Pork, the other white meat.

I just got home from being a crew leader at the Wildland Firefighter Apprenticeship Academy in Sacramento. One day I was with a group of guys in the cafeteria poking around at our inedible dinner when one asked if I had seen the pork and coke video... being on the subject of gross food. I said I had not and he pulled it up on his nifty phone that also serves as a computer. Reason #8 not to have a phone that functions as a computer: the ability to conjure disgusting facts about the food we eat, while eating food. Youtube raw pork and coke. It's disgusting. Supposedly if you add coke to raw pork (approved by the USDA), the acid levels in it will force maggots (or some sort of worm) out of it. Gross. To say the least. So only watch the video if you can handle seeing worms crawl out of a perfectly good packet of pork.

So I'm back home and my fridge is empty. I decided I had to go to the store and re-stock. Entering the meat aisle, I let my eyes scan the numerous choices...and couldn't stomach any of them. I thought about the pork and coke experiment and wondered if maggots really could come out of raw pork. I think they're too big. That's not to say that smaller parasites can't live in there, virtually undetected until you put a magnifying glass to it. Or pour coke on it.

I've been eating pork the majority of my life and I'm still alive and don't have any weird parasites living in my body- although after the conversation I had a nightmare about worms crawling around inside my skin. For the most part I have not contracted very many diseases or illnesses from meat sold in the United States. I'm still here, right?

Well I left the store with ground turkey and tofu. That was the extent of the meat I could handle looking at. There's a push toward vegetarianism for ya. So I googled the pork and coke experiment. The US National Pork Board says this is in response to the fear that since pigs eat virtualy anything, including worms, you can get trichinosis from parasitic worms in the meat. Here's what they have to say about it: "Because of modern feeding practices, trichinosis is a no longer a concern. Although trichina is virtually nonexistent in pork, if it were present, it would be killed at 137 degrees F. That's well below the recommended end cooking temperature for pork, which is 160 degrees F."

Huh. Kinda like the tobacco company stating that cigarettes aren't that big of a deal? Maybe. Maybe not.

One of those weird conspiracy theory websites states you should just cook the pork until done all the way through and the worms will become an added source of protein. Nice. Some one else on there says you should add coke, remove the worms, then cook. Nicer still. Plus I heard fizzy products (like coke or beer) are a great marinade.