There might be long term effects from devouring the high calorie content in fast food restaurants but I never got a belly ache after a meal. The breakfast of eggs and ham on a muffin with fries and coffee is only four bucks. It keeps me alive. Eating at home with spoiled or roach infested food is much more dangerous.

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Honestly, what you wrote doesn't sound amazingly horrifying, nor is it original. This is all stuff that most readers of this site do (or should) know. Yes, fast food is evil blah blah blah. Do we really need to say it anymore?

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I'm eating a quarter pounder with cheese right now and it is DELICIOUS.

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Now I'll have a hard time swallowing even that one small burger and side of fries that I buy from my local McDonald's about once every year and a half.

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I never go there, this is a known fact to most informed persons but it is cheap food for those who have low incomes. IT is easily accessible for the so busy people, there is one on every corner. Drive throughs should not be allowed because of the emissions from idling vehicles. This is another let us boycott place and I do. I think the ironic part is the playgrounds inside. Everyone is too fat to move!!

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Obviously, anyone who eats McDonald’s food regularly is a complete moron, but, as with overeating and drinking at Christmas, or eating sweets in the cinema, I see nothing wrong in visiting the place once a year to eat shit that does actually taste quite good.

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The erectile dysfunction has been more of a blessing than a curse...thanks Micky "D".

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I cannot understand how people can look at a picture like this cow, with a staple on it's ear and a tag and not be very upset. How in the world did the beef industry convince us that cows are just an item to be killed for our pleasure. Cows live, breath, have hearts, have families, enjoy some things, dislike others.......they are LIFE.......how can we just look at them as if they were PRODUCTS?

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with no chicken. It's tasty and healthy (and cheap!) Skip everything else.

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But I still believe in moderation with all things. BTW, I'm surprised that "Don't Eat the Animals" idiot hasn't spammed the hell out of us yet.

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30,000 restaurants worldwide, in 150 countries.
Same store sales up consistently year after year!
Innovative menus have something for everyone!
Fast food, and affordable.
If you don't like it, don't go there.

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Here's an excerpt from Mirror Reversal.


She parked at the top of Tyler Street across from Shorty McDuffy’s Miniburger Joint, where her father used to take her when she was a child. Long lines of glossy-eyed people waited patiently to get their morning McMiniburgers and oil-soaked fries. Cynthia could hear bastardized Spanish emanating from a work trench by the front door as workers fixed a leaky water pipe.

“If people weren’t so separated from nature, they’d never eat that crap,” thought Cynthia, as she locked the car door, and looked down the street toward the bank. “Has absolutely no resemblance to a cow. And what a strain on Bovinae! Insatiable hunger for meat growing and growing, never diminishing - not one bite. If the demand remains insatiable, the supply eventually has to snap - as inevitably as an apple falling to the ground when dropped – a mathematical certainty. Eventually it has to reach a point where individual four-legged, moo-cow bodies can’t meet the demand. The only answer is to break the spiral of increasing demand. And that’s only possible if people become educated to what’s going on. I wonder if customers would be so complacent on that line, if they knew their Double-Ouncer® doesn’t come from an individual animal, but a gigantic aluminum vat, filled with dozens of carcasses, that literally craps out the mush through a spout. But beforehand, flavorings and scents from chemical factories on the Jersey Turnpike are thrown in, so the stuff has the look and smell of fresh meat. They just don’t think about it, ‘cause they’re been programmed not to.”

The neon sign for the Hudson Valley Bank came into view.

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Eating food from McD's clearly impairs reasoning skills.

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GerryAttric, you're hilarious. Keep up the good work.

The blood vessel dysfunction also will create problems with oxygen uptake. This might make someone too ill to pay much attention to housework, especially an asthmatic or cardiac patient.

C'mon, folks, scare me some more. Now give us fast pizza and Taco Bell exposes.

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To be honest with you, I haven't been to a McDonald's in a very long time. I got wise to them before being wise to them was cool....

Oh, but DAMN! I loved those Big Macs....Used to live on those things at one time.

A friend of mine used to work at McDonald's. Because of what he witnessed while working there, he has not eaten at one of their restaurants ever since. He worked there for an entire summer - the summer of 1974.

Food for thought (Pun intended)

www.tomdegan.blogspot.com

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

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I got wise to places like McDonald's before being wise to places like McDonald's was cool.

A friend of mine used to work at the McDonald's on Route 211 in Middletown, NY. Because of what he witnessed while working there, he has not eaten at one of their restaurants sinse. He worked there for an entire summer - the summer of 1974..

Food for thought (Pun intended).

www.tomdegan.blogspot.com

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

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They keep the customer trash inside the restaurant until late evening before it closes. But they're usually not sealed tight so the indoor air occasionally reeks of rotting garbage. yet, people go there to eat.

I guess for some folks garbage is all the same.

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Some food is unhealthy regardless of whether it is served at McDonald's, a fine restaurant or at home. Also, one health infraction at one McDonald's does not imply anything beyond that.

This article could imply to the feable minded that McDonald's is bad. Go to any other fast food restaurant instead.

Where am I wrong?

