Prince Charles urges banning McDonald's food:

[Pockets]

Yes, I understand what you mean. And I'm aware of the freedoms people ought to be granted in a democratic society.

I'm going to give Charles a thumbs up for bringing discussion on the topic...despite the hypocrisy floating around. If this happens more often hopefully people will become more aware of what a happy meal or whatever actually buys...and whatever P. C's food chain does as long as it keeps getting fed to the masses on the tv. It is not just the problem with the greasy, unhealthy food so much as it is the international abuse a company like that has posed to boot. People can get their grease fix without that. That is one reason to apply pressure where it really hurts to McDs and other fast-food restaurants of that ilk. I'm sure everyone is aware of my position on "cheap-to-make" industrialized food products. Banning is not necessary but cleaning up their act ought to be for a multitude of reasons. And in the end people may push away from such fast foods

I don't eat McD's--much. I go to the gym lots. I understand my body and am educated on nutrition. I think I have a good idea of what is good for me. I would like to hear of the international abuse you reference.

[Eclipse]

I don't eat McD's--much. I go to the gym lots. I understand my body and am educated on nutrition. I think I have a good idea of what is good for me. I would like to hear of the international abuse you reference.

I was going by the references presented thus far. You could read a book like this - Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser or check out the many anti-McD sites M c S P O T L I G H T

I supported the subject being brought up because it gives people the exposure that is required to attain a level of insight as to why someone would think of such a thing. It is good publicity for those who disagree with/boycott McDs and in turn it has "positive" effects because people actually open their eyes. Eating McDs once in a while is no biggie because of the unhealthiness consumed. If what I've seen in this thread is even remotely close to true, McDs has other issues and that's negative exposure for them...which is subjectively good imo because, again, people shine the light on it to see what the noise was about.

[Pockets]

I was going by the references presented thus far. You could read a book like this - Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser or check out the many anti-McD sites M c S P O T L I G H T

I supported the subject being brought up because it gives people the exposure that is required to attain a level of insight as to why someone would think of such a thing. It is good publicity for those who disagree with/boycott McDs and in turn it has "positive" effects because people actually open their eyes. Eating McDs once in a while is no biggie because of the unhealthiness consumed. If what I've seen in this thread is even remotely close to true, McDs has other issues and that's negative exposure for them...which is subjectively good imo because, again, people shine the light on it to see what the noise was about.

I'll check it out. The question is, is it truly objective?

[brien]

Barely afford better quality food? Since when is mcdonalds cheap? 5-7 bucks for a single meal is insane compared to buying fresh produce, grains etc and cooking at home. its only cheap for lazy fatties who are too lazy to cook themselves.

That said the government shouldn't ban anything. It's people's own fault they are so stupid. I thought most people stopped being able to stomach mcdonalds "food" when they reached adulthood but apparently not. God it's disgusting. Doesn't even taste good except maybe the fries, and thats if you like about 3 days worth of sodium in one little paper cup.

I fully agree. Furthermore if Mickey D's is $5 - $7 per pop, then the cost of organic "whole food" is usuall y even more. For example, I buy free range organic eggs, (even used to have my own chickens) and they cost about 30% more than eggs from other chickens. Organic produce is usually 30% more than produce grown with pesticides. Milk from cows who are raised on an organic diet is usually 25% more than inorganic milk.

Point being, organic food cost more money, and the cost is easily bourne by the rich upper class, but Charles can't expect his working class subjects to foot the extra cost for his indulgences which merely make him look concerned for them by trashing Mc Donalds. His concern is a fake as a US three dollar bill.

[Eclipse]

I'll check it out. The question is, is it truly objective?

Don't bother getting the book. I'm sure you understand the problems associated with fast food and how great the actual food quality really is. The web site focuses more on stuff like this Issues: environment which is not entirely objective.

Point being, organic food cost more money

If I turned my diet and bought a healthy, balanced grocery list with actual animal based foods I would be paying the same for what I was getting or more if I decided to buy some big steaks or something. For how much McDs is, you get a real small amount of actual food and in turn pay a lot for nothing.

Costs will drop once more people start focusing on it more and more. Organic has and will continue to become more popular.

His concern is a fake as a US three dollar bill.

Probably.

[Nikkums]

I say ban McDicks!
Something needs to change, the information has been out there for years yet so many idiots keep going back for more. I would be more willing to let mcdonalds stay if there wasn't so many 600lb people claiming they have a disease rather than just admitting they have single handedly funded a Mcdonalds location near them and possibly a pizza parlor too. Or if parents were smart enough to realize that Cola in a baby bottle is not a suitable refreshment for a three year old, french fries are not dinner and poor diet choices can NOT be rectified by a couple of flinstone vitamins and a pediasure, then I might consider people capable of continuing to make that choice for themselves.

