McDonald's Food Test

[squallumz]

Yes, it IS still fat. What most people don't know is that ALL processed foods are worse than "natural" and "fresh" foods. For example, to keep on topic of fats, using margarine is worse than using fresh butter. Yes, butter contains a lot of fat, but it's not over processed like margarine or other "spreads" are.

this is what i use.

http://www.earthbalance.net/product.html

this stuff is the shit. it tastes like butter without being disgusting like butter. also, no trans fats. (which arent natural)

ps. alton brown rox0rz!

 

[ChefChiTown]

Anyone who finds this thread interesting should definitely check out the excellent book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" - it explains in a really fascinating way where our food comes from and how the food industry operates. It's not all depressing, don't worry. What I found most amazing is how much of our diet actually comes from corn. Corn, corn and more corn!!!

Check it out...

Corn is one of the most used/most important products in the world. Corn and other corn products feed most of the worlds poultry and livestock. It is sort of weird how the base of nutrients found in a simple plant like corn makes it way up the food chain, all the way into our bodies. I've always found that to be really interesting.

this is what i use.

http://www.earthbalance.net/product.html

this stuff is the shit. it tastes like butter without being disgusting like butter. also, no trans fats. (which arent natural)

Wow, I've never seen that before. I'll have to look around and see if I can find that around here so I can try it out. Do you have to get it online or can you find it in your grocery stores/markets?

 

[squallumz]

Corn is one of the most used/most important products in the world. Corn and other corn products feed most of the worlds poultry and livestock. It is sort of weird how the base of nutrients found in a simple plant like corn makes it way up the food chain, all the way into our bodies. I've always found that to be really interesting.

unfortunately they feed it to animals they arent supposed to eat that, to name one: cows. grass fed cows are natural, they feed em corn because it bulks them up and the milk is whiter. it also makes them sick and thats why they give them antibiotics.

also for you dog and cat guys and girls, look at their food ingredients. im willing to bet ground corn/corn meal/corn gluten are in the first 3 ingredients. most dogs are allergic to corn and cats dont eat fucking corn! they are carnivores. no carbs, high protein.

Wow, I've never seen that before. I'll have to look around and see if I can find that around here so I can try it out. Do you have to get it online or can you find it in your grocery stores/markets?

i get it at trader joes and they have it at most semi-healthy stores. its fucking great shit man. i live in a small ass rinky-dink town and we got it here and there.

 

[Facial_King]

Now that this discussion is getting deeper into food issues generally, it's also worth noting, I think, how incredibly resource-consumptive it is to produce meat. (and before anyone jumps down my throat accusing me of being a militant vegetarian or vegan, stop - I eat meat almost every day. I do think that society might need to be collectively reconsidering its massive intake of meats at some point, maybe sooner rather than later! I eat meat, but I'm not necessarily proud of that fact. Actually, sometimes I think it might not be a very wise, SUSTAINABLE practice. If the Chinese start eating beef at the same rate as Americans do - and Prez Bush just recently encouraged this (!!) - we are all, I think, doomed)

If you look at the whole food production process, it takes huge quantities of water and fossil fuels to put a slab of beef or pork (and to a lesser extent, but still significant, poultry) on your plate. That's not to say it doesn't taste good. But when the jillion of us insist on eating this shit all the time, it might just create a problem or two....

 

[ChefChiTown]

Now that this discussion is getting deeper into food issues generally, it's also worth noting, I think, how incredibly resource-consumptive it is to produce meat. (and before anyone jumps down my throat accusing me of being a militant vegetarian or vegan, stop - I eat meat almost every day. I do think that society might need to be collectively reconsidering its massive intake of meats at some point, maybe sooner rather than later! I eat meat, but I'm not necessarily proud of that fact. Actually, sometimes I think it might not be a very wise, SUSTAINABLE practice. If the Chinese start eating beef at the same rate as Americans do - and Prez Bush just recently encouraged this (!!) - we are all, I think, doomed)

If you look at the whole food production process, it takes huge quantities of water and fossil fuels to put a slab of beef or pork (and to a lesser extent, but still significant, poultry) on your plate. That's not to say it doesn't taste good. But when the jillion of us insist on eating this shit all the time, it might just create a problem or two....

I'm not a vegetarian, but I AM very concerned with food in this country. I'm a huge supporter of the organic movement, but sadly, there isn't much money to be made from this. The reason being, since organic foods are made in the most natural ways possible, it costs more money and takes a longer period of time to produce organic food than it does to mass produce genetically altered food products.