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Watching that creepy commercial led me to this behind-the-scenes video. It was pretty interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH4vBJ2skq0&feature=fvw

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Oh, geez-us, does it never end with these guys.

I stopped eating fast food burgers all together in the 80s because of rumors that the big US burger chains, McDonald's, Burger King and Jack In The Box were involved in the destruction of Central and South American rain forest.

Rain forest was cleared for pasture land by ranchers under contracts with agents of the US fast food chains. And somehow, it was all tied in with what Reagan was doing in El Salvador and Nicaragua at the time. I guess McDonald's was innocent of that practice, though clearly Burger King and Jack In The Box were not.

I have a couple of girl friends who eat at McDonald's once in a while. I really wish they'd stop but one is currently unemployed and the unemployment check doesn't go all that far. The other lady just landed a nursing position in a skilled-care facility; she's trying to catch up on a year's worth of unpaid bills. Sometimes that crap's the only dinner either one of them can afford.

Living in the USA sucks, Steve Miller. Hand yourself a cheeseburger.

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and these same complaints could be said for all chains like KFC, Taco Bell, Chili's, Applebee's, Bob Evan's etc.

People that get paid minimum wage don't really care about the quality of the food you get.
And the owners of these chains are responsible for promoting CLEAN, SAFE work enviroments.

Learn to cook, plant a garden, get involved personally in what goes in your body, because you're the one who must suffer the consequences ultimately.

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I guess it's about time just to go ahead and trash all my dictionaries.

It's no longer clear what "food", or "fresh", or "organic", or "natural" mean...

Seems like our entire vocabulary has succumbed to that scenario in Alice in Wonderland. Words mean just what one wants them to mean.

Oh well, maybe that 1996 burger might start a new trend in collectibles for E-bay.

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That would really freak out Food Inc. McDonalds is just part of a much larger corporate food system that everyone should abandon.

As far as cheap, if you want cheap food go buy a 25 pound sack of rice and a 25 pound sack of beans, and use that as your main staple food.

Of course, everyone already knows this, and the food industry knows it too, so they spend a lot of money on PR.

But man, is fast food unpleasant! Foul, disgusting, shit-laced hamburgers fried in cheap oil and smeared with some nasty goop - yummy!

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If you think that any food purchased at a fast food restaurant is tasty then you clearly have yet to experience what good food is. I suggest going to a local establishment that sells local produce and taking all of 10 minutes to prepare a meal using fresh ingredients.
If the thought of that is leaving you mystified, buy the following: sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, fresh local tomatoes and some fresh crusty bread. Go home, wash the basil and pat dry with a paper towel, wash the tomatoes. Now slice the mozzarella, tomatoes and place on a plate with the fresh basil - sprinkle lightly with the sea salt and drizzle with the olive oil. Break off a piece of the crusty bread and you will find that you will bypass the tasty element and go straight to delicious.

On a side note by filling your body with the processed crap that ALL current fast food places push, you are essentially telling your body that you don't like yourself.
And for those of you who claim that fast food is tasty - you are telling the world that you have EXTREMELY low standards and don't care about yourself. Good luck with that.

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It is so idiotic to dump on McDonalds all the time! True the food is junk but so is it in every place you go to inside the US. However, a dollar burger will fill you up and that's not bad for somebody who is poor.

You can get inside from out of the cold or heat and they will give you ice water for free that you can refill endlessly. They don't hound people who need to use the bathroom, whether you eat there or not. So leave the stupid place alone why not? Or how about instead just hound them to put some decent vegetables items on the menu for health reasons. Then the dull clown would be standing on firmer ground when he tells children he's fighting cancer.

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I found this article to be simplistic, not particularly well written, and nothing we have not already heard ad nauseam. It reminds me of a B grade student power point presentation.

I believe the real reason for the increased harping on junk food and obesity is to pave the way for new taxes. Notice how the articles about the banking scandals have diminished and our attention is being turned to obesity once again? Forget the almost beyond recklessness and greed of the bankers who have fleeced the country, lets turn the tables back on how sheeple need to be protected from themselves and their appetites.

I personally don't eat at McDonalds. I couldn't be prouder to admit to being fat, happy and healthy. (And look great for my age - almost 50). My grandparents ate at McDonalds once a week, were skinny all their lives and lived well into their 80s. But that is not the point. The point is with all the problems we are facing, it is ridiculous to keep harping on junk food and obesity. Even if it was all true, not living forever is not a problem in a society that can't provide support for its seniors. We are on the verge of financial collapse. It isn't even an exaggeration to say obsessing about nutrition now is like the captain of the Titanic worrying about how many calories was in his souffle! It is clear to any thinking person making something like this your lead story means there must be some hidden agenda.

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In his younger days, my husband worked at a beef processing plant in west Texas. He said that Tuesdays were McDonald's processing days, and on those days, the most sickly cows and bulls were brought in. He said that they could barely stand and walk through the chutes to their deaths, and their coats were patchy and dull. He hasn't eaten at a Mickey D's since, and neither have I.

If you are what you eat, then our population is nothing but sick cattle who can barely stand.

