. This misleading sales tactic is so effective that even experts can't tell the difference between a regular piece of meat and a piece of meat tainted with "meat glue".

What exactly is "meat glue"?

Meat glue is an enzyme known as transglutaminase. According to the report, many meat glues are created by cultivating bacteria. As shocking as it may sound, other meat glues are made from the blood plasma of pigs and cows, specifically the coagulant that makes blood clot. This "special enzyme" is so toxic that people working with the product must use masks as to not breathe it in. If meat suppliers are allowed to put it in our meat for us to eat, why can't they breathe it in?

The dangers and ethics of transglutaminase

In May of 2010, the European Union moved to ban "meat glue" due to its misleading and non-beneficial properties. By allowing these fake pieces of meat to be sold incognito, consumer's virtually have no way of telling what they are purchasing. Just as the labeling of GMO foods is not required, food manufacturers are not obligated to let consumers know which products contain toxic meat glue. Expensive steaks at many markets may actually be smaller pieces of meat held together by meat glue, making them worth a fraction of the cost and dangerous to consume.

In addition to the deception that goes along with meat glue, the risk of obtaining food poisoning associated with products that contain meat glue increases dramatically. According to the Australian television report, the bacterial contamination of meat glued steak is hundreds of times higher than authentic pieces of steak. This is also problematic due to the fact that glued meat is much harder to cook, thus making it harder to kill the bacteria. Once food poisoning is present, it is impossible to trace the exact source when multiple pieces of meat are glued together from different animals.

Conventional meat isn't much better

Although this shocking story unveils the hazards of meat tainted with meat glue, would eating "conventional" meat products be much better? The answer is almost always "no." Conventional meat is injected with hormones and antibiotics and is thoroughly contaminated by pesticides. Animals are often locked in small cages or are raised in prison-like farms that force the animals to consume genetically modified corn instead of grass. Although it seems like the only creatures affected by these alterations are the animals themselves, that notion is far from true. Most of the population consumes meat, and by corroding the world's meat supply with meat glue, the human population ultimately suffers.

Sources:

http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/ar...

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5n...

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...