[Pockets]

Costs will drop once more people start focusing on it more and more. Organic has and will continue to become more popular

I agree with you regarding organic foods. However, there is a reason all these other products hit the shelves. The reason is shelf life. That is where it all started. The addititives and preservatives to make gfood last longer and grocery bills smaller. Inventory lasted longer.which meant lower prices. A switch away from all that will not mean lower prices

[brien]

I say ban McDicks!
Something needs to change, the information has been out there for years yet so many idiots keep going back for more. I would be more willing to let mcdonalds stay if there wasn't so many 600lb people claiming they have a disease rather than just admitting they have single handedly funded a Mcdonalds location near them and possibly a pizza parlor too. Or if parents were smart enough to realize that Cola in a baby bottle is not a suitable refreshment for a three year old, french fries are not dinner and poor diet choices can NOT be rectified by a couple of flinstone vitamins and a pediasure, then I might consider people capable of continuing to make that choice for themselves.

So, just who do you think you are, the food police. It is your job to make personal decisions for others??? PFFFFT :rolleyes:

How would you like it if someone made your personal decsions for you without any recourse? You nanny staters really need to begin to understand that people have a right to make their own personal decisions, good or bad, and you or the government has no right whatsoever to interfere with them. MYOB.

[Eclipse]

I agree with you regarding organic foods. However, there is a reason all these other products hit the shelves. The reason is shelf life. That is where it all started. The addititives and preservatives to make gfood last longer and grocery bills smaller. Inventory lasted longer.which meant lower prices. A switch away from all that will not mean lower prices

Touché. But you would not need to eat as much organic foods to match up the nutrition intake. It is not very noteable in somewhat processed foods but foods that go through a heavy chemical processing take away a lot of the nutrients and then they sell you less for more with an altered taste.

Although home-made foods (even doughnouts!) from a marginally processed recipe taste surprisingly awesome, I would not argue that purely organic foods should be all that's left to buy. I'm sure someone can ignore McDs or other various "hot issues" and not have to resort to entirely organic foods if these issues are taken into consideration by those who consume or produce the food. Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good

The taste of a french fry is largely determined by the cooking oil. For decades McDonald's cooked its french fries in a mixture of about seven percent cottonseed oil and 93 percent beef tallow. The mixture gave the fries their unique flavor -- and more saturated beef fat per ounce than a McDonald's hamburger.

In 1990, amid a barrage of criticism over the amount of cholesterol in its fries, McDonald's switched to pure vegetable oil. This presented the company with a challenge: how to make fries that subtly taste like beef without cooking them in beef tallow. A look at the ingredients in McDonald's french fries suggests how the problem was solved. Toward the end of the list is a seemingly innocuous yet oddly mysterious phrase: "natural flavor." That ingredient helps to explain not only why the fries taste so good but also why most fast food -- indeed, most of the food Americans eat today -- tastes the way it does.

The canning, freezing, and dehydrating techniques used in processing destroy most of food's flavor -- and so a vast industry has arisen in the United States to make processed food palatable. Without this flavor industry today's fast food would not exist. The names of the leading American fast-food chains and their best-selling menu items have become embedded in our popular culture and famous worldwide. But few people can name the companies that manufacture fast food's taste.

The flavor industry is highly secretive.

A person's food preferences, like his or her personality, are formed during the first few years of life, through a process of socialization. Babies innately prefer sweet tastes and reject bitter ones; toddlers can learn to enjoy hot and spicy food, bland health food, or fast food, depending on what the people around them eat. The human sense of smell is still not fully understood. It is greatly affected by psychological factors and expectations. The mind focuses intently on some of the aromas that surround us and filters out the overwhelming majority. People can grow accustomed to bad smells or good smells; they stop noticing what once seemed overpowering. Aroma and memory are somehow inextricably linked. A smell can suddenly evoke a long-forgotten moment. The flavors of childhood foods seem to leave an indelible mark, and adults often return to them, without always knowing why. These "comfort foods" become a source of pleasure and reassurance -- a fact that fast-food chains use to their advantage. Childhood memories of Happy Meals, which come with french fries, can translate into frequent adult visits to McDonald's. On average, Americans now eat about four servings of french fries every week.

The American flavor industry now has annual revenues of about $1.4 billion. Approximately 10,000 new processed-food products are introduced every year in the United States. Almost all of them require flavor additives. And about nine out of ten of these products fail.

Here's the problem with processed foods: Processed Foods

It is important to note the fact that additives and preservatives cannot always be painted with a negative brush. The addition of vitamins to bread and milk has helped to stamp out diseases such as pellagra and rickets.

