15 Reasons Never to Let Anyone You Love Near a McDonald's
The Golden Arches: the ultimate American icon. Super Size Me taught us that fast food culture brings obesity, heart disease, hypertension and a whole slew of other problems. How bad do you really want that Big Mac? Here are 15 reasons you’ll never let anyone you love get near those Golden Arches.
Real food is perishable. With time, it begins to decay. It’s a natural process, it just happens. Beef will rot, bread will mold. But what about a McDonald’s burger? Karen Hanrahan saved a McDonald’s burger from 1996 and, oddly enough, it looks just as “appetizing” and “fresh” as a burger you might buy today. Is this real food?
You would have to walk 7 hours straight to burn off a Super Sized Coke, fries and Big Mac. Even indulging in fast food as an occasional treat is a recipe for weight gain…unless you’re planning to hit each treadmill in the treadmill bay afterwards.
Containing less fat, salt and sugar, your pet’s food may be healthier than what they serve at McDonald’s.
In 2007, the employees of an Orlando-area McDonald’s were caught on camera pouring milk into the milkshake machine out of a bucket labeled “Soiled Towels Only.” That particular restaurant had already been cited for 12 different sanitary violations. Though McDonald’s proudly stands by its safety standards, and not every restaurant has such notorious incidents, the setting of a fast food restaurant staffed with low-paid employees at a high turnover rate arguably encourages bending the rules. (McDonald’s isn’t alone in this, of course – Burger King is actually ranked as the dirtiest of all the fast food chains.)
McDonald’s supports the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Much of the soy-based animal feed used to fatten fast-food chickens is grown in the Amazon. Are those chicken nuggets really worth acres of irreplaceable trees? (Especially considering how important carbon sinks like the rainforest are to halt global warming!) Fast food supports a completely unsustainable system of agriculture. It’s cruel to animals, unhealthy for humans, and bad for the planet.
Even Prince Charles, while touring a diabetes center in the United Arab Emirates, commented that banning McDonald’s is key to health and nutrition. Don’t let the salads and chicken breasts fool you. The “chicken” at McDonald’s, by the way, comes with a whole lot more than chicken.
As if feeding children high-fat, high-sodium, low-nutrition “food” weren’t bad enough, some Happy Meals in 2006 contained toy Hummers. It’s as if McDonald’s was encouraging a whole generation of kids not only to guzzle food, but to guzzle gas as well. Would you like a few barrels of petroleum with that?
The processed fat in McDonald’s food (and other fast food) promotes endothelial dysfunction for up to 5 hours after eating the meal. Endothelial tissue is what lines the inside of blood vessels.
For those who enjoy sex, take note: erectile dysfunction is connected to endothelial dysfunction. Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me commented that his normally healthy sexual function deteriorated in just one month when he ate only food from McDonald’s. Even his girlfriend commented on camera that “he’s having a hard time, you know, getting it up.”
How many cows does it take to keep the world loaded with Big Macs? I had to do a some research and a little math, but according to a brief video inside one of McDonald’s 6 meat processing plants, about 500,000 pounds of beef is processed per day, per plant. If an average beef cow weighs 1,150 pounds, that means 2609 cows a day are turned into burgers. That’s 952,285 cows per year. And that’s just in the United States. Eating a hamburger may not be worse than driving a Hummer, but it’s bad. One hamburger patty does not necessarily come from one cow. Think about that. You’re eating bits of hundreds of cows.
Maybe you just pop in for an inexpensive latte. Watch out for the caramel syrup (Sugar, water, fructose, natural (plant source) and artificial flavor, salt, caramel color (with sulfites), potassium sorbate (preservative), citric acid, malic acid) or the chocolate drizzle (Corn syrup, water, hydrogenated coconut oil, high fructose corn syrup, glycerin, nonfat milk, cocoa, cocoa (processed with alkali), food starch-modified, disodium phosphate, potassium sorbate (preservative), xanthan gum, artificial flavor (vanillin), salt, soy lecithin). Please don’t put that stuff into your body. Eat healthy cheap food instead – you can be well and still save cash.
Are you a vegetarian with a French fry craving? You better skip McDonald’s because their fries actually contain milk (and wheat) and though they’re fried in vegetable oil, the oil is flavored with beef extract. (McDonald’s famously misled customers for years.)
