Dr. Oz and his fellow physician Dr. Michael Roizen have escalated the media’s attacks against beef. They joined the countless opponents of lean, finely textured beef, often referred to as “pink slime” by the media and lefty activists, but took their argument further, calling for people to “seriously consider abandoning red meat.”
This latest attack was published as an opinion piece that ran in The Province [1] on April 23. Written conversationally, the piece focused less on the facts than even many liberal outlets have done, emphasizing instead the “gross” factor.
The celebrity doctors tried to scare readers and pointed out how lean finely textured beef was “developed as an addition to pet food,” and how the ammonium hydroxide used to ensure that there’s no bacteria in the beef is also a component in window cleaner (as is water).
The National Institute of Health does indeed have a page on Ammonium Hydroxide poisoning, as Doctors Oz and Roizen pointed out, but that’s a silly argument. The Ammonium Hydroxide is sprayed lightly over the meat in a gas form to kill bacteria – making the beef safer. It’s also an FDA approved method for ensuring that a batch of beef is bacteria free. Furthermore, the National Institute of Health also has a page on what to do for a toothpaste overdose poisoning [2]. That hardly means that readers should stop using the stuff to brush their teeth.
The doctors’ strategy beef was to demonize eating beef entirely. The pair cited “PLUS, a new supersize study links eating red meat to a shortened lifespan.” Their conclusion: “red meat is still a quick way to shorten your lifespan.” So readers should avoid beef altogether and eat more vegetables. Because nothing takes the place of a bacon cheeseburger like a bowl full of carrots.