The Unsavory Truth of the McRib and Other Fake Foods, and Why Russia Banned US-Raised Meat

[gateley]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Stinky The Clown (a host of the General Discussion forum).

Story at-a-glance
Sneaky “tricks of the trade” employed by the meat industry include “pink slime” made of otherwise unusable scraps, meat glue, and reconstituted meat—all of which fool you into thinking you’re buying something of higher quality than you are

McDonald’s seasonally-available McRib sandwich contains more than 70 ingredients, including a chemical used in gym shoes and other items requiring a rubbery substance. And the pork is actually a restructured meat product made from the less expensive innards and scraps from the pig

Russia has recently banned U.S. meat supplies after discovering it contains ractopamine—a beta agonist drug that increases protein synthesis, thereby making the animal more muscular. This reduces the fat content of the meat. Ractopamine is known to affect the human cardiovascular system, may cause food poisoning, and is thought to be responsible for hyperactivity, muscle breakdown, and increased death and disability in livestock

As much as 20 percent of ractopamine remains in the meat you buy from the supermarket. Despite potential health risks, the drug is used in 45 percent of U.S. pigs, 30 percent of ration-fed cattle, and an unknown percentage of turkeys

********************************

I can't link to the site because last time I did I had my thread locked (not a reputable source), but this is the gist of the story, all we need to know.

I'm sure no one is surprised by this. Hope this gets coverage like the "pink slime" did.

[Brainstormy]

1. Ractopamine in pork

Ractopamine hydrochloride - used to keep swine lean and boost their growth in the last weeks before slaughter - is administered to an estimated 60 to 80 percent of pigs raised in the United States. But

Pasted from <http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/a-controversial-animal-drug-banned/>

[MineralMan]

5. Your link doesn't work. Remove everthing after "banned" and it will work.

You can edit the post to do that.

[NYC_SKP]

14. Here, I fixed your link:

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/a-controversial-animal-drug-banned

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

95. "leading to the growth of bigger, leaner muscles on less feed" = more profits

Isn't it always about some asshole's unbridled greed?

[d_r]

2. I'm pretty sure

that the school cafeteria bbq rib sandwich doesn't have anything over the mcrib.

[BlueCaliDem]

3. Okeedokee. No beef or pork for me. Fish and organic chicken it is from now on! eom

[gateley]

10. On The Site That Must Not Be Named, there was a link to this great site:

http://www.localharvest.org/

It's really a nice site where you can enter your zip (anywhere in the country) and it will show organic stores and co=ops and farmers markets in your area.

It's really disturbing that our regulations allow our food to be so harmful -- at the very least non-nutritious. All in the name of profit.

[BlueCaliDem]

35. It's not only disturbing, it's terrifying!

Thank you so much for your post and for the link.

[MineralMan]

4. There is an excellent reason that Mercola's site is not a reputable source.

If you find something there, why not do some further searching and see if you can find the information on a reputable source before posting?

Anyone who thinks a McRib is health food isn't thinking clearly, obviously. However, its ingredients are OK with the FDA, so they can make it the way they do. I wouldn't eat one, any more than I eat Chicken McNuggets. Reconstituted food doesn't appeal to me.

But the Mercola site isn't a reputable source, all the same. Just leaving out the link doesn't change that. A search on your thread title led directly there.

[Berlum]

11. "isn't reputable" in your one opinion. Most others see Mercola as reputable

So damn Mercola's web site on your own terms if you wish, but you should can the broad brush strokes, as if your Declaration was somehow THE TRUTH.

You opinion is not fact, and it certainly doesn't describe anything other than what you think.

McRibs is mutant trash food, in my opinion. Mercola is correct, as usual, in my opinion.

?w=640&h=392&crop=1

[randome]

15. An OP without a link is suspicious on its own.

[gateley]

26. When I linked to the site previously, my thread was locked -- or didn't you read this OP --

just hurried along to post a snark?

If you don't want to read it, don't. Is that too complicated?