Do you want high blood pressure? Hit the drive-through. Eating a McDonald’s chicken sandwich (any of “˜em, take your pick) will give you about 2/3 of the recommended daily amount of sodium. And if you actually do have high blood pressure, that’s way more than you really need.
Finally unveiled: the secret of the Big Mac’s “secret sauce.”
Soybean oil, pickle relish [diced pickles, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, vinegar, corn syrup, salt, calcium chloride, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate (preservative), spice extractives, polysorbate 80], distilled vinegar, water, egg yolks, high fructose corn syrup, onion powder, mustard seed, salt, spices, propylene glycol alginate, sodium benzoate (preservative), mustard bran, sugar, garlic powder, vegetable protein (hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat), caramel color, extractives of paprika, soy lecithin, turmeric (color), calcium disodium EDTA (protect flavor).
Yum. Cheap oil and cheap syrup. Many people depend upon cheap food such as the sort offered at McDonald’s, whether due to the economic conditions we currently face or low incomes. So shouldn’t we be examining regulations that subsidize corn syrup but consider fruits and vegetables – the building blocks of a healthy body and green planet – to be “speciality” crops? Shouldn’t we be promoting urban gardening, community gardens and spreading information about low-cost farmers’ markets and CSAs? And focusing on the abundant choices of cheap food that are tasty and green?
Still not convinced? Maybe this 1970s trip through McDonaldland will give you enough nightmares to keep your loved ones away forever.
Sign up for the RSS feed so you can stay in the know about fast food restaurants – McDonald’s isn’t the only one to avoid.
Note: with the exception of the top image, the hamburger, the chicken sandwich, and Ronald McDonald, images are not actual photographs of McDonald’s property/products.
(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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62 Comments
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
The “secret sauce” is pretty much just thousand island dressing…
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:35 pm
More like “thousand chemical” dressing. Yuk!
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Great post Sarah! I stopped eating fast food 6 years ago after reading “Fast Food Nation” and of course the movie “Super Size Me” sealed the deal! We need to be more thoughtful about what we put in our bodies. Great photos, truely disgusting!
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:45 pm
A few points/errors…
The oil they fry their french fries in is 100% vegetable oil. They coat the fries in a natural beef extract and that’s not really much of a secret if you look at their ingredient list and the fact they were sued by Hindu groups about it 6 years ago for claiming the fries were vegan.
The whole “it comes with a lot more than chicken” is simply rhetoric. Do you expect the breading on the chicken you linked to be made out of chicken or something? It’s not like you linked to the grilled chicken breasts or anything.
Thirdly, I find the Orlando incident to be interesting. The picture is rather poor too… I don’t know how they do things in Florida, but I know when I worked at McDonalds the milkshake/ice cream mix came in bags with spouts on them so there is no need to put the mix in a bucket…
The rest of the article is probably true or half true.
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Hi, Chaz, thanks so much for weighing in!
October 26th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Here’s another reason. You can make a tasty, natural burger of this quality at home:
Durham ox burger
October 28th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Actually, your average gummy bear or hard candy would have just about as much if not more chemicals than the big mac sauce. The “chemicals” sarah was referring to is mostly harmless, unless in excessive amounts. Let me be precise. You need to drink litres of sauce per day to achieve this.
Then again, even though the sauce will not “poison” you with chemicals, it is still unhealthy due to its high fat, sugar and sodium content. What i am trying to point out is that nothing is unhealthy if you eat in moderation and maintain a healthy exercise regime.
December 22nd, 2008 at 8:43 pm
stop picking on Mcdonald its just business. Its obviously the consumers fault for being so unhealthy, as long as i dont get sick I pay for what i get. You expect t get 100percent real chicken by paying a dollar for it, i know a dollar wont get me that good of a healty deal.
December 22nd, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Oh good lord. A Happy Meal once in a while is not gonna kill your kids nor is getting a burger at McDonalds for anyone else. Moderation is the key, as in anything else you eat.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Didn’t the founder of McDonald’s say that if he could get a child hooked by the age of three they would be loyal customers for life? Even though I haven’t eaten it for years I still get the craving. It’s a drug, for sure.
jh
bodaweightloss
January 16th, 2009 at 9:05 am
I agree with Cindy. As bad as the food at McDonalds is for you it is okay in moderation.
