Once again the U.S. cattle industry finds itself in the midst of a media firestorm. As has happened time and time again, an unfounded media slander campaign against a perfectly safe meat product has been splashed across front pages, sensationalized on television news programs, and gone viral on the Internet.

Boneless lean beef trimmings have been safely consumed by adults and school children for decades; but, let the media label it “pink slime” and describe in detail how it is made, and suddenly it becomes unsafe and something consumers no longer want to eat.

So what is the problem? Is it the name; the appearance; the way it is made; or just bad public relations?

It is a fact that most consumers do not know how their food is produced, and in some cases that is a good thing. For example, the school kids whose parents do not want them to be served hamburger with “pink slime” will happily wolf down gelatin which is made from cows’ hooves. Many of America’s most popular and revered food products, such as hot dogs, sausage and creamed corn, are not things most people would enjoy seeing made.

On the other hand, the more gross and unappealing a food item is, the more status it has. Spend some time watching the gourmet chef shows on the cooking channels and you will see things like ox tongue, veal cheek, sea urchin, tripe and a variety of items you will not find your grocer’s meat case.

Food snobs enjoy smirking over exotic food that most of us would turn our noses up at. The Consumer Freedom website lists a cook book called Yuck! It’s Good: Delicious Cuisine from Repulsive Foods. The book was written by a French chef who prides himself on making traditional foods from otherwise refused foods.

Then, there is the food that is so awful that we don’t even sell it in this country. Each day railroad cars pull away from packing plants full of what the industry calls offal. These are cuts of meat and parts of animals that are revolting to U.S. consumers, but are the mainstay of diets in countries around the world. Cultural history and ethnic heritage all play a role in determining what a society considers acceptable and unacceptable foods. And over time these standards change.

We have seen more food products from Mexico and the Middle East becoming accepted by American consumers.

So, why are people so grossed out over a ground beef additive? In my opinion, media hype and activist group influence have manipulated public opinion and public perception. As a result, the image of beef has been tarnished, and the price of hamburger will increase.

The true tragedy is, however, that this was all unnecessary. In reality, what happens in a large processing plant and what happens at a local butcher shop is the same thing. Yet, one is a media villain and the other the darling of the foodie culture.

In the end it is not about science, not about taste, but about perception.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.