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Maybe someone has pointed these things out already, but I don't have time to go through all the comments. :-)

The author is assuming 100% yield from the cattle. Even though I am no fan of McD's, or of CAFOs, I truly don't think they're putting the whole cattle, skin, eyeballs, intestines (with or without the last meal still inside), etc., into the ground beef. The reality is that many more than the number the author gives are being slaughtered.

And not all of those cattle are cows. At least some are steers and maybe even bulls.

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Far from considering McDonald's a danger, actual customers find it makes their lives better. Otherwise they'd eat elsewhere, right?

They're not "brainwashed" either. They daily refuse to buy dozens if not hundreds of heavily advertised shoes, soaps, perfumes, electronics and other products. But they keep coming back to McDonalds.

To be sure, McDonald's customers do believe it has responsibilities, namely to provide a tasty, convenient, enjoyable fast, and low cost meal. Period.

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I've said this before and this article and its contents confirm it so here goes. When you're in a system that financially rewards volumes sales over quality production, companies that poison the public slow but steady win while companies such as small local restaurants that produce high quality meals at reasonable prices get persecuted by government and Big Food itself. Personally, I don't bother with McD and I haven't done so in 3 years or for that matter any restaurant since I put quality first when it comes to eating.

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I am a long time burger lover, probably one of my favorite foods. I just bought the book "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn" Every medical point made in this article is made by the Dr. in the book. The diet is all plant based and for a big time meat eater of all kinds I was wondering if I can pull it off. I made a burger last night out of portobello mushrooms and black beans and I ate it lettuce wrapped because I noticed the organic whole grain bread I bought had soy bean oil in it; all oils banned on the diet. The burger was awesome!

From his book and website:

Here are the rules of my program in their simplest form:

• You may not eat anything with a mother or a face (no meat, poultry, or fish).

• You cannot eat dairy products.

• You must not consume oil of any kind—not a drop. (Yes, you devotees of the Mediterranean Diet, that includes olive oil, as I’ll explain in Chapter 10.)

• Generally, you cannot eat nuts or avocados.

You can eat a wonderful variety of delicious, nutrient-dense foods:

• All vegetables except avocado. Leafy green vegetables, root vegetables, veggies that are red, green, purple, orange, and yellowand everything in between

• All legumes—beans, peas, and lentils of all varieties.

• All whole grains and products, such as bread and pasta, that are made from them—as long as they do not contain added fats.

• All fruits.

It works. In the first continuous twelve-year study of the effects of nutrition in severely ill patients, which I will describe in this book, those who complied with my program achieved total arrest of clinical progression and significant selective reversal of coronary artery disease. In fully compliant patients, we have seen angina disappear in a few weeks and abnormal stress test results return to normal.

I think the coolest thing about the book is it is a short read with over 150 recipes that look pretty tasty. I am giving it a go.

heartattckproof.com

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Our city allowed the demolition and rezoning of the ONLY grocery store in our poorest neighborhood in Norfolk to make way for more big box houses. The only place left to eat on that side of town was a McDonald's. The government IS partly at fault here, even if it's just local government.

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I've been volunteering with the Value the Meal campaign to stop McDonalds and others from hooking more kids through their manipulative marketing. The fast food companies should be stopped from advertising to kids.

Joe Camel and Ronald McDonald are the same thing - cartoon characters who get kids hooked on a deadly product. It is our responsibility to take action to stop them and create space for healthy alternatives.

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One of the few Companies Still making Money and Your calling for a Botcott. Let's Boycott your Business and let you lose Your Job! How Dopey.

Your Not the Food Police ! People feed their large families and if this Helps them get thru a Bad Economy Thank God for McDonnel's .
They can lose Weight in the Good Times , If We Get There.
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS !

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There's shit in the meat.

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Many of the things in this article attributed to McDonalds are true for all fast food. Yes, high fat food can cause erectile disfunction. Yes, some restaurants are dirty. (but saying that they are dirty because of the quality of workers is really elitest). Yes, McDonalds does not say its food is vegetarian. (hey! its a burger joint) Yes, french fries have alot of salt on them. (anyone with high blood pressure has to eat a special diet. read most of the labels in the grocery store, most food has way too much salt) It was written in a sensationalist style that really doesn't add anything to the conversation, not sure why Alternet bothered to print it.
No, I don't work for McDonalds, and I'm not defending it, it just bugs me when authors try and make news with stuff that is already known. Tell us something new for news.

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Excellently written warnings about McDonald's. I would add to the list of reasons for avoiding McDonald's that McDs rely on soy based food products, including meat. IMHO soy is killing us and should be banned from every "health food market".

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in the US today and because of fast food, obesity is a sign of poverty.

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As a vegetarian, this article is preaching to the converted, as far as I'm concerned. Yet, I may take my son to a McDonald's later today. He gets a cheeseburger Happy Meal without the meat or pickles - kinda like a grilled cheee sandwich, and I get a cup of black coffee. He then gets to play in the playscape, while I get much-coveted reading-time. One can make lemonade outta lemons.