[randome]

30. A post without a link means we are taking your word for it. That's a zero sum game. Sorry.

[gateley]

33. I'm crushed.

[randome]

39. Okay, okay, maybe I came across as snarky. My apologies.

[gateley]

89. It's okay --

I should have known I was in for it when I posted the thread, and my hackles are up and (hard to believe) I tend to overreact and take everything personally. Sorry I was snarky in return.

[Berlum]

41. Try reading the OP

[randome]

44. I read it and I apologized for my snark.

Anyone who eats fast food is asking for trouble, anyways. Every once in a while, I'll pass by a White Castle or a McDonald's and think nostalgically about them. But I never return.

Fast food and soda are slow-acting poisons.

[SidDithers]

55. "Mercola is correct, as usual"...

OMFG.

Sid

[NYC_SKP]

16. Unless the information used is fraudulent, it doens't matter if it came from Stormfront.

She left out the link to provide us with important information reported elsewhere.

No need to chastise her over where she happened to read it.

[gateley]

24. It's so frustrating, NYC_SKP, that people are focusing on the Mystery Link

rather than the info provided.

[Berlum]

42. That's a standard corporate misdirection strategery

To change the subject from crappy mutant CAFO corporate reconstituted foodlike product, to sniping at the poster for being savvy.

[NYC_SKP]

49. Exactly. A distraction used ALL THE TIME!

If you cite something once pointed out by a Republican, it becomes a RW talking point.

Something once cited by the NRA, an NRA talking point.

FFS, facts are facts and McCrap food is McCrap food!


aRrrrgh!

Happy New Year, gately!!!

[gateley]

18. Why on earth would you care enough to search out the site?

Just to get a slam in?

Just because something is okay with the FDA doesn't mean it's ultimately harmless. You know fully well how Big Money can get stuff approved and deemed "safe" when it really may not be.

Please don't get this thread shut down by dragging the source into this. You're shooting the messenger.

Here, shoot this messenger:

http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/27/why-lovin-the-mcrib-isnt-a-heart-smart-idea/

[MineralMan]

38. See my posts with the ingredients lists.

Most of the stuff you're complaining about are in the bread, not the meat. All that stuff is in all the bread products at McDonalds, and in most commercial bread products.

The actual patty in the McRib doesn't have 70 ingredients. Now, you may not like the pork used in it, but it's pork, not pink slime.

As I said, I don't eat McRibs, or much of anything from McDonalds. I'm more picky about my food. However, it's not a death sentence to eat McDonald's food, either, as Mercola would seem to be saying.

As for why I searched, it's because you specifically said in your OP that you weren't including a link because you had had threads locked for the link. That stimulated my curiosity, so I did the search. I was expecting to find either mercola.com or naturalnews.com. I was right.

[gateley]

45. from Time:

azodicarbonamide, ammonium sulfate and polysorbate 80 — those are just three of the 70 ingredients (34 in the bun alone) that go into the BBQ pork sandwich, according to the restaurant’s website.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/27/why-lovin-the-mcrib-isnt-a-heart-smart-idea/#ixzz2I9gBdhqR

And your mention "most commercial bread products" brings me to the major point of my post, I think. That most commercial foods have ingredients/additives to make it more profitable for the manufacturer. And we have a right to know what we're eating. I'll still eat crap food every once in a while (I actually love it) but absolute transparency should be the norm. Who knew about pink slime? We see a listing and assume it's "good" -- and in small quantities it may not be that harmful, but when almost everything we're eating is chock-full of chemicals and additives that weren't in there 100 years ago, that to me is problematic.

[MineralMan]

47. Yes, commercial foods have long ingredient lists.

There's a reason for it. Shelf life and many other factors go into what's in our food. It's a choice people make. Those ingredients are listed right on the package, so people can make choices.

You can buy bread from the bread aisle or you can buy fresh bread from the bakery. The second will have way fewer ingredients, but will not last as long on your shelf at home.

Most of the long list of ingredients are not harmful to people. In some cases, people have allergies or sensitivities to an ingredient, which is why they're all listed. Any consumer can read the list and opt to buy or not to buy.

