Dave Draper and Fast Food

[Guest guest]

I know that members have mentioned this book to the group in the past, so for a

unique insight on the fast food industry, I recommend reading

Schlosser's " Fast Food Nation. "

Regards,

Ken Jakalski

Lisle, Illinois

[Guest guest]

FWIW,

I have read fast food nation and several others of its ilk, and I will come

out with the heterodoxical opinion. I *LIKE* Mcs. For me, Mcs

offers a tasty (IMO), inexpensive alternative to some other foods. I eat a

hell of a lot of cottage cheese, fruit, vegetables, steak, fish, etc. as

part of my main staple diet. McD's is a " once in a while " food, not an

everyday type of thing. Looked at in that sense, I think the availability

of McD's is a positive thing. Also, for working class people, it provides a

cheap, fast, place to take the family for dinner. Sure, it is not " healthy "

food, but a healthy diet can still exist even with an occasional Big Mac, or

whatever. It is the totality of the diet, not an occasional food that will

make or break it.

Furthermore, many fast food restaurants have some pretty healthy choices.

's Chili comes to mind. In regards to the fries, if I recall

correctly, Childs was a big fan of Mc's fries. Because they

taste good. I'd love to have a cheap, tasty nutritious alternative

available at 12:00 am when I have a five minute break from my job. I am not

aware of many.

I agree that obesity is a problem, especially in the US, but instead of

people attacking Mcs (which people have the choice to patronize or

not) where are all the people offering cheap, tasty, fast, and hot

alternatives for the same demographic?

Whitney Richtmyer

Seattle, WA

Dave Draper and Fast Food

> I know that members have mentioned this book to the group in the past, so

for a

> unique insight on the fast food industry, I recommend reading

> Schlosser's " Fast Food Nation. "

>

> Regards,

>

> Ken Jakalski

> Lisle, Illinois

>

>

>

> Modify or cancel your subscription here:

>

> mygroups

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Two things to consider about fast food not explicitly mentioned by

Draper:

1) While the sheer quantity of fat in fast food meals is bad, it's

nothing in comparison to the fact that a large portion of those oils

are oxidized through excessive and repeated heating. You know those

anti-oxidant pills you take to prevent cancer? Well, the PUFA's that

have been heated, reheated, filtered, and reused until they taste so

bad the restaurant can't get away with reusing them any more

are chock full of oxidants that promote cancer and trans-fatty acids

that cause immediate dysfunction of the cardiovascular system - far

worse than mere saturated fats. Once in the system, the unnatural

trans-fatty acids can also supplant their 'cis' counterparts and

disrupt the body's ability to create cell membranes and hormones -

resulting in defective ones. I consider oxidized oils and partially

hydrogenated oils unfit for human consumption, period. I will not

eat deep fried food from restaurants - especially fast food.

2) The high Glycemic Index carbohydrates abundant in fast food, are

at least as promotive of obesity as the fat content. The bleached

flour, peeled potatos, and caseinate compounds trigger insulin surges

that promote fat storage and roller-coaster energy levels. In

addition, these carbs have no other food value: no vitamins,

minerals, phytochemicals, fiber, etc... Many people don't know that

Mcs french fries aren't even potatoes - they are a pureed

mixture of bleached potato, and synthetic caseinate compounds

(tasteless, odorless " food glue " ) which is then pressed through tubes

and sliced into fry-shaped pieces upon expulsion from the machine.

Any fast-food meat product that has been formed into an unnatural

shape (chicken nuggets, patties, mcrib, etc..) is created in much the

same way.

Wilbanks

Madison, WI

> FWIW,

>

> I have read fast food nation and several others of its ilk, and I

will come

> out with the heterodoxical opinion. I *LIKE* Mcs. For me,

Mcs

> offers a tasty (IMO), inexpensive alternative to some other foods.

I eat a

> hell of a lot of cottage cheese, fruit, vegetables, steak, fish,

etc. as

> part of my main staple diet. McD's is a " once in a while " food,

not an

> everyday type of thing. Looked at in that sense, I think the

availability

> of McD's is a positive thing. Also, for working class people, it

provides a

> cheap, fast, place to take the family for dinner. Sure, it is

not " healthy "

> food, but a healthy diet can still exist even with an occasional

Big Mac, or

> whatever. It is the totality of the diet, not an occasional food

that will

> make or break it.

>

> Furthermore, many fast food restaurants have some pretty healthy

choices.

> 's Chili comes to mind. In regards to the fries, if I recall

> correctly, Childs was a big fan of Mc's fries. Because

they

> taste good. I'd love to have a cheap, tasty nutritious alternative

> available at 12:00 am when I have a five minute break from my job.

I am not

> aware of many.

>

> I agree that obesity is a problem, especially in the US, but

instead of

> people attacking Mcs (which people have the choice to

patronize or

> not) where are all the people offering cheap, tasty, fast, and hot

> alternatives for the same demographic?

>

> Whitney Richtmyer

> Seattle, WA

>

> >

[Guest guest]

From: " Whit " <whittt@...>

> I have read fast food nation and several others of its ilk, and I will

come

> out with the heterodoxical opinion. I *LIKE* Mcs.

<delurk>

Hardly a heterodoxical opinion, given their proud claims of " 4.5 kazillion

sold " !

