Jaime Oliver vs. McDonald's

Pedestrian Food
I'm a big fan of street food and carinderia food. It's not only cheaper, it delivers an eating experience I don't find anywhere else. Even if I have the money for high-zoot food, I'd still default to my staple.

Times They are a Changin'
But times have become hard. Every conceivable heinous cost-cutting measure is being implemented across the board - battery acid diluted to pass off as vinegar, saw dust as a filler to ground pepper, etc. They've all been on the news. Now, I can't eat street food or carinderia food without that hesitation. If I can't find an eating place I feel comfortable with, I have no choice but to default to something safe - McDonald's.

Jaime Oliver's McDonald's Exposé
As a was StumblingUpon, I caught a Jaime Oliver video of what McDonald's has been feeding the public - animal carcass not fit for human consumption, immersed in a toxic solvent (ammonium hydroxide) to 'sterilize' the meat, later to be served as hamburger.

Let's pause for now and keep 2 things in mind here.

Jaime Oliver and his Career
First, we're not talking about some self-proclaimed Joe who simply wants to make a name for himself by saying nasty things about McDonald's. This is Jaime Oliver - celebrated and well-respected chef who has a running tv show and perhaps a string of endorsements he makes millions from. If he is discredited for any unsubstantiated claim, specially against a big name like McDonald's, his career is over. There is a lot going on the line for him.

The McDonald's Brand
Second, the accused is not some obscure roadside diner - we are talking McDonald's here. McDonald's is a global chain with more than 34,000 branches in 119 countries generating sales in excess of $27.5 billion (2012) - that's more than the GDPs of some countries! Their brand alone is worth hundreds of millions. You would think that they would be very sensitive about any business practice that would adversely impact on their brand (consequently their ability to sell more burgers). Of course, they also have an army of high-priced lawyers to stop anyone dead on their tracks if there is any false accusation against them by anyone.

The Low Down
So, what came out of this? Did Jaime Oliver end up drowning in lawsuits? Is Jaime now on a road curb somewhere waving a sign, "Will Cook Food for Lodging"? What gargantuan might did McDonald's employ to mercilessly avalanche on Jaime's one-man crusade? Here's the lowdown:

McDonald's quietly and discreetly issued a statement saying it will, "change its recipe"

I almost fell out of my chair. If Jaime was lying or didn't get his facts right, McDonald's would have stomped Jamie out like a bug, quicker than a New York cabbie blowing his horn on a green light. And given McDonald's resources, I'm sure they tried to find dirt on Jaime, tried to find out all and every conceivable avenues available to deflect the accusation or water-down its ramification. But no. By issuing such statement, "change its recipe", McDonald's effectively confessed to its wrong doing - feeding glorified dog food to its trusting customers.

Unappetizing Spectre
If I find myself in McDonald's now, everything they serve is suspect. If I buy their P12 ice cream cone, what exactly am I getting? Is it cow's milk? or is it whipped flavored lard doused in white food coloring? If I drink their coffee, just how much of that is real coffee? How much of it came from a lab?

Ending Thoughts
Why am I making a big deal out of this? We're not just talking about McDonald's here. We're talking about the entire food industry. If the biggest name in food cannot be trusted, then who can you trust? What kind of shit do we unknowingly put inside our mouths thinking it's good food? Short of cooking our own food, where do we now go for honest to goodness clean decent food?

--- TheLoneRider

ps - I digress here, but I noticed something equally as compellling. If Lady Gaga's panty line shows up on a tight dress, the media gobbles it up like gangbusters. But if the world's biggest fastfood purveyor serves dog food to its customers and calls it 'hamburger', they look the other way. This validates what David Rockefeller said to the media in a close-door meeting in 1991 with the Bilderberger group when he said, "We are grateful to...(naming major mainstream media players). It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during those years."

Watch the video

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