The consumption of meat (beef, pork, poultry, seafood, it doesn't matter) can rise as high as it wants to and it will never really be a problem. Animals that humans consume can very easily be reproduced through genetic sciences. Just like how cows are given hormones to make them produce more milk at a faster rate, animals are given hormones to make them mature much faster than nature intended.

Fish, excluding the wild species which only spawn in certain parts of the world, will never, ever, ever be in short supply. Fish farming is one of the fastest growing food-related business in the United States. Most of the salmon that is found in American grocery stores is farm raised. There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating farm raised fish, but it does raise concerns in my opinion.

If we have the technology to produce other species of animals on OUR terms, where is it going to end? Sadly, it probably won't end, because there is too much money to be made. Although quantity doesn't equal quality...it DOES equal profits. God Bless America!

 

[squallumz]

farmed salmon.

its kind of like how they farm chicken. they have them on "special diets" and you wouldnt belive how confined they are. i think each salmon is just about touching. like chickens, they are fed oxytetracycline (antibiotic) <------ because they are sick (just like the cattle!!) and sulfas.

(i used to work in the fishing busioness for a long time. i did everything from commercial fishing to selling it.)

now, im a big believer in conserving our fish stocks and farming is a great idea.... if done right. (sounds like an AB line to me) unfortunately theres problems with the salmon just like our nasty chicken. i only eat cage free organically fed chickens and wild salmon (and other seafood).

its cool to see someone educated in what they are consuming!

http://www.ecotrust.org/publications/farmed_salmon_steak.html

organically produced food is usually a little bit more, but not all the time! trader joes is a cheap and easy way to get organic food. usually its cheaper than the normal stuff they slop out in supermarkets. also, i commend VONS for featuring that "Organics" line (at least where i am) its good stuff!

as time passes, i think people will want more and more natural and organic foods, i just hope it doesnt get corrupted.

if you want to read some good info too check this place out.

http://www.truthinlabeling.org/

youll love it there.

 

[ChefChiTown]

now, im a big believer in conserving our fish stocks and farming is a great idea.... if done right. (sounds like an AB line to me)

That's totally an AB line. That website is pretty good too, I've been there once before. It's always interesting/disturbing to see how many awful things are pumped into the food we eat and how food companies "get around" it. I like how it has a whole bunch of info on MSG too, that's really informative.

There's a good DVD I would recommend to anyone who is interested in how the whole process of how food production REALLY works in the US.

http://www.thefutureoffood.com/

This was one of the most interesting films we had to watch in culinary school. It covers some pretty interesting/eye-opening things that the food production industry is doing. One of the most disturbing things is when it covers ConAgra Foods (which is one of the worlds largest producers of seeds) and how corrupt and immoral their business ethics are. They purposely tainted the crops of large farmers in the US with their own "patented" seeds. Yes, PATENTED SEEDS. ConAgra was allowed to patent seeds...I won't go into it, but it is a very scary thing when they talk about it. Of course, law suits were filed and they ended up putting a TON of completely legit farmers out of business because of ridiculous flaws in the legal system.

It also covers the whole salmon farming topic and things of that nature. It's a good watch to those who are interested in this sort of thing.

A great quote from the film, which is also on the website...

"We used to be a nation of farmers, but now it's less than 2% of the population in the United States. So, a lot of us don't know a lot about what it takes to grow food."

 

[D-rock]

I do agree with you that they feed animals too much corn. I think the grass fed cows taste better anyhow. I also don't like all the hormones they inject into animals. There not supposed to affect us, but it makes me wonder if someday in the future we will find out that isn't as true as we thought it was.

farmed salmon.

its kind of like how they farm chicken. they have them on "special diets" and you wouldnt belive how confined they are. i think each salmon is just about touching. like chickens, they are fed oxytetracycline (antibiotic) <------ because they are sick (just like the cattle!!) and sulfas.

(i used to work in the fishing busioness for a long time. i did everything from commercial fishing to selling it.)

now, im a big believer in conserving our fish stocks and farming is a great idea.... if done right. (sounds like an AB line to me) unfortunately theres problems with the salmon just like our nasty chicken. i only eat cage free organically fed chickens and wild salmon (and other seafood).

As far as animals being keep in a cage, I'm not as concerned about that as them being feed well because we have to eventually eat them. I'm not sure but it seems farm raises fish might be better just for the fact that the mercury content should be lower in them. In some places your not supposed to eat more than a fish a week because of it, and young children and pregnant women aren't supposed to eat some of the fish at all. It's pretty sad.

 

[MADIronMaiden]

I tought 'supersize me' was pointless... If you eat the same things every days, you'll surely have some health problems! It doesnt have to be fast food... If someone decide to eat vegetables everydays, he will still have health problems, but only of different natures...