The part of the article that I most appreciated was the part about community gardens. What with all of the nostalgic bullpucky about Woodstock this week, I would imagine that many people are listening to that Joni Mitchell song. She was not at Woodstock, and her song is as seen through rose-colored glasses. We do need to "get back to the garden," but community gardens, not the mounds of trash seen in the movie while Jimi Hendrix is playing

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Just reading through the above comments, I get that "it tastes great".

So why don't you shoot heroin then? I guess it's because you're not addicted yet, so you don't know how relatively great a needleful would feel compared to going cold turkey while handcuffed to a bed.

Maybe there's a slippery slope argument. Other things are somewhat bad and you do them, so going a bit farther is pretty normal.

Then there's the convenience argument. Mickey D's has lined up the product in your subconscious as a happy meal, and then it's easy to walk in and order the artery goo. Why cook at home when you can be lazy?

So what would you do if you thought about the whole thing? Would you want to be an onerous burden on your children for maybe five years while you died early of bladder cancer? Not your thing? Then how are you going to stop eating the dead man walking meals?

First question: bag a lunch? It's work, but it saves your money.

Second question: something with less grease and sugar? Or how about you get to eat exactly the same amount of grease but make it olive oil for health and safety? How about maltose or something with a lower glycemic index?

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common sense and personal responsibility?

Controlling other people isn't the answer. Educating them maybe, but be a little real here. I'm sure the author has their own vices they don't want people controlling them on.

I for one know I am faulted and hypocritical enough to realize I do plenty of things that aren't perfect, and don't want anyone controlling if I want to have a beer and watch a little TV, which can also lead to any of the health problems described if taken too far. Just the title of this article alone, which may be well meaning, really is a little ignorant of this fact and the vice they decided to ignore their own for. I bet the author supports the democrats too, who pushed for slavery and uncle tom like trickery and are funding the mass murder of Arabs and a dozen other global tragedies in recent history. Nice try blaming people having a choice to eat a cheeseburger and fries for the world's ills while supporting mass murder with a smile.

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people compare the democrats to the Nazis?

It's because their party focused on anti-smoking legislation, animal rights publicly, and numerous other humanitarian ideals while their party members turned a blind eye to the mass murder that was going on out of sight and out of mind.

A little close to home I hope, if you have a heart, mind and soul.

I do care about animal treatment though. I personally like focusing on helping the humans who have no real choice in the bombs being dropped on them or the forceful removal of their rights. You have too much time on your hands or are looking for distractions me thinks, if you have more articles on how people have no choice but to eat too much because the meat just tastes too darn good for their little brains to handle, than on the mass murder and real nature of the democratic party.

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In America if the problem is not immediate it's not a problem.

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What is interesting is how a number of the comments respecting this posting attack the messenger not the message she is attempting to deliver. It appears that unless the message is delivered by a properly attired professional (or good actor), TV talking head, motion picture personality or someone of notoriety the message is automatically deemed false. Why…?

I have absolutely no problem with any ADULT choosing to consume any portion or type of FAST FOODS. I do have an issue when children who are unable to discern or decipher the intentionally confusing nomenclature utilized to describe the ingredients in this brand’s “special-secret-sauce” are consistently fed copious amounts these products.

When we are provided full, open, honesty, timely DISCLOSURE on all the ingredients in the foods we consume, it then becomes a personal choice and decision we each make.

If you choose to consume a diet primarily composed of FAST FOODS, I will not willingly choose to heal whatever health ailments befall you today, tomorrow, next year or in the future which are the result of the choices you voluntarily made.

If you are consuming FAST FOODS solely because of economic conditions the result of political motivated decision, then ‘we” (society as a whole) has a moral obligation to assist you while correcting these collective errors in judgment.

Respectfully,

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Heh heh heh...

So, I had heard about the beef tallow in the oil, and I also heard that there had been a court decision wherein McD's was required to stop using the beef tallow in their cooking oil. (Though, in retrospect, that sounds kinda unlikely...) Nevertheless, while out at DisneyLand, I had some McD's fries. My friends there assured me that there was no beef tallow in the oil they were using, so I concluded I could try them. I hadn't had them in YEARS, so I figured, why not, just this once!

So, I ate one order of fries, and within 20 minutes, I felt like crap. I figured it was the oil... but now you're saying there's milk in their fries! There's the culprit! I should have known better. And now I will. Always.

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he was in high school. He told me once that the smell of the uncooked meat that goes into their hamburgers is DISGUSTING even before it is cooked. Just really FOUL stuff. I never ate in one of those places after hearing about that. Used to like their french fries, but those are just loaded with fat. Nasty stuff to be avoided at all costs. Your heart will thank you.

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When you're driving on a limited-access interstate highway and stop at a plaza for gas, bathroom, and something quick to eat and drink, at least the chain fast-food places are predictable and cheap. I remember before they moved in, travelers used to get food that was at least as bad as McDonald's, often much worse, and was 'way more expensive. Travelers on the interstate are a captive audience. I would not eat MickeyDee as a steady diet but have been glad to see it when I was in odd places.

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Obviously SOMETHING has affected it!

