Tuesday, July 19, 2005 |
14:28 - When you hear the secret word, scream real loud
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Documentarian/author Morgan Spurlock would appear to envision himself as a modern Upton Sinclair. Too bad for him, though, that the modern-day "Jungle" is way less scandalous a place than he appears to want us to believe.
Spurlock writes the following of a McDonalds hamburger:
"It tastes kinda like meat, but more like an industrialized meat-flavored substitute."
He then spends a paragraph detailing what he feels are the more unappetizing features of a McDonalds hamburger patty. In truth, McDonalds' hamburgers are made with 100% beef (scroll down to the "beef patty" ingredients). It is USDA inspected. The restaurant adds salt and pepper after cooking. That's it. No additives or preservatives. No filler. No beef flavor enhancers.
However in this writer's opinion, it's true, McDonalds hamburgers don't taste nearly as good as they once did. But that isn't because the company uses anything other than beef. It's because the beef they are using is leaner than it once was. Several years ago, the chain capitulated to nutrition activists, and began to use leaner ground beef in its hamburgers. The result? A less juicy, less savory, slightly more rubbery beef patty. That's why your local, independent burger joint probably tastes better (that, and the fact that McDonalds has no choice but to freeze its beef -- many smaller operators use never-frozen beef).
Morgan Spurlock Watch is certainly full of good reading material, and it's balanced—pointing out where Spurlock is right as well as where he's wrong. It's hard to avoid the conclusion, though, that some people just aren't happy even in what by any historical standard is a paradise beyond measure: such people are only fulfilled by ruining it for everyone else.
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