The comments regarding the toxicity of CO (carbon monoxide) in this article demonstrate a basic lack of science/biology knowledge.

The point about masking spoilage is correct, but the point about CO's toxicity is far off.

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Mathew good post.A sad point is that with all the high risk meat and fish and poultry out there they don't enforce some recalls.I fear for my carnivore friends! Having been vegetarian since 1974 I still risk interspeicies foreign genes and novel proteins in non-organic fruits ,vegtables,and oils .
I hope thats non-GMO organic tempeh your enjoying,pretty soon the biosphere will be so polluted it will be hard to find true organic food.
Another point on enforcement of recalls,with shoppers club discount cards in wide use ,your name ,address,bank, phone number and purchase records are available to the retailer.In the event of a Mad cow prion tainted batch of beef getting by the inspectors it should be an easy matter to notify consumers of the recall,however there is at least one lawsuit from a non notified person in the works.Let's hope that we can stop the" Federal Uniformity in labeling bill" from passing in the Senate as it did in the House.This will supercede all of our labeling laws at the state level and hide even more info from the consumer.
Yeah it sure is dangerous to eat these days,e-coli,mad cow,mercury,pesticide residues,ionized radiation,"Frankenfoods" but if you complain or call food "unsafe" your likely to get sued under the "food disparagement " laws.If your organic crop is contaminated by some "Roundup ready" GMO pollen drifting into your fields,your likely to get sued for patent infringement.
For my carnivore friends out there a safer bet is Grass fed beef,free range birds(maybe),locally farmed fish(check their feed ingredients for offal or poultry manure)and everything should be certified organic.Veggies and fruit from a CSA or local stand are the best! If you think healthy food is too expensive,compare the cost of health care and you will see it is a bargain! Call your Senators on the labeling laws,check out the Organic food consumers association and other green groups for action alerts(sorry no link here) Peace out ,in health.

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Yeah, I guess the point is this: If you express outrage as if you are an expert, yet you really don't have any grasp on the science you are talking about, then become a vegan.

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I visited a meat factory. And I'm glad to eat a well balanced meal of fruits, vegatables, and grains along with meat rather than eating irrational amounts of meat everyday and getting sick.

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CO will prevent oxidation. Oxidation is otherwise known as spoiling. CO will not reverse oxidation that has already occurred. CO will not make flat out spoiled meat look or smell edible.

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There is nothing that I hate more than self-righteous vegans or vegetarians! You need to educate yourself way more than you obviously have. Here's an idea...go to a meat processing plant. Talk to a culinary student or a local butcher about meat and meat science. Actually dare to...I don't know...EDUCATE yourself, and stop being a hater just because you think you can be.

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"Modified atmosphere packaging" was discussed in a NY Times article (2/21/06) and the point was that consumers were not aware of this practice, which can be dangerous:
"Some food scientists who approve of other forms of modified atmosphere packaging as a way of extending a product's life say this form of it can be unsafe. Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, says one study found that when meat in modified packages that included carbon monoxide was stored at 10 degrees above the proper temperature, salmonella grew more easily."

That is the point Wheeland was making in his blog post. Consumers buy meat based on color because they think if it's pink/red, then it's fresh, and with this technology, they're being deceived.
There's no need to attack him because of his food choices. It's always amazing to me just how defensive meat eaters become when others challenge their paradigm.
Oh, and I just read that a case of mad cow disease was found in Alabama. This wouldn't happen if cows weren't given feed that included diseased ruminants. Yum.

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OK people, let's get something straight.

CO is only toxic if you BREATHE it. It is produced, by the way, every time you light a match. Every time a car passes, there is CO in the air. Every time you light your stove, CO is produced.

So why don't thousands of people in LA just keel over daily?

Becuase the concentration of CO in the air (in a well-ventilated area) is small. That is why in your house (or, if you are a suicidal person ina garage) CO kills you. (That is why you should have a CO alarm if you heat or cook with gas, as well). In fact, a central mark of CO poisoning is red, rosy cheeks, becuase the CO prevents you from processing oxygen correctly.

There are plenty of reasons to not eat a lot of meat. CO isn't one of them. CO prevents spoilage. But when you open the package, the puff of CO dissipates--the amount is so tiny relative to what you eat or breathe that it matters even less than the guy next to you in a bar smoking. Even if you ingest it, it has zero effect because unlike some turtle species, humans cannot absorb gases through their intestines in significant amounts.

I go nuts everytime I read stuff like this because I feel like too many leftists have no understanding, none at all, of basic chemistry and physics. Were you all dead-eyed and sleeping in physics and biology? The science is so darn useful for so many fights-- many, many environmental victories are owed to that. But godammit, learn the stuff. Please! It makes me cringe even more than the intelligent design wackos.

Want some good science? Rachel Carson had it. Carl Sagan wrote extensively on the environment (an underappreciated part of his legacy) and has solid numbers to back it up.

Now, I know there are plenty of things the food industry does that are not so healthy. But by all that is holy, this is not one of those things. It's nowhere near as important as the rise of polyunsaturated fats (ironically, an artifact of the LACK of real animal product in our food) and the use of sugar in everything in huge amounts.

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Don't like meat? Don't eat it.

We don't need yet another pissy moral scold trying to shove tempeh down our throats and demanding some kind of 'action' to deter practices that don't affect them in the first place, tofu boy. Many people don't have access to the righteous organic foods the author would surely have us all eating, and industrial food (gas-ripened fruit, genetically modified crops, etc.) is the norm because it is the most efficient, cheapest way to feed millions of human beings.

Mind your own business.

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