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Best suggestion is to eat food made at home, not junk food touted and marked as Home Made.In general , any food that is old more than 6 hours after preparation , food cooked and kept in Refrigerator and reheated develops harmful bacteria,cold cuts, meat from infected animals, food with preservatives are to be avoided.Food that is tasty in general,spicy,acidic,carbonated drinks are is harmful.

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In 50 years I've been dragged to a McDonald's maybe 20 times and resent it every time. It is like eating plastic food (that goes for most fast food places). I was raised on fresh picked, fresh made, homemade meals and can't tolerate the messes that most fast food places serve. I really don't think they are cheaper either when you consider that with a drink you will spend at least $5.00 dollars, (I'm guessing) lunch from home is cheaper and more sanitary and tastier. I've never been overweight, and I've spent very little time in hospitals. The sanitary conditions are also a concern to me.

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the setting of a fast food restaurant staffed with low-paid employees

In other words, you can't trust people who don't make your kind of money, eh? Perhaps it's true. I've found that people who make a lot of money can't be trusted either. People cut corners and do awful things at every level of industry. I wonder if you took the total number of McDonalds and divided it by the number of health violations, if the percentage of violations would be greater than that of a higher end chain?

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Several readers speak of the fact that for the poor or unemployed its a cheap meal. Kevin Trudeau of TV fame wrote several books. In them he tells of companies creating chemicals to add to foods to get you to eat the food more and more. How sick. The problem with fat, grease, etc. the body gets addicted to these things fast. Look at the massive supermarket isles loaded with potatoe chips, fritos etc.
Instead of eating at Mcdonalds get a banana, a few walnuts. Cost? $1.00? How about a Yoghurt and an Apple? $1.25? The Ancient Romans marching over vast lands and away from homes had small pouches of sesame seeds they lived on. These were powerful, tough, warriers. They survived. Just as easy to pop in any local store carrying fresh food and have a nice lunch for far less than $5.Your body will be happy.And in the long run you too! Our society has gotten so far removed from what is pure, fresh, wholesome, nutrient dense. Just look at the health problems and obesity.Eating almonds, walnuts, cashews a small handful a day...better than vitamins.
i recall an article years ago written by a surgeon. He took up hunting. He was amazed when cutting up a deer at the beauty and health of the deer's organs.It was almost a religious experience for he operated on only diseased unhealthy, ravaged organs. Still, life is a mystery. read of a black farmer who lived to age 114. Asked what he ate and why he lived so long?

"Ate Corn pone and chitlins', worked until I was 98, and had my pipe."

There's more to it all, but I have taught it is best to start with a sound foundation, like building a good home, build your body to weather the problems we all confront. Here's a truthful poem:

There's many a man in the land,
who thinks he's wondrous wise.
He spends his health making wealth
until he nearly dies.

And when he sees his health is gone,
With all his might and main,
He spends his wealth regaining health
and then starts all over again.

We're a weird bunch, us humans.

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With a fast food joint on every corner and every other commercial on TV being a fast food joint, with todays LAZY kids, no wonder why kids are growing up FAT.

RT
Online Privacy when it Counts

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I have never been to McDonalds - or any fast food outlet - and never will. Why? Because, like many folk here, I know what I am missing.

Let's face it...it is stupid to call fast food patrons poor, or anything other than lazy & stupid.

Such people appear essential fodder to a system based on stupidity.

No wonder universal healthcare and preventive medicine is under attack.

Go figure...

gragra
australia

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This piece is mostly B.S. You don't have to eat burgers at Golden Arches. Their salads are good. In fact, McD's is one of the better corporate citizens in America. Of course, that's not saying much. But they are. And the McD's heir, Joan Kroc, founded a fabulous peace institute at Notre Dame. So they're not all bad.

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we have to have million dollar homes, drive new cars every year, own more cloths than entire 3rd world countries, but will flock to these places to stuff a cheap $4.00 dollar meal down our throats. We deserve all of the health care problems that we have. Hey, maybe we can get Micky ds to take over the health care industry also, Who's up for a Mcfuckin ?

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My wifes folks are dairy farmners in Wisconsin. When I visited them in 1986 he told me upon asking what they did with the old cows that are no longer producers. Well he said; the ones who have vet problems (cows with absesses, won't get up, asthma etc.) he sells these problem cows to a buyer who slaughters them for MacDunolds, where they grind up everything. I also have a friend who kept lions for circuses and he used to get cheap all the parts of the cows they could not sell in the meat market. Parts like cheeks, lungs, trachea, udders, lips, rectums and so forth. He would gripe about the fast food chains gobbling them up. I asked both if they would eat there? They replyed when they found this out they never went back. I have followed this sage advice. I recently saw my dairy in-law at a family event and he re-enforced the original statement.
Remember they say 100% beef! They don't say what part, nor do they say USDA choice.

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Seems like conservatives would want as much erectile dysfunction as possible to protect their virgin daughters, keep gays from from having sex and discourage married men from committing adultery.

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I never quite understand when people say they eat at these places because it's all they can afford. Eating at home/bringing your lunch is always the cheapest option, so if you were really hard up against it, you wouldn't be eating out to begin with. I'm really suspicious of people who claim extreme poverty and still keep dining out. I think it's just an excuse to cover for their junk food addiction. Everybody makes choices, and eating at McDonald's is a choice, not a requirement.

