Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Pamela Redmond Satran: 14 New But BIZZARE Baby Names
'Vaccine Gap' Puts Pressure On Public Health System
McDonald's burgers built to last
Filed under: Nutrition: Health, Weird But True, Mealtime
Karen Hanrahan is a wellness educator who teaches a workshop titled Healthy Choices for Children. Her class is for parents and is intended to teach them about healthy alternatives to the processed food products so widely available today. To illustrate just how unhealthy some of our diet staples are, she carries with her a rather unusual prop: a 12-year-old McDonald's hamburger.
Before you start cringing in disgust, go have a look at her blog and the burger in question. The plain hamburger Hanrahan says she purchased back in 1996 looks exactly like one you would purchase today. It's not moldy, maggoty or otherwise decomposed. Hanrahan claims to have done nothing at all to preserve the burger other than to store it in a plastic sandwich container. She says that the burger's unchanging appearance over the years illustrates her point: McDonald's hamburgers are not real food.
She writes: "Ladies, Gentleman, and children alike - this is a chemical food. Not one ounce of food value. Or at least value for why we are eating in the first place."
Of course, Hanrahan gets beat up in the comments to her post, but most seem to accept her claim that the burger has survived basically unchanged for over a decade. We aren't big McDonald's eaters around here, but I know plenty of families who are. I wonder if this 12-year-old burger might impact the way they feel about their favorite fast-food stop. Does it give you pause?
Before you start cringing in disgust, go have a look at her blog and the burger in question. The plain hamburger Hanrahan says she purchased back in 1996 looks exactly like one you would purchase today. It's not moldy, maggoty or otherwise decomposed. Hanrahan claims to have done nothing at all to preserve the burger other than to store it in a plastic sandwich container. She says that the burger's unchanging appearance over the years illustrates her point: McDonald's hamburgers are not real food.
She writes: "Ladies, Gentleman, and children alike - this is a chemical food. Not one ounce of food value. Or at least value for why we are eating in the first place."
Of course, Hanrahan gets beat up in the comments to her post, but most seem to accept her claim that the burger has survived basically unchanged for over a decade. We aren't big McDonald's eaters around here, but I know plenty of families who are. I wonder if this 12-year-old burger might impact the way they feel about their favorite fast-food stop. Does it give you pause?
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
How to Make Organic Burgers
Founder of Fresh Daisy organic baby foods Gerrie Hawes shows us how to cook delicious burgers for toddlers and grown ups.
-
Barbecue Bliss
Some of the happiest dad memories can come from barbecuing in the backyard during the great weather. Sprinklers, bounce houses, and pools always do the trick for the kids. Burgers, dogs buns are the recipe for food fun. Invite a few couples and their kids to round out the company and crack open a cold one.
-
Burger King To Offer Delivery
Burger King is venturing into the world of home delivery of its food. The fast food chain is testing out delivery with four of its restaurants in Washington, D.C. The chain is counting on its "proprietary thermal packaging technology" to avoid soggy burgers. Maureen Aladin thinks this is a soggy idea.
-
How to Make a Big Mac Burger
The first McDonald's franchise opened April 15, 1955 and thirteen years later the company introduced one of their most popular burgers: the Big Mac. WatchMojo shows you a recipe for our version of the good ole McDonald's Big Mac.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 5 of 7)
9-27-2008 @ 6:33PM
Bilbo said...Eating food that the "experts" deem to be "healthy" makes you ugly, inside and out. Eat McD's and be a happy camper. If the burger lasts that long, imagine how long you'll last. QED.
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 6:44PM
Cearralyn said...There is absolutely NO way that is true! I have also forgotten about half-eaten McDonald's hamburgers...and they DO not stay looking like they did when I bought them. This woman is LYING, and people should not be so gullible when it comes to believing idiocy.
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 6:44PM
Yael said...You want to know why there were so many negative comments here, without a shred of objective evidence to back them up, not even "I heard it from my mother's chiropractor's dog'sveterinarian's assistant"? There are idiots who dis *everything* on the Web, and always the same way: "Well, I just don't believe that," with no evidence. It makes them feel !!!IMPORTANT!!!, and has little, if anything to do with the accuracy or value of what they're putting down. Tell them that the sky is blue, they'll claim it's purple, and someone goes out to check, and sure enough, it's blue, and they say, "How do you know *that*?" with a sneer. High-school-from-Hell know-it-alls is all they are.
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 10:01PM
KARIN said...Yael, if nobody ever questioned the "experts" on anything, then we would still be believing that the earth was flat and that the universe revolves around it.
9-27-2008 @ 6:56PM
Mark said...Sadly, you people are not very smart. The movie Supersize me, Was a complet, Way idiotic, over dramatization. No one should eat McDonalds that much, Or anything that much. However, If you eat at McDonalds every once in a while its ok. I, eat there at least once a week, But i exercise too. I don't sit on my couch and rot. And im health and fine. Don't OVEREAT McDonalds, But that doesn't mean never go there.