McDonalds products also have ingredients lists. You can find them on the web, or ask at any McDonalds. They'll give you a list of ingredients for any product they sell. Then, you can make a choice, based on the list.

You can also look up any of the ingredients and find out why they're in the product, what they do, and whether there are risks involved with the ingredients. In most cases, you won't find any real issues to be concerned about, but if you do, you can make a decision not to purchase.

Understanding ingredients lists isn't always easy, but many of the things on the list actually were in commercial foods 100 years ago, and some ingredients from 100 years ago were way more harmful than the ones in today's products. Look at the ingredients for the pickles in the McRib. All of those ingredients have been used to make pickles for a very, very long time. It's why the pickles look, taste, and behave like pickles.

McDonalds does not use fresh-baked bread in its sandwiches. In fact, the bread is made in a factory and shipped to the franchises. That takes time, and many of the ingredients are in there to keep the bread from spoiling or getting moldy during that time. That's why they're in there. Others are there to provide the desired texture, crumb, and crust associated with that particular bread product. Unless you know what each ingredient is there for, it can be confusing.

If you want bread without all those ingredients, any bakery, including the ones in your local supermarket, can provide that bread. It won't last in your home as long, but it also won't have those ingredients in it. It's a choice to make.

[gateley]

48. I think you nailed it -- understanding ingredients lists isn't easy. That's what I think

should be improved.

[MineralMan]

54. It's not easy. And websites like Mercola's do not simplify it.

Since they are advocacy websites, they present a one-sided picture of things, too. Fortunately, you can look up any food additive and find unbiased information about it on the internet. It's easy. Whether you're looking at a website from a food company or an advocacy group that focuses on additive-free food, you're getting biased information. To find unbiased information, you have to look at the sources where you're getting that information to see if there is bias in that source.

Mercola.com and naturalnews.com are biased sources, and are not reliable, any more than a source that is an advocate for commercial food production.

For food ingredients and additives, wikipedia.com does a pretty good job of providing accurate, unbiased information. It's crowd-sourced editing and writing is quick to call out articles that contain biased information, and you'll see notices when there's a question about bias, right at the top of the article.

Those articles also contain links to other sources you can consult.

There's no simple way to judge food additives. Some are absolutely harmless and have been in use for a very long time. Others are more questionable, but you have to research each one at unbiased sources.

Either that, or you can go with organic, fresh foods that don't contain any of that stuff. It's up to you.

[Helen Reddy]

6. Don't know why

but I suddenly lost my appetite.



I swear, they are trying to kill us all.

[Nye Bevan]

7. Damn. And there's me thinking that the McRib came from McPigs (nt)

[gateley]

27. McPigs actually sounds kind of cute! :-)

[orwell]

8. I worked in a pork plant one summer...

...Dubuque Meat Packing in South San Francisco.

I haven't eaten pork in over 20 years.

People have no idea what they are eating when they eat a hot dog.

If you think the FDA is protecting you, good luck with that...

[gateley]

12. That's sobering. Even though we all know that the ingredients of sausage are

stomach-turning, we reassure ourselves that "it must be okay, it's been approved by the FDA". Yeah, right.

[Scuba]

9. You don't deserve ractopamine today, so go out and get away, from McDonalds.

[Cynicus Emeritus]

13. The reality and common thread of fast, processed and packaged foods

is that they are manufactured in factories and use chemicals, pharmaceuticals and other agents. Madison ave propaganda is used to convince the masses that they come from a small farm. Political money is used to keep those like the FDA who should be protecting consumers off of their back. We live in a corrupt banker and corporatized society.

Instead of focusing on and fixing the big money in politics, too much time and political capital will be wasted and expended on heated issues that will keep Wall St elite rich and Americans manipulated.

[gateley]

20. Yes, it's the Big Money that's responsible, I totally agree.

[SidDithers]

17. mercola again...

