There’s a show that I’m watching on the History channel about fast food restaurants. They are profiling Taco Bell and I’ve noticed that the Taco Bell honchos never use the word meat when referring to what’s inside the tacos. They call it protein.
So, what exactly is Taco Bell protein made out of?
Soylent Green.
That’s disturbing.
I think it’s a food professional thing. You hear it all the time on Top Chef.
la soja verde prestada
It’s made out of amino acids, but the source of the protein is cows as their website advertises ground beef tacos.
Beans are high in protein, as is chicken, both of which are prevalent in Taco Bell products.
They say protein because they’re products have beans, beef, or chicken, and it’s easier to classify all of them with one word.
When I worked there 20 years ago the beef came in big plastic bags marked “USDA Grade D.”
At the time, we joked that we thought Grade C was the lowest rated for human consumption. Turns out, that was an urban legend. Although, still, eeew.
I’ve heard that Taco Hell has upgraded in the twenty years since then, so maybe they’re up to using a higher USDA Grade by now.
Chihuahuas.
The USDA doesn’t doesn’t use letter grades for meat. It goes (from best to worst):
Prime
Choice
Select
Standard
Commercial
Utility
Cutter
Canner
Select is the lowest you’ll find in the store (in raw form, that is.) I imagine Taco Bell uses standard or commercial grade, though in those cases the meat usually isn’t graded cause it’s n ot worth the money to have your meat graded that low. (it’s voluntary to submit the meat to grading.)
Dude. This was twenty years ago. AFAIK, the standards have been updated a bit since then.
Also, the letter-grade system is, in fact, still used… for the maturity of the beef (source). See summaries here or here, or go look at the usda site itself (if you like pdfs).
They already have something out there like that. It’s called Soylent cola.
It’s just insider jargon. What’s worse is how all of the marketing demo folks constantly refer to it as “product” rather than the food that it is.
And how does it taste, Mr Bones?
Wait… we’re talking about Taco Bell here. I might be happier to call it GRAS - Generally Regarded As Safe to consume, but not intended to be consumed. 
Thanks for reminding me why don’t go to Taco Bell. They’re always advertising things that sound pretty good – but for $.99, what quality of ingredients do you expect?
Well, Mr. Interlocutor, I’d say the taste varies from person to person.
:eek:
you…you… you stole my joke
The website further says:
None of the Taco Bell® menu items contain the following potential allergens:
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP), Sulfites or Sulfiting agents, Shellfish, Nuts or nut extracts (especially peanuts), Undeclared fish or seafood, Yellow #5, Lar
There website has nice and clear on the diet restriction labeling.