>For me, Mcs

> offers a tasty (IMO), inexpensive alternative to some other foods. I eat

a

> hell of a lot of cottage cheese, fruit, vegetables, steak, fish, etc. as

> part of my main staple diet. McD's is a " once in a while " food, not an

> everyday type of thing. Looked at in that sense, I think the availability

> of McD's is a positive thing. Also, for working class people, it provides

a

> cheap, fast, place to take the family for dinner.

May I quote Alice Waters (of Chez Panisse) :

" When you buy fast food, you get fast-food values. You may think you're only

getting off with a halfway-toxic hamburger, but it is a whole lot more than

that. Maybe you know that it is destroying the land, but you're also getting

unconscious messages: labor is cheap, food is cheap, people should eat in a

hurry, children should be entertained while they're eating, that everything

should be the same all the time. "

>snip

> I'd love to have a cheap, tasty nutritious alternative

> available at 12:00 am when I have a five minute break from my job. I am

not

> aware of many.

Do you own a Thermos?

<lurk>

T. Sims

SD CA USA

[Guest guest]

Whit wrote:

> I agree that obesity is a problem, especially in the US, but

>instead of people attacking Mcs (which people have the choice

>to patronize or not) where are all the people offering cheap, tasty,

>fast, and hot alternatives for the same demographic?

How about at home ... with the family? Strange concept these days,

but hey, I've always been at the fringe.

Christian Cernovich

Malibu, CA

[Guest guest]

> > I agree that obesity is a problem, especially in the US, but

> >instead of people attacking Mcs (which people have the choice

> >to patronize or not) where are all the people offering cheap, tasty,

> >fast, and hot alternatives for the same demographic?

It's starting to show up, at least in the malls and strip malls. Chiba,

Teriyaki Temple, Zen...

Rice (occasionally brown rice!), stir-fried meat and veggies, and some

sauce. Not perfect, but better than Mc's.

> How about at home ... with the family? Strange concept these days,

> but hey, I've always been at the fringe.

Sure. I'm not so good a cook that I want to eat only my own cooking, but

I'd rather Thermos rice beans and yogurt for a week - I'd rather go hungry -

than eat in a Mc's.

Bonus Thermos food recipe:

Quart yogurt

Pint salsa

Two (15 oz) cans of beans, I like black beans with jalapenos

8-9 cups brown rice.

Lunch for a hearty eater for a week.

> Christian Cernovich

> Malibu, CA

Kurland, Austin and Chicago

[Guest guest]

>Many people don't know that

>Mcs french fries aren't even potatoes - they are a pureed

>mixture of bleached potato, and synthetic caseinate compounds

>(tasteless, odorless " food glue " ) which is then pressed through tubes

>and sliced into fry-shaped pieces upon expulsion from the machine.

While Mcs food maybe many things, and I personally wouldn't touch the

stuff, having worked for the largest supplier of McDs fries, I can assure

you that Mcs fries are genuine sliced potatoes.

Matt Ellard

Wolverhampton, U.K.

[Guest guest]

They weren't real potatoes about 10 years ago when they offered them

to the independent fast food restaurant I worked for. I know this

holds still holds true for chicken nuggets and such - there's no

other way to get the shredded chicken to hold that shape.

Wilbanks

Madison, WI

> >Many people don't know that

> >Mcs french fries aren't even potatoes - they are a pureed

> >mixture of bleached potato, and synthetic caseinate compounds

> >(tasteless, odorless " food glue " ) which is then pressed through

tubes

> >and sliced into fry-shaped pieces upon expulsion from the machine.

>

>

> While Mcs food maybe many things, and I personally wouldn't

touch the

> stuff, having worked for the largest supplier of McDs fries, I can

assure

> you that Mcs fries are genuine sliced potatoes.

>

>

> Matt Ellard

> Wolverhampton, U.K.

[Guest guest]

While that is true about their meat products you have been massively

misinformed about frozen French fry production. As stated I am no fan of

Mcs, their foods or their practices, but their fries are the highest

quality potato products.

Go take a tour round a frozen fry manufacturing plant, its a much simpler

process than you imagine!

Matt Ellard

Wolverhampton, U.K.

Re: Dave Draper and Fast Food

They weren't real potatoes about 10 years ago when they offered them

to the independent fast food restaurant I worked for. I know this

holds still holds true for chicken nuggets and such - there's no

other way to get the shredded chicken to hold that shape.

Wilbanks

Madison, WI

[Guest guest]

I looked up the process on the net, and I can't find any evidence for

my theory of fry production. The owner of the fast food place where I

worked told me that based on his understanding of the McD's suppliers'

products that were offered to him. That was many years ago. I

suppose either he was wrong, or I garbled up the info with the

processed meat info over the years.

Wilbanks

Madison, WI

> While that is true about their meat products you have been massively

> misinformed about frozen French fry production. As stated I am no

fan of

> Mcs, their foods or their practices, but their fries are the

highest

> quality potato products.

>

> Go take a tour round a frozen fry manufacturing plant, its a much

simpler

> process than you imagine!

>

> Matt Ellard

> Wolverhampton, U.K.

>

>

>

> Re: Dave Draper and Fast Food

>

>

> They weren't real potatoes about 10 years ago when they offered them

> to the independent fast food restaurant I worked for. I know this

> holds still holds true for chicken nuggets and such - there's no

> other way to get the shredded chicken to hold that shape.

>

> Wilbanks

> Madison, WI