Sid

[gateley]

19. So this stuff isn't in McRib?

[SidDithers]

51. So what you posted isn't from mercola?...nt

Sid

[gateley]

52. Yes it was. So, I'll ask again -- this stuff isn't in McRib?

[SidDithers]

56. Why didn't you link to the source of the article?...nt

Sid

[gateley]

59. As it said in my OP, because the thread would be locked. Is that stuff in the McRib or not?

[SidDithers]

61. I don't know. And I sure as fuck don't trust mercola to give us the correct information...

Somone else posted the McRib ingredients upthread. Sure doesn't look like 70 ingredients to me.

Why do you think that posting a mercola article, without linking to the mercola site, is OK?

Sid

[gateley]

67. Sid, Sid, Sid...

*sigh* I would have LIKED to link to the site but it was a sure-fire lock (because people here apparently fear people can't "consider the source" for themselves). My intent was to point out how much stuff is in our food -- not just McRibs -- that we really have know inkling of. "Preservatives" have been found to be formaldehyde, in some instances. And if people feel okay with that it's absolutely fine, but we should know and be able to make our decisions based on all the info.

And I linked to a thread from a TIME article above that does state there are 70 ingredients in this item, so it wasn't something Mercola just made up.

edit: "formaldehyde"

[SidDithers]

71. gately, gately, gately...

if you're going to use an article from mercola, have the decency to link to the source.

That way, everyone will know it's bullshit right from the beginning.

Sid

[gateley]

72. Next time I will, but unfortunately you won't be able to participate in the

bashing because it'll be locked immediately.

[SidDithers]

79. There are only about a bazillion non-mercola sources for the same story...

why not link to one of them?

How many ingredients are there?
At face value, the sandwich contains just pork, onions, and pickle slices slathered in barbecue sauce and laid out on a bun. But the truth is, there are roughly 70 ingredients. The bun alone contains 34, says TIME's Melnick. In addition to chemicals like ammonium sulfate and polysorbate 80, the most egregious may be azodicarbonamide — "a flour-bleaching agent most commonly used in the manufactur[ing] of foamed plastics like gym mats and the soles of shoes." According to McDonald's own ingredient list, the bun also includes calcium sulfate and ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, among other chemicals.

http://theweek.com/article/index/220866/whats-the-mcrib-made-of-anyway

Why are you giving anti-vax, anti-science, woo-peddler Joseph Mercola any exposure?



Sid

[A Simple Game]

77. Thanks for making such a fuss. Because of you I went to the source and found what I

thought to be, with the exception of one point, a very informative article. I suspect you never read it. So what do you think of the Russian part of the article? If Russia doesn't want your meat, why would you want it? 160 countries ban a drug and 24 including the US and Canada allow it. Kind of makes you wonder who's on the right side doesn't it?

Just FYI, being reactionary is a far right trait, did you know that?

[MineralMan]

21. Here is McDonald's list of ingredients for the meat in a McRib,

as required by the FDA:

McRib Pork Patty
Pork, water, salt, dextrose, preservatives (BHA, propyl gallate, citric acid).

I'm not seeing 70 ingredients there. Now, a lab analysis will turn up other things, of course, most part of the meat itself, but there are not 70 ingredients in the McRib patty.

[wtmusic]

22. Confession

I was a closet McRib craver. No more.

Thanks for info.

[gateley]

28. Seriously, I doubt one once in a while would be that bad for you --

I just mainly posted this because it's another example -- like "pink slime" -- of stuff that they let manufacturers put into food.

We have a right to know!

I've never had a McRib because the rep is that they're SO GOOD I'm afraid I'd love it way too much. I love junk food.

[closeupready]

31. I LOVE McRibs, but I also know that

it's not the kind of thing you want to eat every day. It's more of a treat for me, like chocolate (which also upsets my stomach) or creme brulee.

[gateley]

34. It's probably good for McRib lovers that they're only offered sporadicallly.

Now, if I had your problem with chocolate, I'd seriously wonder if life was worth living.

