Killing me softly with his fries...killing me softly...with his fries...

a reply to: Dr UAE

Imagine what that does to your guts, 8 and half years and no mould or breakdown of cells. Future generations will be finding perfectly preserved bodies 100s of Years after they were buried, kinda like us finding mummies in Egypt.

When I travel I do notice most people are fat nowadays, not just Americans.

originally posted by: Dr UAE
a reply to: SoulSurfer

have you seen this one

Lol, I hadn't seen that but Iceland is not in the EU, just the EEA (trading deal) maybe McD's can sell the crap they sell in America in Iceland? I'll do a bit of searching and see what the deal is there.
It'll be strange if McD's Iceland sell the same additive ridden food as McD's US, my spidey conspiracy senses will go on overdrive.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

you should watch this video when you have time, its an eye opener, i watched it 7 years ago

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

yes me thinks its the chemicals that are added like HFCS (High-fructose corn syrup) watch the video that i posted from you tube its an interesting one and worth watching, that is when you have the time

originally posted by: Dr UAE
a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

you should watch this video when you have time, its an eye opener, i watched it 7 years ago

I just chuckled reading that Iceland doesn't have a McD's anymore, either they kicked them out or the company deemed it unviable to trade there. LMAO.
I wonder what the gig is up there.

a reply to: Dr UAE

I haven't seen that video but have spent plenty of time learning about how bad sugar and even worse than sugar the artificial sweeteners they use in diet products like aspartame and others. I have an interest because my son has a bit of adhd and removing sugars, colors and preservatives out of his diet has made a big difference. Anyhow I will check the video out.

Great post...I have always wanted to do a thread like this.

I have worked in the food industry all my working life. Now I work as a trainer in food manufacturing processes, I have worked in a lot of different factories around the U.K.

And I have seen the various additives, chemicals and other crap goes into our processed foods here.

But there are other banned foods that need to be addressed; like US dairy products and meat, although banned here because of the growth hormones that have been added , they are starting slip in under the radar in the guise of sweets and biscuits

I've honestly thought about moving to the U.S. but the main thing which makes me think twice isn't guns or anything like that, it's your food. In particular your McD food looks so artificial compared to the McD food in Australia where we use 100% aussie beef for the burgers and it really does make all the difference. I have a feeling you guys in the U.S. don't even know what a great McD burger tastes like, but you're happy with what you have nevertheless because it's all you've ever tasted.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy
There are no McD's in Iceland. The three (or four) that operated there closed in 2009, due to the economic crisis at that time. All the ingredients were imported from Germany -- even the onions!

Viz eg: McDonald's pulls out of Iceland (BBC report, 27 Oct 2009.)

However, McD's has "development plans in Iceland" (Iceland mag, May 2017), so one day we may hear people there saying:





... Sorry about that...

Well that explains why the McDonalds in London fries were horrible. When I bought them I remember at the time thinking how bad they were when I normally love McDonalds fries.

Even fries that are made from nothing but sliced and peeled potatoes are horrible for you if fried. I read something about eating fried potatoe products twice a week or more doubled your chances of heart disease. Potatoes are very porous and absorbent like a hard little sponge. So it makes sense that eating a sponge soaked in fryer oil would be bad for you not to mention the added chemicals. So it’s really a toss up will the chemicals/cancer get you first or the heart attack. I love any potatoe based food but I rarely finish fries from fast food spots and I bake them when I make them at home, I also go for a small fry not the extra mega super large for another .39 cent.

originally posted by: FredT the poorer among us have no choice when it comes to food.

entirely this. hence the poorer are served s##t. in food matters as so many others. in the US, here, and everywhere else.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder
I do a bit of garbage gardening, replanting from the produce items that I have already eaten. This year though is a bit slow because it has been cold and dry for so long. The seed potatoes, carrots, and cabbage will be going in about two months later than usual. The pumpkin, tomatoes, callaloo, and yucca are coming along nicely. Not sure what the neighbors have in ground at this time but one of my neighbors sent me over a good amount of kale the other day. Since something grows year round in Florida you can eat fresh from the garden almost daily.

I am not a big meat eater. Fish and poultry mostly. My brother lives walking distance from me. He used to do goats, but gave them up when he hurt his back in a car accident, now he does mainly chickens. Being in the country makes it a bit easier to avoid the packaged and processed foods.

I haven't eaten from a fast food burger joint in over twenty years. I have eaten fast food when offered it at an event, or at the home of a friend, but I don't buy fast food. I am noticing an a big increase in the number of people that are doing organic and fresh over processed. Which is good for my brother because he can't keep up with the demand, right now. Of course he is serving a niche market. There is definitely more people that aren't as picky about what they eat in America than those that are.

It is kind of funny when you think about it. Americans turn their nose up at cultures that eat rat, dog, and insects, but hungrily gobble down foods when they have no clue to what ingredients are really in the foods they eat. Buyer beware should be stamped on every product sold in America. Even some of those organic products can't be trusted, especially the honey.