Here's my challenge: Try giving up meat and preparing vegetarian meals at home for one month. See if your food bill doesn't go down and you don't feel better than you have in ages.

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This site does have many interesting articles, but a lot of things just fall under the propaganda category.
First of all, if it weren't for McDonald's, we wouldn't have had the demand necessary for many of our food technologies, and even genetically modified hybrids of many food plants would have been delayed a great many years had it not been for the fast food industry's demand for such products.
Fast food isn't healthy, but it's not unhealthy in small doses. Every food containing a lot of fat and sugar is unhealthy in large doses, including fruits and nuts. The meat industry is making the quality of our meat much worse, but having bits of different cows in one burger is no big deal. While the preservatives are a nasty touch, that's pretty standard fair in any prepackaged food.
Also, they haven't used beef product in their frying oil in quite some time. In fact, since it was made public that they used beef tallow to flavor their french fries, they switched to a food flavoring product over the actual beef itself. Furthermore, what's the big deal if vegetarians were to get a little bit of meat fat in their diet? Meat is an essential part of the human diet, no matter what they want to believe. The problem with meat in the modern diet is that it is viewed as an everyday thing(and often with every meal), when it's really supposed to be maybe once or twice a week.
In fact, the only food that's not harmful to us at all is human breast milk(imagine that), so really, if you eat, it's negatively affecting you in some way, particularly if you eat in excess.
If trees get cut down by industry anywhere in the world, new trees are planted in their place. There are more trees now than there were 180 years ago before the industrial age even began.
McDonald's and General Motors/Disney collaborations? Not really any particular reason to pick on McDonald's for being pro-consumerism in America, considering every fucking company in this country is like that-it's the American way.
Do you really want to eat a McDonald's chicken sandwich, but worried about the extra sodium? Drink more water and then exercise a bit-your body will sweat out the excess while using the rest to properly distribute the water you've drank and help restore your electrolytes. Eating McDonald's on a regular basis will fucking kill you, without a doubt, but so will years of eating meat twice a day at home, particularly if the meat you're eating is not from a local farm(where you can watch the animals being raised on a small scale-tends to be a bit more like their natural habits). Even more importantly, living out a life performing almost no strenuous activity and allowing your heart and lungs to deteriorate to the point of collapse when you're just entering your forties.

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Wow...absolutely the most poorly written, obviously biased and ignorant article I've read on Alternet in an extremely long time...possibly ever. I started to rebut each item, but simply won't have the space to do it without multiple posts, which I'm reluctant to do - although I'm happy to provide a response to each item if someone wants it. Suffice it to say that all of the items are basically an attack being made specifically on McDonald's, for what are generally industry-wide issues, even in the higher end ones...I believe Chili's had 1 or 2 items on the recent listing of worst foods in the world for you to eat.

One has to wonder at the author's intentional attack on one specific company, given the fact that most of the charges could be directed at pretty much any restaurant chain – or even single restaurants. I would guess at least a strong sympathy for, if not allegiance to, vegetarianism or veganism. If true, it's certainly the author's right to hold that view, but it becomes a problem when it interferes with objectivity, which I believe it has, in this case.

I do want to respond to a couple of the items, specifically.

1. "Real food is perishable. With time, it begins to decay...." True! However, low moisture items in a relatively dry environment will not decay nearly as quickly as high moisture items, or any item in a high humidity situation. The key here is HOW they stored this hamburger, as well as the moisture content of the meat and bun when they got it. Here's a revealing Youtube video that refutes this particular argument pretty dramatically, since the burgers obviously decayed pretty quickly. What's really interesting is the results for the French fries, which don't decay at all - at least from a short distance and through the glass. While the person in the video can't understand why, it's simple if you understand the function of deep frying a potato...which is to drive out the water from the fry and replace it with fat. Notice that the French fry jar doesn't develop moisture on the inside of the glass? No moisture = very little decay...isn't anyone familiar with mummification, for crying out loud?
Okay...I can't figure out how to post the link, so I'll spell it out. Go to www DOT youtube DOT com/watch?v=pCfHA7AdjIY

6. I'm sorry...Prince Charles wants to ban McDonald's - and the author considers it worthy of inclusion? Putting aside the Prince's lack of qualifications as a scientist or doctor, how, exactly is banning one specific company going to do anything about the "problem", when it's obvious that nearly all restaurants are apparently equally culpable? Anyone that bothers to think about it for a few seconds will realize that if you COULD close all the McDonald’s tomorrow (and this is the kind of talk that gives ammunition to critics of responsible management of food consumption, and responsible care for the environment and natural resources) that market share would simply shift to the remaining competitors? Do you really think (as the Prince apparently does) that eliminating one purveyor would cause all the people who ate there to suddenly turn vegetarian or something? Get serious.

Looks like I'll have to use two postings after all...sorry.