[wtmusic]

37. Then you won't want to read THIS about chocolate..

j/k

[gateley]

40. Haha! I almost didn't click on your link!

[wtmusic]

36. Not interested

The article made me lose my appetite. That's fine.

[MineralMan]

23. And here are the ingredients of everything else in a McRib Sandwich,

again reported by McDonalds, as required by the FDA:

McRib Bun
Allergens: WHEAT AND SOY
Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, yeast, high fructose corn syrup, contains 2% or less of the following: salt, corn meal, wheat gluten, soybean oil, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oils, dextrose, sugar, malted barley flour, cultured wheat flour, calcium sulfate, ammonium sulfate, soy flour, dough conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, datem, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, mono- and diglycerides, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, monocalcium phosphate, enzymes, guar gum, calcium peroxide), calcium propionate (preservative), soy lecithin.

CONTAINS: WHEAT AND SOY
McRib Sauce
Water, high fructose corn syrup, tomato paste, distilled vinegar, molasses, natural smoke flavor (plant source), food starch-modified, salt, sugar, spices, soybean oil, xanthan gum, onion powder, garlic powder, chili pepper, sodium benzoate (preservative), caramel color, beet powder.
Pickle Slices
Cucumbers, Water, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Alum, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Natural Flavors (Plant Source), Polysorbate 80, Extractives of Turmeric (Color).

It appears that the bun has the most ingredients, which it shares with many bread products, as you can find on the wrapper of those bread products.

[Luminous Animal]

90. Azodicarbonamide

Azodicarbonamide is used in food industry as a food additive, a flour bleaching agent and improving agent. It reacts with moist flour as an oxidizing agent.[2] The main reaction product is biurea,[3] a derivative of urea, which is stable during baking. Secondary reaction products include semicarbazide[4] and ethyl carbamate.[5] The United States permits the use of azodicarbonamide at levels up to 45 ppm.[6] In Australia[citation needed] and Europe[7] the use of azodicarbonamide as a food additive is not approved.
Other uses

The principal use of azodicarbonamide is in the production of foamed plastics as an additive. The thermal decomposition of azodicarbonamide results in the evolution of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and ammonia gases, which are trapped in the polymer as bubbles to form a foamed article. Common examples of this application are window and door gaskets, padded floor mats, gym/exercise mats, shoe soles, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ractopamine#cite_note-7

[MineralMan]

92. Yes. Wikipedia is a great way to find out about such things.

That's the additive referred to in the OP as being used in shoes, etc. I don't know how much of it is in a McDonald's McRib bun, but I doubt it is enough to cause much trouble for the typical person. As I said earlier, though, I don't eat McRibs or anything else at McDonalds. Yucky stuff, in general. If I want a hot sandwich, there are many other choices I can make.

However, I suspect that the buns for many of those choices contain the same ingredients, generally. I usually shrug at such things, since I eat them rarely. Fast food joints can't use freshly-baked buns, so most of the additives are in there to make those buns last a long time and still taste OK and have the desired texture.

[davidn3600]

25. Funny Russia cares so much about this, but not about their polluted cities

Russia has some of the world's most polluted cities. A few are so bad the life expectancy suffers decades for people that live in those places.

But they are worried about our McRibs?

[closeupready]

29. Thank you. Whether the source is reputable or not,

I enjoy seeing articles that keep people aware of the food supply, every step in how their meals are brought to the table, how agriculture is practiced, etc.

Thanks for posting it.

[gateley]

32. Thank you!

And check out this site I found which shows sources for "good" food in your area (I should probably say "real" food).

www.localharvest.org

[1KansasDem]

43. Story at the link is a year old

Surely the FDA would have made some recs. in a years time.

[JReed]

46. Get the latest in meat technology

A sandwich 'built' from scratch?: The McRib is a product of Rene Arend, who came up with the idea and design of the sandwich. That said, Richard Mandigo, a professor from the University of Nebraska, who developed the "restructured meat product" that the McRib is actually made of.

