Showing posts with label myoglobin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label myoglobin. Show all posts

10 April 2013

Rate of oxidation defines flesh colour; Cash turnover rate defines corporate culture

Fish muscles burn oxygen; companies and banks churn cash
George ILIEV

The flesh of salmon, mackerel and other fish species is darker in some parts and whiter in others. This depends on the oxidation rate in the muscles. Muscles that contract a lot require a lot of oxygen. Oxygen is stored in the protein myoglobin, which makes the flesh darker. Farmed salmon does not move much so even its most active muscles do not contain as much myoglobin as the corresponding muscles of wild salmon. Overall, the flesh of fish is whiter than the meat of land animals and birds as fish are supported by the water they live in and do not need additional muscular strength to support their weight. In the same way, the breast meat of birds that do not fly much (turkeys and chickens) is white as they do not need to move their wings, while the meat of their legs is dark as these birds primarily move by walking.

Oxidation in the muscles is the fundamental process underlying movement. In the business world, the corresponding fundamental process is the turnover of cash at companies and banks. Cash turnover does not change the colour of an organisation but impacts its corporate culture. The organisations with the highest turnover rates can be expected to have the most aggressive culture and vice versa (See the book "Business at the Speed of Molasses" by Joey Reiman). Cash turnover rates are astronomical (and volatile) in the banking industry as money often changes hands multiple times a day. Therefore, banks do not even use "turnover" as a metric.

Slowing down can make the colour of meat whiter and the culture of companies and banks more agreeable.


(Photo: cooked wild Alaskan salmon, April 2013)