I’m a sucker for their fries but I must admit and Chaz brings up a number of good points.
Terri Ann’s last blog post..C.O. Bigelow – Bath and Body Works’ Natural(ish) Solution
February 6th, 2009 at 6:22 am
Hi, it’s so difficult not to eat fast food since they are EVERYWHERE ! on every corner you can find a Macdonald’s or a burger king .. ITS CRAZY!!!!
the government should stop this !!! but they don’t… because its good for the economy..
do you know that in the USA every year there is a profit of 110.000.000 dollars??? its insane! well, luckily for me i’m a vegetarian so don’t eat any burgers or that but i love the French fries hehe.
what worries me most actually, is that parents feed their child with mc donalds food!!! oh God !!! if you love your child then PLEASE DONT FEED THEM BAD FOOD!!! or just coca cola, its chemical!!! feed your children with healthy foods and water or juices
or if you love your body, treat it right and give your body the best
February 14th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
“Fast food supports a completely unsustainable system of agriculture.”
sure, but so do grocery stores…and cities and civilized life in general. If you rely on food (or other resources) being shipped in from elsewhere, you are in an unsustainable system.
February 17th, 2009 at 9:34 am
I agree that fast food in moderation is not going to kill you. Not every fast food chain operates the same. Not every store in a chain operates the same. This article picks on one chain. First, not every person has the luxury of affording to eat healthy. Yes, fast food is cheaper and the target audience is identified in the marketing message. That market will continue to purchase no matter what is said. Who is the target and what is the message of this article? The fast food industry is not going anywhere. You need to do the same investigation for all companies involved in this industry so people reading can make an educated decision based on the facts. Then, if your audience cannot decide, give them choices if they decide to continue feeding themselves in the industry. As far as this article is concerned, it sounds like you have a problem with McDonalds.
February 17th, 2009 at 9:48 am
There are thousands of companies that are like this, and a lot of them are worse.
Moderation and government imposed change to the company is the answer.
After all, everyone is still going to go back, no matter how bad you tell them it is.
And OK so its bad food, but i bet a lot of people wanted a McDonalds after reading this article
February 18th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Fast food was never meant to be a way of life. It was supposed to be a once a week treat. Blame it on lazy parents who would rather take their kids to McDonalds rather than cook or people who don’t have enough intelligence to push themselves away from the table. Or ultimately on the individual who feels that it is someone else’s responsibility to tell him that too many Big Macs will make him fat.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Oh yea, and don’t forget, McD’s forced you to eat there. Not the option of eating healthy, give me a break.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Government imposed change? It shouldn’t be up to the government to make a decision that people can make on their own. As you said, moderation. The people can’t blame the chain, or the government for their own foolish mistakes. Personally, anytime someone brings up the government stepping into something, I cringe. The government has enough control over our lives, and the way businesses are run, considering we’re in a free-market system. Your comment, Ant, is about as cringeworthy as the automotive-bailouts.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
consistently someone pops up to blame the government, which is why we have this abrogating society when it comes to personal responsibility. I eat where and when I want to eat, no person or any special interest group is going to regulate me. Think for yourself and eat foods proportionate to their health value. Foods low in healthy properties can still be consumed, but nudge your gray matter and think. Lastly pardon the pun, “food for thought” organic food has been found to be higher in natural bacterias and intestinal distress causing organisms.
February 18th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Okay so you dont like McDonalds. No one is forcing you to eat there. If you don’t like it, don’t eat there. Doesn’t mean everyone needs to follow your lead. I haven’t had MCDinks in 2 years. And I don’t really miss it at all. But I still eat out at other restaurants, knowing full well that they probably aren’t the healthiest choice. But you know what, that’s just it. It’s a choice. A choice I don’t have a problem making periodically for the sake of satisfying a craving.
The problem comes from eating there every day or too much per week. It’s obviously not rocket science that the food McDonalds serves isn’t exactly good for you, but at the same it’s not going to kill you over night either. Don’t sensationalize the facts. Humans have to eat. And although i’ve tried being a vegetarian, I couldn’t stand it. Nobody can survive on friggin’ bean curds for the rest of their life. I’d rather have a steak personally. Much more satisfying.
