861

submitted 2 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

76 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] zalgotext@sh.itjust.works 16 points 2 months ago

Meat is red because of myoglobin, a protein found in mammalian muscle tissue that turns red when exposed to oxygen.

Myoglobin is different from hemoglobin though, which is the stuff in blood. Most of the time, your meat only has a tiny amount of hemoglobin in it by the time it gets to your table.

[-] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 months ago

Its still safe to say that someone who eats meat is also eating blood, right?

[-] zalgotext@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 months ago

There's trace amounts of blood in meat. They drain out a huge majority at the slaughterhouse, but it's nearly impossible to get out every drop. If there's a lot of blood in your meat though, something probably went wrong at the slaughterhouse.

Some cuisines feature actual blood as an ingredient though - blood sausages from the UK contain actual significant amounts of added blood, cubes of solidified pork blood "tofu" are considered a delicacy in some places in China - I think it's safe to say people that enjoy those kinds of foods can be said to eat blood. But I don't think people that eat meat can be said to eat blood, for the same reason that you wouldn't say someone that drinks tap water drinks mercury.