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8. "The processed fat in McDonald’s food (and other fast food) promotes endothelial dysfunction for up to 5 hours after eating the meal...." Simply not true, based on actual medical observations. Here’s a link to an article that discusses this specific point and rebuts it. Again, I'll spell it out. Go to www DOT proteinpower DOT com/drmike/cardiovascular-disease SLASH fast-food-and-endothelial-dysfunction/

I will include some excerpts to explain the reasoning:

"...One of the ways scientists have developed to measure endothelial function is by what is called flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD).
When the flow of blood increases in an artery, the endothelium secretes substances that make the artery expand (dilate) to better carry the increased flow. When the endothelial cells are working properly they secrete plenty of whatever it takes to make the artery dilate; if the endothelium isn’t working or is inhibited by a drug or other substance or is injured, the cells don’t respond as well to the increased flow and the artery won’t dilate as much as it would were it under the control of a non-impaired endothelium....If I have a baseline reading of your FMD then give you an unknown drug and test again I can tell by how much your artery dilates after the drug as compared to how much it dilated before whether or not the drug is harmful to your endothelium..."

"...The researchers conducting the Hamburg Burger Trial assumed that meal #1, the one containing the real McDonald’s hamburger crawling with saturated fat would knock the FMD test in the dirt and while meals #2 and #3 would show less endothelial damage because, after all, they were vegetarian and had almost none of that nasty saturated fat in them. Plus they had all these good antioxidants that the plain ol’ McDonald’s burger meal didn’t have....Despite differences in fat and saturated fat (which obviously were the only macronutrients these researchers figured would have an effect) note that the massive amount of carbohydrate is almost the same in all three meals.

Knowing what you know about the physiological effect of carbohydrates, what would you expect the results of the FMD studies to be?

You are correct. The reduction in FMD was the same after all three meals...."

(Note: There is a chart attached to the article showing the breakdown of Protein, Carbs and Fats, but it is too long to include here. It is correct, though, that the carbohydrate amounts were very similar in all meals)

"...eating is an inflammatory event just like breathing. We have to do both, but we pay the price. During inflammation the endothelial cells don’t function optimally. So getting rid of the huge load of carbohydrate and the accompanying inflammatory effect of the food (and, don’t forget, high glycemic carbs are the most inflammatory of all the macronutrients) inhibits the normal action of the endothelial cells."



Here’s a link to a related article and video that shows the misinformation being spread on this subject. Go to www DOT proteinpower DOT com/drmike/saturated-fat/abcs-big-meal-propaganda/#more-3186

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The last time I had a Macdonalds Big Mac was fifteen minutes before I drove home from Blackpool to Doncaster.

Leaving Blackpool I joined the M55 which is aprox fifteen miles long .Before I reached half the length of the M55 I had to stop the car three times, rush out and empty my bowels.

I have not had a Macdonds since and my bowels have been regular.

So my advice is if you are constipated go to Macdonalds and be cured

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...but in the days when I had to be up and at work before human beings got out of bed, I used to take a break and get some form of breakfast sandwich several times a week. Sometimes at McDonalds. Been years ago, but they tasted good. < Better for ya than doughnuts IMO

I knew some of it was not good for me....
Have not been in a McDonalds for food in 20 years or I suppose. IN the one in the town where my shop was, you would see the same people there every morning, setting drinking coffee and eating pastries or morning sandwiches. Used stop there on my rounds and get a coffee, till I discovered Arby's coffee was much better..

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It's actually been theorized that without fast food chains, America would be a scurvy ridden nation. Why is that? Because Potatoes are chock full of vitamin C, and sometimes it is the only source of this essential nutrient in the diets of many people in this nation. This is more a problem of poor diet due to personal choice, but still, if it weren't for McD's, imagine how many people would be walking around with their teeth falling out and unable to get through the day without pissing blood or taking a nap? Imagine the large instances of bladder infections and kidney failure that would be brought on, and the countless amounts of jam-packed E.R.'s nationwide with people coming in for complications related to the fact that they haven't eaten a fresh fruit or vegetable or drank a glass of orange juice in months.

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sure the stuff they serve is all sugar, fat, grease, and msg- but so are a lot of the 'foods' you buys at your grocery store. refined, processed, sugar filled garbage. even when you buy fresh produce and meat- the chemicals the food contains are working against our bodies.

it is really a shame that eating healthy is such hard work. research time and money have to be spent in large quantities to ensure you and your family are getting healthy food.

its pitiful that a person could eat a healthier, more balanced and nutritious diet in developing and third world countries across the world. the 'food' as an industry and money making business have yet to catch on in those places (or..the people behind the industry realize that making your citizens fat and sick serves no one in the end)

everyone always asks 'well..why are the french so thin? all they eat is cheeses and sweets and indulge in delicious, rich foods?'

i believe b/c there food is not even close to as chemically altered as americas food.

in a country so obsessed with thin, exercising, gym memberships, pilates, yoga, running nowhere etc. isnt it proof that we are what we eat? which is sugar and chemically filled crap?

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"Containing less fat, salt and sugar, your pet’s food may be healthier than what they serve at McDonald’s."

