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Social media has the power to kill pink slime

May 16, 2012 by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

Bettina Siegel is the poster child for what a blog can do.

Social media gets a lot of hype, but how much power does it really have to change things? If you don't know Bettina Elias Siegel, you are probably in good company. Ms. Siegel is the author of a small blog that popularized the term "pink slime". Her blog could be a case study in the power of "viral branding," which impacted an entire industry. Now, if she would just take on "meat glue."

If I hadn't read Michael Sansolo's post in the Morning News Beat, chances are I would have never known about Bettina Elias Siegel. So often, social media is seen as a massive effort, which requires teams of people using analytics, Facebook pages, thousands of Twitter followers, etc. But, here is an amazing story of one mom concerned with food quality, who used her blog to change an entire industry.

So, what is Ms. Siegel's magic formula? It helps that the title of her blog is TheLunchTray. Having your audience find your blog is one key. It also helps that Ms. Siegel is a former lawyer and a very articulate writer. But, she has been posting for a quite a while, so how did she cause such an uproar in the food industry?

She focused on a very memorable phrase: "pink slime." Those two words literally personified the issue and health risks associated with what was a common food practice. Ms. Siegel is a mom speaking to moms in her blog ... and what mom wants her kids eating "pink slime"?

What's in a name – The power of branding "Pink Slime"

In case you live outside of the United States, our food industry had been widely using "lean finely textured beef" to bind meat products together. Prior to Ms. Siegel's blog, "lean finely textured beef" was considered a staple of the food industry, and rarely associated with food safety issues.

However, there are some concerns on how this product is produced from a variety of meat sources and blend together with other meat in the production of things like hamburger. The Center for Science in the Public Interest and other safety oriented groups had unsuccessfully tried to draw attention to this danger for years. But, who in the world can remember "lean finely textured beef"? And after all, it's beef so it must be good, right?

A microbiologist actually gets credit for coining the term "pink slime". However, it was Ms. Siegel's blog that literally "branded" the danger with a memorable name. Ms. Siegel, who is a mom that writes about school lunches, gave "pink slime" a voice through her blog. She had the power to speak to other moms ... and moms are passionate about what their kids are eating! As a result of pink slime going viral in social media, BPI announced it was closing 3 "lean finely textured beef" factories last week.

Power of social media – Consumer awareness & vetting

SocialmediapowerIs pink slime really a health danger? Is this entire negative publicity fair to the 650 people who just lost their jobs in the 3 factories that closed last week? I'm pretty sure that the people who lost their jobs and the beef industry would quickly state that this is a scare tactic designed for fear mongering that has resulted in much harm to people and the industry.

I don't personally know if pink slime is a significant danger. What I do know is that I and other consumers want to know what is in our food, so that we can make the choice. Social media has the power to inform and create awareness. It can also send false alarms.

But the great thing about social media is the loss of control! The greatest challenge and opportunity is there is no one group or business in charge or controlling the message across social media. While false claims can be made, the power of social media is all eyes are looking, watching and contributing. The power of social media is ideas eventually get vetted by consumers like you and me.

Social media – Like other media with power of now

Social media is often treated as something entirely different or unique. In many ways, social media is no different than other media. Whether it is radio, TV or print, media is designed to communicate information, ideas, news. Social media does all that with the power of many voices speaking right now ... 24/7/365. Frankly, that scares a lot of people and many businesses.

The reality is, the world's not going back. Consumers are turning to their social networks via smartphones and tablets. It has become their most frequent, and often most trusted source of information. Much of the information about pink slime was out there, social media made it highly visible available across many channels simultaneously.

Like any tool, social media is not inherently good or bad. It is, however, inherently powerful because it puts the control and flow of information in the hands of people like you ... the consumer.

Forward Case Study Opportunity: "Meat Glue"

The Los Angeles Times reports that a California state senator is calling for the US Department of Agriculture to investigate: transglutaminase – "an enzyme in powder form that brings protein closer together –permanently." Translated, this is a product used by food suppliers and restaurants to literally glue chunks of meat together to make it look like a more profitable cut of steak.

There are at least a couple of problems with this practice. First, some people are allergic to the enzyme itself. Second, if tainted meat parts get glued to others it is much more difficult to track. And, perhaps the most important, do you as the consumer have the right to know if you are eating a real filet of beef, or some amalgamated chunk glued together in the kitchen?

I can't remember or even spell transglutaminase. But, I sure can remember "meat glue"! If you want to watch the power of social media, watch the hashtags and keywords related to meat glue in social media during the coming weeks.

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