February 18th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
A wonderful article. Combination of eco-terroism, half-truths(half-lies?), outright lies, guilt tactics and Luddite manifesto.
BTW, the amazonian rainforest is in no danger. Every year thousands of acres are bulldozed and burnt for farming. And every year even more thousands of acres are reclaimed by the forest. The rainforest is larger now than it has been for hundreds of years.
The policies and practices expounded on by this website would only support a world population of 500 million people. So lets all jump on the bandwagon and kill off 6 billion people so we can feel good about ourselves!
February 18th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Taste damn good though. I think I will have some chick nugz fer lunch tomorrow. Thanks for the reccomenation Dawg!
February 18th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
@Darwins brother:
Each one of these points is cited with a source. Show me the lies, please.
Also, your claim about the Amazonian rainforest is wrong. Where’s your source? As to your statement that a more sustainable, less factory-intensive food system less reliant on meat consumption would only support 500 million – that’s just silly. Explain your math, please.
February 18th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
To Sara:
Several other posters here have pointed out some of the lies. And your “sources” – internet blogs, Supersize me(entertaining though it may be), your own web site and greenpeace. Greenpeace has been caught in so many lies over the years no unbiased, thinking individual takes anything they say as the gospel.
My source for the rainforest – the UN, The International Society of Arborculture, Satellite photos. The acreage is monitered constantly and it IS growing.
“My” math is based on the UN and WHO reports. The factors were: agricultural acreage, production per acre both historical(without industrial methods and chemicals) and modern, world population, minimum nutritional human requirements, you can also add in modern transportation of food(you know the EVIL internal combustion engine).
And your own source states they can find NO connection between fast food and sexual dysfunction, despite what morgan spurlock and his girlfriend state.
But perhaps we have a different definition of what a lie is. I feel anything but the full truth is a lie. A person can lie by omission, implication, and inference
just to name a few ways you can find here.
Let me ask you- are you a vegan, a vegetarian or an omnivore? I’m an omnivore BTW.
February 18th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Some helpful links.
Rainforest:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7206165.stm
http://ecologicalproblems.blog.....n-not.html
http://www.treehugger.com/file.....nymore.php
Meat:
http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-30610-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01.....ttman.html
http://www.vegetarismus.ch/info/eoeko.htm
I don’t disagree that modern food production is more efficient than in centuries past – that’s the wonder of agribusiness. The problem is that we could feed far more people, and cause far less ecological impact, if we used all the cereals we grow for human consumption, rather than livestock consumption.
I’m a sparing omnivore. I buy local, grassfed, organic, free range.
February 18th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
BTW – Eco terrorism, evil combustion engine? I suggest having a read through our archives to see what we’re actually about. Your preconceived assumptions about what we must be simply because this is a green site are too bad, but then you can’t please everyone, can you? Thanks for stopping by.
February 18th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
The first two rainforest links tell the same story, the same way. They talk about the clearing/deforestation without any mention of regrowth or natural expansion. Reread them to see how carefully they parse their words to avoid any mention of this. I will admit I was surprised that the most unbiased article came from a site called “treehugger”. But note again no mention of the regrowth or size change of the Amazonian rainforest. All research should be done with a critical eye even if they support your beliefs. I do this. I have found many articles opn many subjects over the years that while they support my beliefs were still full of bull.
The meat links are again inaccurate and biased. They pick selective countries as examples, ignore food importation and ignore nutritional needs. The “logical” conclusion of these article would have us destroy all food animals and all crops world wide except rice. Because,IIRC, rice produces more “poundage” of food per acre than any other crop. This is obviously a ridiculous idea. I don’t argue than meat production is less efficient on a per acre basis than grain, but as the saying goes “man does not live on bread alone”.
BTW are you aware of the latest anthropological theory that it was the consumption of meat that triggered the accelerated brain development of our ancient ancestors?
February 18th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Websters Dictionary:
Terrorism n. the systematic use of terror as a means of coercion.
Are you trying to tell me that one of the primary tactics of this article is NOT terror? Sexual dysfunction, heart attacks, endothelial dysfunction, etc. Virtually every section of this article utilizes terror.
The evil, internal combustion engine comment?