You really scared me .and i can never walk into Mc' room for my breakfast.
__________________----
M2TS Converter

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I sure believe you. Wish I could get paid to be a corporate tool; surfing the net to be the first loser to make a pro-McDonalds statement before anyone was looking. Alternet should ban your account.

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Banning McDonalds isn't going to solve anything. After all the pressure they got over large portions, many McDonalds got rid of Super Sized fries only to watch as Burger King (which always seems to go under the activist radar) offered super-gigantic portion,( three patties at BK last I checked). Activists and other concerned folk, operating in a rarified realm of moral certitude quite familiar to Puritans, forget that a lot of people are not in the loop, and, since they are also hard to reach--they're deliberately not listening in many cases--they (the activists and concerned folk) often tend to seek legislation to deal with the problem, to make people do what's good for them. Bad idea. When will we realize this?

We see the ruckus the well organized anti-health care reform astro-weed folks are making, spurred on by lobbying firms with deep ties to corporations and the worst of the GOP (as revealed on this website). These folks are arguing against their own best interests, and they're doing it because they're tired of being dictated to (not that they don't want to dictate to others...). From Roe vs Wade to Gay Marriage, the actual civic debate has been removed from the larger discourse, the process, with those concerned rushing to the state houses, congress and the courts when they run out of the short store of patience with which they began their quest.

Yes, McDonalds, BK, Wendys, Jack In The Box and even--OH MARY!--In n Out, are bad for you. So is sugar, salt, fat in general, smoking, drugs (and probably marijuana too) and most forms of fun, however it is ingested or experienced. Life is fatal. Where we're going wrong is that we're not making the effort to reach those on "the other side", most of America as it turns out. America was nominally founded on the idea that well informed people will eventually make the right choice (that the founding fathers were all hypocrites of the first order makes that claim somewhat dubious, but I'm running with it), so we really ought to try to figure out how to reach people as McDonalds is able to reach people.

I'm an occasional BK/McD burgermeister, and Iive in San Francisco, where real food, real GOOD food abounds. I buy organic, rarely eat more than 5oz of meat a day, and turkey and chicken most of the time. So there. I also realize that pasture raised eggs and chickens, not to mention top grade beef, while expensive, is far better tasting than the factory stuff, no matter how much money you save. I'd rather eat a little less, and eat a lot better than eat cheap and stuff my face. I wasn't born this way, my parents are Depression and War babies, "Organic" wasn't part of our lexicon, and it is still something they scoff at. I was touched by the concerned folk, the activists, and I began to listen. I got informed, and I changed my ways. I was not an easy convert.

Stop Preaching! Stop Legislating! Go out and talk to people, show them. And don't go to the interior to bring the gospel, help the people who are there, the people who understand their neighbors, who speak their dialect, to get the word out. Nobody wants uppity out of towners, let alone "snotty city folk" from the Coasts telling them what to do. America needs to rediscover the art and pleasure, the strategy and exhilaration of open debate. Winning isn't necessarily getting the other person or group to accept your ideas, but to consider them, and for you to understand where they're coming from in the process.

When I find myself in that rare situation (these days) where the person I've been arguing with (Politics, Religion, the Middle East) isn't suddenly calling me names and stomping off because I won't regurgitate the accepted local dogma, I find that we eventually discover we're not nearly as far apart as we both figured, and suddenly the we're exploring the common ground instead of fighting over the fringe.

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Ok so after reading countless artilces and reader's comments on alternet here is what I found.

1. MCDONALDS WILL KILL YOU!!! And so will every other fast food restraunt.

2. WHOLE FOODS IS THE DEVIL!!! But every other grocery store is even worse.

3. MEAT EATERS ARE MURDERERS!!! Although most veggies we eat are sprayed with horrible pesticides.

4. BOTTLED WATER DESTROYS THE ENVIRONMENT!!! Although in most local drinking water they have found traces of up to 40 different drugs in a single glass of water.

I'm all for taking care of yourself and being more healthy. But when every article tells you how everything we eat will kill us then why should I care??

Lets think of all the stuff that is bad for you: meat, dairy, fish, sun, smoking, alcohol, sugar, salt, cellphones, microwaves, cars, gasoline, oil, deforestation, abortion, having children, religion, no religion ect................ to infinity................

Just be smart and don't go all Morgan Spurlock on anything for 30 consecutive days.

Get some exercise so you don't have to take the motorized wheel chair.

And always remember "BACON: MAKING LIFE BETTER ONE PIECE AT A TIME!!!"

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Are you telling me all of those cheeseburger Happy Meals I had at McDonald's caused my peter to peter out?

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If you are constipated and feeling bloated I strongly recommen a Big Mac or two. Within one hour your bowels will be relieved and the contents of yous stomach will be flushed out.

You may feel lke shit afterwards but your system will be purged.Big Macs always work for me on the purification of my system on the odd occasion I feel a little unwell

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I like these food so much ;)
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Don't know what scares me worst the McDonald Land commercial or the ED part, lol.

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1 of the most painless means to extinguish the obesity problem in this country would be to give citizens miracle berry so that disgusting healthy food will taste awesome. Since obesity is such a big problem, this could save money when it comes to health care. Ok I'm just kidding!

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