According to Chicago magazine, citing a 1995 article by Mandigo, "restructured meat product" is described thusly:

Restructured meat products are commonly manufactured by using lower-valued meat trimmings reduced in size by comminution (flaking, chunking, grinding, chopping or slicing). The comminuted meat mixture is mixed with salt and water to extract salt-soluble proteins. These extracted proteins are critical to produce a "glue" which binds muscle pieces together. These muscle pieces may then be reformed to produce a "meat log" of specific form or shape. The log is then cut into steaks or chops which, when cooked, are similar in appearance and texture to their intact muscle counterparts. ... Such products as tripe, heart, and scalded stomachs are high in protein, completely edible, wholesome, and nutritious, and most are already used in sausage without objection.

Still hungry?

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_26783.cfm

[99Forever]

50. I don't remember the actual date..

... McIck introduced these slabs of nastiness, but I do remember buying one and noting that although it was called a "McRib," there wasn't a single bone in it. Last one I have ever touched.

[MineralMan]

57. Parts? What Parts?

Parts is parts. Pressed and molded meat products are made from parts. What parts? Well all the parts came from a pig. That's all you know. So, the decision is up to you. I've listed all the ingredients in the meat patty elsewhere in the thread. The bun's the thing will the long list of ingredients, not the patty. The patty's pretty simple. It's most parts of a pig. You may not wish to know what parts of the pig, but it's all parts.

I've never eaten a McRib.

[99Forever]

65. Having worked in both...

.. bakeries and the meat industry, I've got a pretty good idea of what actually is in both.

I don't eat commercial baked goods or "ribs" without bones, period.

[gateley]

70. My sense is that it's pretty much the same in all food categories --

We've sacrificed nutrients and purity for convenience and profit.

When I walk through the grocery store and see all the "good" food available, I'm thinking "poison". I know that's a little over-the-top but I have to think that to keep from buying stuff I'm salivating over. I have HepC and really need to eat as organic as I can to not add more not-made-for-human-consumption to my poor liver.

I'm totally off of bread (at the moment) but when I DO succumb, it's Dave's Killer Bread -- organic and for a good cause. And REALLY yummy!

[Luminous Animal]

93. The patty is the part that may contain residue of the drug ractopine (banned in the EU & elsewhere)

The bun contains azodicarbonamide used as an additive in foam plastics.

Really, this stuff should not be labeled as food.

[MineralMan]

94. I don't set food regulations.

Others handle that.

[gateley]

60. Yeah, I pretty much know when I get something from McDonald's or some other

prepared, fast food, that I'm not getting what I'm picturing in my mind.

[99Forever]

63. And that's being diplomatic.

[Marrah_G]

53. ~puke~

[jberryhill]

58. Who eats at McDonald's anyway?

The thing I never understand about "OMG look at what is in fast food" is the notion that anyone who cares about what they eat was buying this stuff in the first place.

As if there was someone somewhere whose diet consisted exclusively of McRib sandwiches.

I had a bunch of steamed clams at a restaurant in Maine last week. You know what was in it? Clam shit and mud from the bottom of wherever the clams were harvested. Think I'm gonna die?

[gateley]

66. My major concern is that ultimately, Big Money lets this stuff get

into our food (and the feed, and the water) but we're not made aware of it. That's all -- I know I'm eating crap if I go to McDonald's, that there are lots of chemicals and preservatives , and that's my choice. It's just that it infuriates me they let thousands of ingredients deemed "safe in small quantities" into our food.

We shouldn't have to worry about the food we eat. I understand the corporations' mandate to find ways to cut costs and maximize profit, but that may come at a price to our health. I yearn for the days of our great grandparents when we bought a piece of meat it wasn't fattened with GMA corn or had growth hormone surging through the animal. I don't think that's realistic these days -- if only for the fact there are too many mouths to feed -- but I wish it was easier to know WHAT we're ingesting and have other options more easily available.

[jberryhill]

73. "I yearn for the days of our great grandparents"

Obviously you never read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle".



What you yearn for is a fiction.