And I quote:
“As if feeding children high-fat, high-sodium, low-nutrition “food” weren’t bad enough, some Happy Meals in 2006 contained toy Hummers. It’s as if McDonald’s was encouraging a whole generation of kids not only to guzzle food, but to guzzle gas as well. Would you like a few barrels of petroleum with that? “
February 18th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Terror? Good grief. And there was me thinking this article was a statement of opinion (based on referenced evidence).
Doesn’t that also make you a “terrorist”, sir?
February 18th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
However, I know I will never change your mind. I just hope I can pry it open a little and encourage you to apply a little skepticism and logic to information used to form your opinions. Some of the points made in this article are true and I agree that McDonalds is far from “health” food. But then anyone who eats at Mcdonalds knows that or they’re too stupid to let run around without a keeper.
February 18th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Darwins Brother – For the sake of the discussion, I’d also be very interested to see any direct hyperlinks to the articles & statistics you’re citing to support your argument, if you’d be willing. Much appreciated.
February 18th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
I don’t have any links at this time. This is information I’ve read and picked up over the 30+ yrs I’ve been working in bioscience/conservation/ecology.
However, I would hope that some of it would just be obvious to any but a “true believer”/cult member. Or at least cause you to ask “why didn’t they mention that?”
February 18th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
We’re all happy to have our views challenged. That’s the whole purpose of this site – to take a pragmatic, practical, critical look at our own assumptions and beliefs, as well as being a sounding-board for what we believe is a sustainable, ethical and practical green lifestyle. And we challenge those views by looking at evidence collated by experts in their respective fields – as you do.
But you’re furthering an argument that is unreferenced, and then criticizing us for not buying into it. I respect that you say you’ve spent 30+ years in bioscience/conservation/ecology, but we also don’t know who you are either, which is another missing reference point.
Surely you see the problem here.
Regards,
Mike.
February 18th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
As for the Terroism statement. I counted 15 bullet points, of these 13 are meant to instill fear.
What have I said that was meant or did instill fear? Have I threatened that you’ll die if you don’t eat a big mac?
February 18th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Instill fear? I believe you do the visitors of this site a disservice. The readers of this post are quite capable of making their own minds up, by following exactly the same process of investigation and reasoning that you’ve outlined above, surely?
February 18th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
But that’s my whole point! Don’t take what I say as the gospel! Don’t trust any link I might provide! Do your own research. Don’t just read articles that agree with your opinion, read counter arguments as well. How can you believe in anything without exploring the opposing view just as vigorously as you read the stuff you like and agree with. This is just blind faith.
Use your critical reasoning to rationally assess both/all positions/opinions. Then, and only then, form an opinion. But never discount that new evidence may require you to modify your opinion.
February 18th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
“Instill fear? I believe you do the visitors of this site a disservice. The readers of this post are quite capable of making their own minds up, by following exactly the same process of investigation and reasoning that you’ve outlined above, surely?”\
I didn’t mention the visitors. But rather just pointed out the dispicable tactic used by the author of the article
February 18th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
“But that’s my whole point! Don’t take what I say as the gospel!”
I’m confused – so you want us to discount your argument now? This is turning into a paradox.
No, I see what you’re saying (in a way), but we’re journalists, not scientists. We can’t do our own original field research (almost always not, anyway), so we do what every other journalist does, and draw upon reputable sources in the media. Part of that process is always looking at counter-arguments. Then we form an opinion, and that is the basis for our argument. That’s journalism.
>>”I didn’t mention the visitors. But rather just pointed out the dispicable tactic used by the author of the article”
Outlining an argument, which is against McDonalds, with references? It’s an opinion piece. If you don’t agree – which is the case in some of the comments above – then you don’t agree, and you argue against it. That’s the spirit of discourse.
It’s clear that you don’t agree with it, and we’d love to hear your argument – that is, with reputable sources to bolster your opinions.
February 18th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
I highly suggest that anyone with an interest in what they eat read The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. Very imformative and well written.
February 18th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
“I’m confused – so you want us to discount your argument now? This is turning into a paradox. ”
“We can’t do our own original field research (almost always not, anyway), ”
Now, now, play fair or I’ll pick up my marbles and go home and pout.