Unfortunately, the good intentions that characterized the processed food industry during the early days have now de-evolved to finding ways to cheaply process food and manipulate buyers, regardless of the detrimental affects on the health of Americans.

Today, many additives and preservatives are harmful toxic chemicals as problematic as the decay they are used to prevent.

If you read further down it goes through everything in great deal, including flavoring which it shows flavoring as generally safe in most cases, and then it lists ways which people can make a generous but simple change to their diet.

Eradicating every guilty pleasure in life is not the end goal here, nor is it a particularly realistic approach to making changes...we all enjoy the occasional cheeseburger, order of fries, or bag of chips.

But if we understand the consequences of making what ought to be an occasional treat into the mainstay of our diet, we can begin to make wise choices about how many of these things we are willing to eat.

When it comes to avoiding many of the questionable – and possibly deadly – additives contained in processed foods, we're only human after all, so taking baby steps toward change is usually the best approach.

So its not the grease or even fat that makes the food desirable. Is it not possible to change these processes or reduce them (or should I say reduce loss) to healthier levels and still have enjoyable food? Of course. And in addition, remember what social factors trigger in our children and try to set them on the healthy road as best you can without force feeding.

Without the flavoring, McDonald's food would taste as it really is. The fries would simply taste like bland, cheap, old potatoes. Your body would reject them or you would throw your food out.

Junk foods contain very little real food. They’re made of devitalized processed food, hydrogenated fats, chemicals, and preservatives, and include anything made with refined white flour. Canned breakfast drinks, cold/sugary cereals, doughnuts, drive-through foods, and soda are examples of junk foods.

Note the processes the McDs goes through and read up on it through the link. One thing you shoud realize is that on top of all this, McDs throws more crap into the process. Ban Trans Fats: The Campaign to Ban Partially Hydrogenated Oils

[Nikkums]

So, just who do you think you are, the food police. It is your job to make personal decisions for others??? PFFFFT :rolleyes:

How would you like it if someone made your personal decsions for you without any recourse? You nanny staters really need to begin to understand that people have a right to make their own personal decisions, good or bad, and you or the government has no right whatsoever to interfere with them. MYOB.

If people could make their decisions, good or bad, and take responsibility for them, FINE. But obviously, they can't, or we wouldn't even have laws to begin with. Or commandments for that matter.
I am tired of wasting tax dollars on morbid obesity when it is as simple as banning McDonalds. I am tired of hearing "it's not my fault, it's genetics". Doesn't it seem weird that in the last two or three decades people have become fatter and fatter? Weighing 600lbs used to be a sideshow oddity, now we aren't even shocked to hear of people having to be cut out of their homes and lifted by cranes to seek medical attention. I am sure the British are rather tired of paying for all of that. The world is addicted to McDonalds, and instead of being concerned we are singing "I'm lovin' it".
The majority of McDicks food-like products are not healthy, and the company admits that, so its ok? I feel the cons are outweighing the pro's here. There is sugar in EVERYTHING (including the fries), little to no nutritional value in anything, and almost all of it's deep fried. When they are told their food is too unhealthy, they put out "healthier choices" which only means healthier than their other processed crap, not "nutritional".
I get the feeling that alot of the people that would get most upset over a ban on McDonalds foodban are dependant on it in some way or another, which even the company does not think is a good idea.... all the more reason to ban it IMO.

[brien]

I get the feeling that alot of the people that would get most upset over a ban on McDonalds foodban are dependant on it in some way or another, which even the company does not think is a good idea.... all the more reason to ban it IMO.

You miss the more far reaching point that it isn't the provenance of the gov't to get involved here. It is far more dangerous to ban private industry from selling a legal good in the market place than to simply educate consumers about the health risks of consuming fat laden foods thereby making them responsible for their own health. It is all about choice.

I am tired of wasting tax dollars on morbid obesity when it is as simple as banning McDonalds.

So how much tax dollars are wasted on obesity directly related to Mc Donalds?

[Nikkums]

You miss the more far reaching point that it isn't the provenance of the gov't to get involved here. It is far more dangerous to ban private industry from selling a legal good in the market place than to simply educate consumers about the health risks of consuming fat laden foods thereby making them responsible for their own health. It is all about choice.



So how much tax dollars are wasted on obesity directly related to Mc Donalds?

I think YOU are missing the point here. It is not an issue of banning a legal good, it's an issue of making a good ILLEGAL! It's not like laws for things are created before the THING, we have to come to a realization, society as a whole, that something is dangerous. In this case, McDonalds food is dangerous, and should be banned. If they want to offer a NEW food, good for them, I support them 100%, but the crap they have on the market is not even food.

Its not just McDonalds either, but since they are the largest company they would be, and already have been, a good place to start on the path of change.