[gateley]

75. My great grandparents grew their own livestock and food.

And I have read The Jungle -- so I guess "obviously" isn't apt.

It always amazes me when people (in this case you) think they need all they need to know from a few lines typed on a message board.

I would have asked you if you'd read The Jungle, and suggested that although we may look back at those days as being preferable, as with most issues, there's a dark side.

But that's just me. I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt.

[jberryhill]

78. Then why don't you?

If you "yearn for the days when your great grandparents" grew their own livestock and food, I have to wonder what is preventing you from doing so. No one is stopping you.

[gateley]

80. I'm doing the best I can given I live in the city and have limited funds.

I buy most of my food from a co-op and farmers markets.

If I had the land and means, I'd probably grow the fruits and vegetables and still get my meat and dairy from local organic farmers.


So wonder no more.

[datasuspect]

74. probably billions of people

internationally.

[gateley]

86. It's cheaper to feed the family on the Dollar Menu than to buy "real" food.

And yes, billions.

[jeff47]

62. Why should we believe you when you have to hide the source of your information?

Seriously, if you think hiding the source gives you more credibility, you've got something wrong going on.

[gateley]

69. Don't believe me. I'll get over it.

[Brickbat]

64. Russia does this kind of thing as a political move, disrupting trade to make its point.

Russia is not suddenly a leader in the clean-food movement. The very idea makes me cackle.

[gateley]

68. Oh, I agree, but there are instances -- GMO foods, for example,

that are banned elsewhere and are okey dokey here in the USA.

I thought it was odd to cite Russia, too --

[Luminous Animal]

91. Ractopamine, is banned in at least 80 countries including the EU.

https://www.google.com/search?q=ractopamine+banned+countries&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US fficial&client=firefox-a

[Jefferson23]

76. Including a chemical used in gym shoes? Only fair they rename it the Nike Burger then. n/t

[gateley]

81. SUCCESS! You've gotten me chastised for Copyright Infringement.

Seriously, grow up.

Here's the fucking link (and now the thread will be locked because it'll be alerted on -- DOUBLE SUCCESS!!!)


http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/01/16/mcdonalds-mcrib.aspx?e_cid=20130116_DNL_art_1

[DJ13]

82. I used to eat the McRib, but the taste changed several years ago

I guess they added all that crap after it was originally launched, probably a bean counter was convinced a cheaper source would pad profits.

[gateley]

83. You really can't blame the corporations for being profit-driven -- they're mandated

to do the best for their shareholders.

I hate them, but that's the nature of the beast.

[DJ13]

84. Well, if a company prides itself on being #1 based on quality

I think they have an obligation not to reduce quality to this point just to make an extra .20c per sandwich, but thats just me being anti capitalist I guess.

[gateley]

85. True. They've got the cover, though, since these gross ingredients/additives have been

deemed "not harmful". Never mind they're not "healthful".

Corporations have no soul and no integrity, IMO. I think the individuals must convince themselves that what they're spreading is true -- otherwise how could they sleep at night?

I think they must be like surgeons who "remove" themselves from the consciousness that they're slicing into the body of another living human being and just look at it clinically. (At least that's how my Dad, a surgeon, explained it to me.

[Egalitarian Thug]

87. You're disturbing my fantasy, you must be evil.

The defenders of Corporate America are thick on this one. Thanks for posting it anyway.

[gateley]

88. I've been called worse.

[pinboy3niner]

96. Whew! Thank God it's not about the Dollar Menu Double Cheeseburger!

I think I dodged a bullet there.

[Stinky The Clown]

97. Hosts' consensus is to lock this thread as OT.

Last edited Wed Jan 16, 2013, 04:25 PM - Edit history (2)

Locking

Edit to change "moderators" to "hosts"

In the host work space, there was a good bit of discussion whether locking this was actually "moderating". The ultimate consensus was that it was from a dodgy/CT-type source and was fundamentally off topic.

When I locked it, I used the term "moderator" in error. I am sorry about that and the error was mine entirely. Mea Maxima Culpa.