Outlining an argument, which is against McDonalds, with references? It’s an opinion piece. If you don’t agree – which is the case in some of the comments above – then you don’t agree, and you argue against it. That’s the spirit of discourse. ”
It’s not the opinion I have a problem with, it’s the fearmongering.
February 18th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Oh and just to show I’m not (just) a contrary SOB. Mcdonalds shakes have always been of interest to me. Mike I see by your bio you live in Britain, I live in Arizona, USA. When I was a kid, I left a Mcdonalds shake outside in the summer heat (118 degrees F). Hours later I was able to get back to it and found it very hot but interestingly the same exact consistency as when I purchased it. I would have thought the ice cream in it would have melted. But noooo. Perhaps you can add an addendum about the shakes? Milk? Ice cream? Plastic? Chemicals? My bet is some kind of FDA approved plastic with flavoring and coloring added. Or colouring ( for mike)
February 18th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Please forgive my lack of links, but you guys had days/weeks/months to find links. But I just found one:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?f.....geId=87552
February 19th, 2009 at 8:42 am
I enjoyed this article and all of the comments.
The fast food debate certainly is interesting if nothing else.
I personally quit eating fast food about fifteen years ago because although I was (and am) very healthy I was concerned about cholesterol and excess sodium prominent in (overwhelmingly) fast food.
The one thing I have found is that if I eat fast food (maybe once a year I fall off the wagon – let’s admit it, it’s damn tasty) such as say a Big Mac, Fries with a Coke – my body lets me know within hours it wasn’t a good idea if you know what I mean.
I listen to my body, and it says no.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:55 am
I agree that eating McD’s once in a while is ok, but like many people have already posted, moderation is the key. The only thing I take exception to is when someone said that the government should stop fast food being on every corner. Right now, and every other time, government has enough problems to deal with, and you cannot legislate good health, nor common sense. The REAL way to stop the availability of fast food is for people to stop purchasing it. That cannot happen quickly because the best way to accomplish that is education. Of course more needs to be done to get the message out! One of the things that made this country great was people NOT relying on government to take care of them, think for them, etc. I know I don’t want those clowns in Washington to dictate how I should live, what I should wear, what I should eat, etc. They can’t even get it right for themselves, Democrat AND Republican! Soon, we will have to change our country’s abbreviation to the U.S.S.A. (United Socialist States of America) if things are allowed to continue as they have been going this century.
February 20th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Love the hypocrisy! Eschew the fast food industry, while Google adsense ads on the page are for Wendy’s, Mcdonalds and Little Caesar’s. Way to go! No reason to let a little cash stand in the way of principles or a point.
February 21st, 2009 at 8:30 am
Hi Gill, an unfortunate (and rather ironic!) mixup on the part of Google adsense technology. We don’t encourage you to partake. Cheers
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:21 am
McDonald’s food, part of the astounding “American Dream” is extremely petroleum oil dependent, and in particular, due to the beef content SEE:
“Cattle are fed prodigious quantities of corn. At a feedlot of a mere 37,000 cows, 25 tons of corn are dumped every hour. It takes 1.2 gallons of oil to make the fertilizer used for each bushel of that corn. Before a cow is slaughtered, she will eat 25 pounds of corn a day; by the time she is slaughtered she will weigh more than 1,200 pounds. In her lifetime she will have consumed, in effect, 284 gallons of oil. Today’s factory-raised cow is not a solar-powered ruminant but another fossil fuel machine.” SEE: http://www.earthsave.org/envir.....hoices.htm
As the World faces the end of the “Cheap Oil Era”, and moves to other power sources such as Solar, Wind, Wave, Hydro, Tidal and Geothermal Power, and oil gets very expensive, even the American food supply will be affected. It is doubtful people will walk to a Mickey D’s for food when the cost of gas is more than the food they buy, and the oil is running out.
May 1st, 2009 at 7:11 am
A very interesting site. Helped a lot with my assignment. Thanks
May 15th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
I have not eaten at McDonalds for over 15 years, so I can´t give an opinion on the food they make . As for the rainforest, I live in Brazil, (have been living for 30 years and I you can be sure that the South American rainforest is disapearing really, really fast.
