I don't know what any of these are: Ammonium Sulfate, Ammonium Chloride, Dough Conditioners (May Contain One or More of: Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, DATEM, Ascorbic Acid, Azodicarbonamide, Mono and Diglycerides, Ethoxylated Monoglycerides, Monocalcium Phosphate, Enzymes, Guar Gum, Calcium Peroxide), Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Calcium Propionate and/or Sodium Propionate (Preservatives)
Please note, I'm not trying to go all "dihydrogen monoxide" here, because I do know and understand that modern food, and as a result modern global health, processes rely on chemicals with names like the above ingredients.
Also, maybe more viscerally, I'd wager that the McDonald's bun is one of those food items that has an unrefrigerated shelf life approaching infinity. (/s?). To think that something that even bacteria and molds won't be able to eat and break down is going to enter my body as sustenance...that's a little unsettling. At least with the supermarket bread I've posted, it probably won't last more than a week or two on the kitchen counter. In my uneducated opinion, that probably means that things like that won't linger around in my body too long to cause any lasting impacts, good or bad.
Now let's see what's in the bread at Panera, or the bun at Five Guys or Shake Shack, or the tortilla at Chipotle. If you're expecting artisan bread baked early that morning by a master chef, you're going to be sorely disappointed.
I agree... I don't think that other chains necessarily make more "natural" food than McDonalds and I wasn't really trying to draw out that comparison. I'm not a paleo/organic advocate by any means. "Country base" and "natural base" are euphemisms if I've heard them. Those places do have a better marketing tact though.
But if you scan this entire thread as it grows (like the previous 6 "McDonald's is in trouble" threads on HN over the past year), you'll see that mantra repeated over and over. The food is shit. The upscale food is better.
It's an image McDonald's knows they need to combat and their newest ad campaigns are already working on that angle.
I'm not defending MCD by any stretch of the imagination. But it's amazing how the food was just fine when the economy was in the shitter and people got by on $1 McDoubles. Now that things are turning around and wages are microscopically better, suddenly everyone's a foodie and that $11 2000-calorie Chipotle lunch is a feel-good while the McDouble is dog food.
> To think that something that even bacteria and molds won't be able to eat and break down is going to enter my body as sustenance...that's a little unsettling.
Do you eat salt? Dried pasta? Rice? Honey? None of these things really go off, either.
> It means that there's nothing that strange about a McDonald's burger not rotting. Any burger of the same shape will act the same way. The real question is, why?
TL;DR: moisture content is the issue. If you get a thin, dry piece of supermarket bread it'll sit there forever too.
Well I think this depends. I think most people who avoid McDonalds are the kind of people who also read the ingredients of the products they buy, so they would choose a bread with much fewer preservatives etc. The in-store bakery bread also has fewer ingredients by a long way. Eg. Tesco white rolls: Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Yeast, Salt, Wheat Gluten, Emulsifier (Mono- and Di-Acetyltartaric Esters of Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids), Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid)
(at least that list is reasonable so I can look them all up!)
I don't know what any of these are: Ammonium Sulfate, Ammonium Chloride, Dough Conditioners (May Contain One or More of: Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, DATEM, Ascorbic Acid, Azodicarbonamide, Mono and Diglycerides, Ethoxylated Monoglycerides, Monocalcium Phosphate, Enzymes, Guar Gum, Calcium Peroxide), Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Calcium Propionate and/or Sodium Propionate (Preservatives)
Please note, I'm not trying to go all "dihydrogen monoxide" here, because I do know and understand that modern food, and as a result modern global health, processes rely on chemicals with names like the above ingredients.
Also, maybe more viscerally, I'd wager that the McDonald's bun is one of those food items that has an unrefrigerated shelf life approaching infinity. (/s?). To think that something that even bacteria and molds won't be able to eat and break down is going to enter my body as sustenance...that's a little unsettling. At least with the supermarket bread I've posted, it probably won't last more than a week or two on the kitchen counter. In my uneducated opinion, that probably means that things like that won't linger around in my body too long to cause any lasting impacts, good or bad.