If you’re not angry, the saying goes, then you are not paying attention.

The anger was swift and overwhelming earlier this month when the news spread that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was filling school lunches with “pink slime.” As social media spread disgust for the product – a low-cost filler for ground beef made from the trimmings left over from other cuts, then sprayed with ammonia to disinfect – the Maine Department of Education was among many groups that announced it would not accept any ground beef containing the substance.

“This wasn’t anything we were even aware of until reports about it came out a week or two ago,” a department spokesman told the Bangor Daily News.

“Lean finely textured beef,” as pink slime is called by its manufacturer, food industry titan Beef Products Inc., has been around for a decade. It was featured in the 2008 documentary “Food, Inc.,” and reporting on the ammonia levels in the product won the New York Times a Pulitzer Prize in 2009.

The USDA, however, does not require that beef containing the product be labeled as such, so maybe that’s why the Maine Department of Education had no idea that it was serving it to students.

At least “pink slime,” as disgusting and unappetizing as it is, appears to be safe. The same cannot be said of the ground beef pulled from Hannaford stores earlier this year, after 20 people fell ill from a rare form of salmonella.

Hannaford acted quickly in dealing with the outbreak, by destroying any meat that may have been contaminated and then altering its processing protocol. But the recall and subsequent investigation revealed an industrial food supply chain that places low cost ahead of quality and safety.

A series of articles published this week by the Portland Press Herald show that the USDA has been reluctant to impose strict safety rules on the food suppliers, instead putting out recommendations that are rarely followed. Thus, when a food-borne illness outbreak occurs, it is difficult, if not impossible, to track. Why? That report and others point to the cost of implementing such a safety system, and to a powerful food industry lobby that does not want to take on those costs.

While “pink slime” may have generated a tidal wave of anger, it is hardly the worst offender in the supermarket. It is not even the worst product in the meat aisle, which includes cuts from animals raised on synthetic hormones and antibiotics. The antibiotic-resistant strain of salmonella that sickens millions of people every year was likely created by farms that kept cattle herded close together in their own waste.

It is the logical result of a decades-long attitude that has moved us farther and farther away from our food. Most the food consumed today is highly processed and unrecognizable from its ingredients. Even as small farms experience a resurgence, agriculture remains dominated by huge industrial producers whose practices bow to the bottom line, and pay little regard to food safety and animal welfare.

It is not only the USDA and agribusiness that are to blame. People in large part want cheap food, and rarely have the time or inclination to question where it comes from. Fortunately, in Maine, there are many options for the food-conscious consumer. Farmers markets abound, as do local butchers. Most supermarkets carry brands that, while slightly more expensive, come from sustainable and responsible producers.

You don’t have to be outraged, as there are plenty of ways to make sure the food you are eating is safe and nutritious. But you should be paying attention, because many of the people in charge are not.

Ben Bragdon is the managing editor of Current Publishing. He can be reached at bbragdon@keepmecurrent.com or followed on Twitter.

If you’re not angry, the saying goes, then you are not paying attention.

The anger was swift and overwhelming earlier this month when the news spread that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was filling school lunches with “pink slime.” As social media spread disgust for the product – a low-cost filler for ground beef made from the trimmings left over from other cuts, then sprayed with ammonia to disinfect – the Maine Department of Education was among many groups that announced it would not accept any ground beef containing the substance.

“This wasn’t anything we were even aware of until reports about it came out a week or two ago,” a department spokesman told the Bangor Daily News.

“Lean finely textured beef,” as pink slime is called by its manufacturer, food industry titan Beef Products Inc., has been around for a decade. It was featured in the 2008 documentary “Food, Inc.,” and reporting on the ammonia levels in the product won the New York Times a Pulitzer Prize in 2009.

The USDA, however, does not require that beef containing the product be labeled as such, so maybe that’s why the Maine Department of Education had no idea that it was serving it to students.

At least “pink slime,” as disgusting and unappetizing as it is, appears to be safe. The same cannot be said of the ground beef pulled from Hannaford stores earlier this year, after 20 people fell ill from a rare form of salmonella.

Hannaford acted quickly in dealing with the outbreak, by destroying any meat that may have been contaminated and then altering its processing protocol. But the recall and subsequent investigation revealed an industrial food supply chain that places low cost ahead of quality and safety.

A series of articles published this week by the Portland Press Herald show that the USDA has been reluctant to impose strict safety rules on the food suppliers, instead putting out recommendations that are rarely followed. Thus, when a food-borne illness outbreak occurs, it is difficult, if not impossible, to track. Why? That report and others point to the cost of implementing such a safety system, and to a powerful food industry lobby that does not want to take on those costs.

While “pink slime” may have generated a tidal wave of anger, it is hardly the worst offender in the supermarket. It is not even the worst product in the meat aisle, which includes cuts from animals raised on synthetic hormones and antibiotics. The antibiotic-resistant strain of salmonella that sickens millions of people every year was likely created by farms that kept cattle herded close together in their own waste.

It is the logical result of a decades-long attitude that has moved us farther and farther away from our food. Most the food consumed today is highly processed and unrecognizable from its ingredients. Even as small farms experience a resurgence, agriculture remains dominated by huge industrial producers whose practices bow to the bottom line, and pay little regard to food safety and animal welfare.

It is not only the USDA and agribusiness that are to blame. People in large part want cheap food, and rarely have the time or inclination to question where it comes from. Fortunately, in Maine, there are many options for the food-conscious consumer. Farmers markets abound, as do local butchers. Most supermarkets carry brands that, while slightly more expensive, come from sustainable and responsible producers.

You don’t have to be outraged, as there are plenty of ways to make sure the food you are eating is safe and nutritious. But you should be paying attention, because many of the people in charge are not.

Ben Bragdon is the managing editor of Current Publishing. He can be reached at bbragdon@keepmecurrent.com or followed on Twitter.