May 21st, 2009 at 9:42 am
I live in Hawaii (land of high cost). I can buy local grass fed beef for $3.50 per lb. That’s enough for 5-6 Mc… patties. I routinely butcher roosters for meat. It takes about 5 minutes, and makes enough to have chicken for a couple weeks.
If I paid $1 yes, I would expect real chicken. You’d think all those additives would add up and make things unprofitable. Why not just use whole ingredients? It would be cheaper and not build up heavy metals in the body.
September 27th, 2009 at 6:42 am
After all that reading im feeling hungry! i think i’ll try a big mac! Beef chips and a coke! mmmmmmmmmmmmm im loving it
September 27th, 2009 at 7:29 am
This article is more emotional than factual. It relies on bad analogies and false conclusions. There is nothing about McDonalds that does not apply to someone making a hamburger in the comfort of their own home.
Just a few comments on some of the specific claims to show why I think it is more sensational than factual.
The burger that will not rot. This just looks fake. The “I’m loving it” logo wasn’t until after 2003. Just toss out a bun in the sunlight and watch it for a few days. Maybe it could be done with a freezer.
Super Size Me experiment has been done many times. No one suffered like the host of that movie. It also wasn’t the food, it was the sheer number of calories.
A toy hummer is a lot more environmentally friendly than a real one. It just seems petty to pick on McDonalds for this.
I could go on. I think the big problem is that it too easy to gobble up a lot of calories in one sitting. I am worried that the government will one day do something to “protect” us in a way that we lose liberty.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Yesterday I read Newsweek Magazines top 500 list of the best Green companies — McDonalds ranked in the top 25 in part because of their resistance to using meat from companies that destroy the rain forest. Good article, tho.
September 27th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
im not gonna lie… reading this article made me want to get a #4 with big mac sauce on it. It just sounded so damn delicious while reading this article… anyone else feel this way?
September 27th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Propaganda in any form is dishonest. Listing a bunch of ingredients and making it sound ominous assumes that the reader is too stupid to figure out that listing a bunch of chemical names isn’t necessarily foreboding or inherently dangerous. I remember reading a nice article about whether ‘natural’ foods were safer and better in News and World Report some years back. The PhD writing the article listed some of the more dangerous chemicals on the planet—and how they were contained in things like carrots. He then went on to explain that we don’t die from eating carrots because our liver is able to detoxify that substance (or substances). My pharmacology professor once defined a poison as “too much of something” and illustrated this by pointing out how many people die from water intoxication each year, or how many premature infants in the premi ward suffer lung damage from being on pure oxygen. Too much of something is what is dangerous, not necessarily just consuming a chemical or preservative itself.
As the best source for vitamin B12 is animal protein and B12 is absolutely essential for healthy erythrocytes (red blood cells), being a strict vegetarian is somewhat stupid. Instead of having your RBC’s last for the normal 120 days, the RBC formed without B12 lasts for about 14 days. Does that sound healthy? If we aren’t supposed to consume animal protein as it is “unnatural”, why does our body have the enzyme to break down animal protein? If we are truly meant to only consume vegetable matter, and the bulk of that is cellulose, why don’t we have the enzyme to break down cellulose? What is ‘natural’ about a diet that consumes so much bulk that passes through you untouched? “Moderation in all things” comes from the Greek history and refers to eating, exercising and life in general. Being afraid of the unknown and letting it paralyze you and run your life is silly.
September 27th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
MmmMmm, this article makes me want to eat McDonalds more.
September 27th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Mcdonalds rocks, you damn hippies!
September 28th, 2009 at 3:01 am
McD is a very visible and almost too accessible for just about anybody to patronise them. ideally, all of us should be well informed of the harm that fast food does to the human body through persistent consumption. it is for the sake of this large majority of ill-informed folks that something of a national regulatory nature that should be worked out on.
September 30th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
thank u veryy much! I always loved mcdonnalds, but know i will never eat it again! i will tell all my friends about this, please send me emails about other damaging fast foods and stuff like that, i am 14 years old and will never eat a mcdonnalds patty ever again, or french fries, or nothin! jaja is kentucky fried chicken also so damagind?
October 2nd, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Whoever wrote this article needs some lessons in persuasive prose. It is littered with outlandish statements and generalizations which only serve to damage the author’s credibility. The blatant bias on the author’s behalf makes it difficult for any astute reader to take their points seriously.
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