I always get a dog. ( no! as a pet!)

about ever 3 years I for get and buy um! food?
from mc'D or some other.
I give some to my dog, frys or some of the burger.
the dog just looks at it, then at me.
"thinking is this a new toy? its not food!"

but if I go to a English Chip shop.
she will eat Any thing I bring back.
dogs have a Very good sense of smell.
and a survival instinct. humans have lost theirs.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

I don't think there's any conscious motivation to actually 'kill' people. Instead it's about greed and profits, and the special interest lobbies which are allowed to exist in order to influence crooked politicians with money and favors. This, to increase the bottom line of some public company by one hundredth of a percent. Businesses such as McDonald's and many others have such tremendous volumes that the hundredth's of a percent actually mean something...big bucks for a select few.

Some would argue this is an inherent problem of capitalism, but unfortunately the alternative is even worse. The real problem is corruption of the political system. You happen to live in a very liberal society (at the moment), so government regulation follows accordingly. (Trust me, this won't last, but that's another thread). The US, both liberal AND conservative, has been corrupted by money politics.

Probably not a big deal for most unless you eat french fries 24x7 and gobs of them. However, your underpinning argument still stands...it's across the board. And yes, it's wrong.

From my perspective though, I think we are starting to see that change. Ingredients are being more carefully scrutinized than ever, and people are waking up to these cost saving measures which are poisoning people. More importantly, consumers are willing to pay more for foods which don't contain these items. And, there's more...

There's also another angle to this, but we have to look beyond fries to see it. Fries are a prepared food with a shelf-life measured in minutes. Other foods need to have a shelf-life measured in days, weeks and months. The lower the shelf-life the more the waste and this waste costs is built right back into the product price...again, all for the bottom line of corporations. So, to drive down costs and remain competitive companies add preservatives in order to increase shelf-life and reduce waste. AND...

There's even one more angle to this...product liability. The US is a far more lawsuit happy country than the UK. People sue everybody for the most trivial things...and win! Consequently, foods have to have all sorts of preservatives in them (all the stuff you can't pronounce) to avoid product liability. In this case, the people have brought these poisons onto themselves (unknowingly) in some respects.

And then lastly there's society. There used to be a time when people took it for granted they'd have to walk to the store to get fresh bread on a daily basis. Now, they expect bread to keep in their house for weeks. You can't have both, and people are too lazy to walk anywhere now, and they're too cheap to buy fresh bread every day as well.

None of the above should be viewed as excuses, but rather explanations why things are the way they are.

I too hope they change.

originally posted by: buddha
but if I go to a English Chip shop.
she will eat Any thing I bring back.

Agreed, a classic independent British chippy beats McD's hands down every time. My usual choice is battered sausage, chips, and curry sauce, sometimes I'll go gravy though.
I'm nipping into town to do some shopping now, and I'll buy some crap from McD's because they are next to the nearest ATM. At least my fries won't contain a cocktail of additives though, just potatoes, oil, and salt.

An ironic personal story about the same subject...

When I was in college I worked part-time for a trucking company. One of the big products they hauled were McDonald's french fries (notice I didn't say 'potatoes', but 'french fries'). They hauled them out of Idaho to points all over the country, 80,000 lbs at a time.

One day they had a brand new truck hit a moose while driving through Wyoming. It was just before a bridge over a river. Sadly, the driver was killed and the truck completely destroyed. In addition, the trailer split open on the bridge and dumped the entire load of french fries into the river below. It was considered a toxic waste spill and even required environmental agencies to oversee the cleanup effort. Just think about the irony of that one!! One agency sees the product as a toxic waste, not okay even for fish to eat, while another agency feels it's perfectly fine for people (not fish) to eat it, yet both agencies report up the very same food chain.

Pretty laughable if you ask me!

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
the trailer split open on the bridge and dumped the entire load of french fries into the river below. It was considered a toxic waste spill and even required environmental agencies to oversee the cleanup effort. Just think about the irony of that one!! One agency sees the product as a toxic waste, not okay even for fish to eat, while another agency feels it's perfectly fine for people (not fish) to eat it, yet both agencies report up the very same food chain.

Man that is a truly tragic story!
Perhaps it was the extra additives in the fries, I wonder if the UK Environment Agency would react the same if it happened here, only oil, potato, and salt.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

What's the conspiracy? Are fast food restaurants being paid by the medical/pharmaceutical industry? That would prove a conspiracy. When I read your OP, I see two different things being compared as if they're similar. On the UK side, we have an explanation of preparation. On the US side we have an ingredients list. To compare the two is not an exercise that will yield any telling information.

What you're seeing on the US side is what is in the oil they cook it in (ALL of the ingredients in the oil) but the UK version doesn't list the ingredients in the oil they use. Here's a list of what's in cooking oils

Look, restaurants (like all businesses) have a vested interest in keeping their customers alive. It's a poor model to kill your customers off or make them ill. Of course, they have to have a product people want to eat as well, so there is a balancing act going on. We can't have 50 different restaurants selling raw broccoli, no one would go out to eat.