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 6:52PM
Impossible said...Lets get something straight. I don't care how much processing you put any food through, it will still decompose if nothing is done with it. In fact for less than a couple of dollars you can test this out. By a couple of burgers from McDonald's and do as she did and see how fast they decompose. The only way to stop the decomposition of organic material is to freeze it. In fact, I think I may do this experiment. I will record the whole thing and will add a time lapsed version to Youtube, just to prove this loony wrong. Lets get something straight. You can't use the word chemical to scare people away from something. Water is a chemical. Should we stay away from that?
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 7:15PM
john said...The Mc D's hamburger I ate 17 years ago is still in my stomach. It hasn't completed the digestive stage yet.
www.shopnplay.com
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 7:24PM
jlw said...My last ingestion of a McD's burger was in the early 70's and I've certainly not missed them. All calories and minimum to minus food value. Have we been in such a hurry that we've settled for food (term used very loosely) of this sub-quality?????????
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 7:59PM
danny said...FAKe first off if you say its from 1996 then prove it show the 96 wrapper or the recipt from the burger. second why would you put the burger on a modern wrapper for show. i work in the media and the last thing you want is to have a pictue that conridicts what you just said.
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 7:52PM
Tina said...I know for a fact that type of fast food never seems to rot. When I was a teenager I had a friend who was awlays leaving bags of half eaten food in his car and when he would clean out his car (eventually) the food never had mold or was decomposed in any way. You just know they are so loaded with chemicals that even the bugs and mold won't touch it! GROSS! I'm glad we don't eat that poison!
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 8:00PM
cannotbelievethis said...Nope, I believe it. I worked at McD's when all they claimed was that their burgers were "100% meat" (not necessarily beef). I've kept McD's burgers in platic bags at home, all that happened was the lettuce would start looking weird after about a week...
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 8:02PM
cannotbelievethis said...Nope, I believe it. I worked at McD's when all they claimed was that their burgers were "100% meat" (not necessarily beef). I've kept McD's burgers in platic bags at home, all that happened was the lettuce would start looking weird after about a week...
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 8:03PM
hummm said...this is crap the bun would of molded after a a couple weeks!!!!!!
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 8:11PM
crispyotb said...Funny. The burger I bought on last Friday evening that my son ddn't eat so I decided to put it in the fridge, was moldy by this Friday...someone's full of crap!
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 9:12PM
David said...I have 12 year old honey which isn't moldy, maggoty, or otherwise decomposed. Is honey not real food? Is the tendency to mold or rot a requirement for food to be "real"?
Reply
9-28-2008 @ 2:19PM
Renee' said...When cleaning out my car I found a french fry from McDonalds, and the french fry looked nearly exactly the same as when I bought it several months earlier for my son. I will buy a burger and try putting it in a plastic container in the fridge for about three months and see what happens. Maybe we should try this with different types of fast food and processed foods, for our children's sake as well as our own. I think a fair test would also be to put a sandwich made with home cooked ingredients such as homemade chicken salad or tuna and see what happens.
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 10:16PM
Gary said...The 12-year-old McD burger? We all knew that a long time ago! Ray Kroc's corporate marketing philosophy was well thought out: If we can make these things fast enough, let's get Madison Avenue to tell the world they'r good for you, then we can sell 'em by the billions! Ever notice, how, in recent years, the advertising rarely even mentions the quality of the food at all, everyone knows it's pure shit, but has become engrained into the American lifestyle to such a degree, people don't even THINK about how good or bad it is, because it's a McDonalds! One good thing, though, it's made billions of dollars for the advertising industry, and has given White Castle's gut-busters a real run for their money!
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 10:16PM
Sheila . said...Dear Karen, This article about the McD's hamburger, was so right on the mark! My family and I "never" eat at fast-food restaurants..I have insisted for so many years that we "only" eat at normal, real food restaurants..especially since my husband was told by our doctor to watch his cholesterol and fat intake..I try so hard to limit his fat consumption, but men can be so stubborn..His favorite snack is popcorn that has been popped on the stove the old-fashioned way, with oil..Then he used to literally pour more of the "popcorn oil" on top when it was done popping..I finally nagged him enough to use something smarter to season it with, so he switched to smart-balance butter spray..at least he's trying!! Thanks for sharing this wonderful article..Sheila V. Cumberland R.I.
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 10:22PM
kelly said...yeah right. I just don't believe that.....she kept that burger for 12 years? NOT!!!!
Reply
9-27-2008 @ 10:27PM
Terry said...It is not preserved because of the 'chemicals'. The meat pattie is thin enough to have been preserved by dehydration before it rotted. Same with the bun---dehydrated before it could mold. In all likelyhood, one could probably EAT that monstrosity without a significant impact on your health. Dehydration has been a method of preserving food for hundreds of years.
Reply