Life McDonald’s Happy Meal resists decomposition for six months - Page 2

BIG_DADDY · 10-13-2010, 02:03 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot...for-six-months
Tue Oct 12, 1:54 pm ET
McDonald’s Happy Meal resists decomposition for six months
By Brett Michael Dykes

Vladimir Lenin, King Tut and the McDonald's Happy Meal: What do they all have in common? A shocking resistance to Mother Nature's cycle of decomposition and biodegradability, apparently.

That's the disturbing point brought home by the latest project of New York City-based artist and photographer Sally Davies, who bought a McDonald's Happy Meal back in April and left it out in her kitchen to see how well it would hold up over time.

The results? "The only change that I can see is that it has become hard as a rock," Davies told the U.K. Daily Mail.

She proceeded to photograph the Happy Meal each week and posted the pictures to Flickr to record the results of her experiment. Now, just over six months later, the Happy Meal has yet to even grow mold. She told the Daily Mail that "the food is plastic to the touch and has an acrylic sheen to it."

Davies -- whose art has been featured in numerous films and television shows and is collected by several celebrities -- told The Upshot that she initiated the project to prove a friend wrong. He believed that any burger would mold or rot within two or three days of being left on a counter. Thus began what's become known as "The Happy Meal Art Project."

[DIY: Make happier meals for your kids at home -- just don't forget one key tip]

"I told my friend about a schoolteacher who's kept a McDonald's burger for 12 years that hasn't changed at all, and he didn't believe me when I told him about it," Davies told us. "He thought I was crazy and said I shouldn't believe everything that I read, so I decided to try it myself."

[Did you know? Before the Happy Meal, there was the Fun Meal]

Some observers of the photo series have noted that the burger's bun appears at different angles, and therefore aired suspicions that the Happy Meal may not in fact be as "untouched" as the project's groundrules stipulate. Davies says there's a simple explanation for the mobile-bun effect. "The meal is on a plate in my apartment on a shelf," she says, "and when I take it down to shoot it, the food slides around. It's hard as rock on a glass plate, so sure, the food is moving."

Photo courtesy of Sally Davies
Davies' friend was the person who should have done the additional research. Wellness and nutrition educator Karen Hanrahan has indeed kept a McDonald's hamburger since 1996 to show clients and students how resistant fast food can be to decomposition.

As for Davies, she said that she might just keep her burger and fries hanging around for a while as well.

"It's sitting on a bookshelf right now, so it's not really taking up any space, so why not?" she said. It ceased giving off any sort of odor after 24 hours, she said, adding: "You have to see this thing."

In response to Davies' project, McDonald's spokeswoman Theresa Riley emailed The Upshot a statement defending the quality of the chain's food. Riley's email also blasted Davies' "completely unsubstantiated" work as something out of "the realm of urban legends."

"McDonald's hamburger patties in the United States are made with 100% USDA-inspected ground beef," Riley wrote. "Our hamburgers are cooked and prepared with salt, pepper and nothing else -- no preservatives, no fillers. Our hamburger buns are baked locally, are made from North American-grown wheat flour and include common government-approved ingredients designed to assure food quality and safety. ... According to Dr. Michael Doyle, Director, Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, 'From a scientific perspective, I can safely say that the way McDonald's hamburgers are freshly processed, no hamburger would look like this after one year unless it was tampered with or held frozen.'"

**Lzen** · 10-13-2010, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Meat Dragon

I swore off McDonalds food (other than their breakfast food) about 4 years ago and haven't touched any since...

Although around here they have shifted from being ran by ghetto ass black people to hard working mexicans so I'm sure the quality of food/restaurant has improved dramatically...

(it's not racist if it's true, right??)

No, that is still racist.

Hootie · 10-13-2010, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InChiefsHell

Typical "McDonalds is evil" tripe. Yes, they have a bunch of preservatives in their food. It's to keep it fresh for a longer time. I wonder if the same would happen with a Burger King meal, or Wendy's or any other fast food joint for that matter...

I agree...sometimes I order more than I can eat! It's nice that I can wait 12 years on these leftovers and not have to worry about food borne illness!

Hootie · 10-13-2010, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lzen

No, that is still racist.

I figured as much.

I hate how truth can be racist even when it is truth.

Hootie · 10-13-2010, 07:34 AM

Here's a fact:

Minimum wage employees who are Mexican are, 99.9% of the time, MUCH MUCH MUCH better employees than minimum wage black people and minimum wage white people.

If I were in charge, I'd have "illegal" mexicans doing 80% or more of my grunt work (gotta hire some whites and blacks to keep the regulators off your back)...they do it without bitching, generally a smile on their face, are much faster and efficient, and don't bitch every 5 minutes about getting a raise/show up for all of their shifts/the turnover ratio of employment would be minimal.

Which is why every time you go to a chain restaurant (Chilis, Applebees, etc. etc. etc.) your "chefs" are 100% of the time 100% Mexican.

Now they are taking over the fast food industry and in all honesty, as a fast food fan, I couldn't be happier! I was very tired of spitburgers and shitfries.

Hootie · 10-13-2010, 07:35 AM

P.S. This is only because as white people, and as black people...we feel super entitled because this is "our country" (whatever the **** that means) so we feel as if we're above all of the bitch work that pays minimum wage in this country...

Whereas these Mexicans all have at least two full time jobs, are here for one reason (work) and they don't care if it's doing dishes, flipping burgers, mowing lawns, running the grill, or selling crack...they'll do any of it, and they'll do it at 140%...

**Bugeater** · 10-13-2010, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InChiefsHell

Typical "McDonalds is evil" tripe. Yes, they have a bunch of preservatives in their food. It's to keep it fresh for a longer time. I wonder if the same would happen with a Burger King meal, or Wendy's or any other fast food joint for that matter...

Or a burger made at home...

**Bugeater** · 10-13-2010, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Meat Dragon

Here's a fact:

Minimum wage employees who are Mexican are, 99.9% of the time, MUCH MUCH MUCH better employees than minimum wage black people and minimum wage white people.

If I were in charge, I'd have "illegal" mexicans doing 80% or more of my grunt work (gotta hire some whites and blacks to keep the regulators off your back)...they do it without bitching, generally a smile on their face, are much faster and efficient, and don't bitch every 5 minutes about getting a raise/show up for all of their shifts/the turnover ratio of employment would be minimal.

Which is why every time you go to a chain restaurant (Chilis, Applebees, etc. etc. etc.) your "chefs" are 100% of the time 100% Mexican.

Now they are taking over the fast food industry and in all honesty, as a fast food fan, I couldn't be happier! I was very tired of spitburgers and shitfries.

I could care less who is making my grub, but for ****'s sake put someone who speaks and understands English at the drive through.

Hootie · 10-13-2010, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bugeater

I could care less who is making my grub, but for ****'s sake put someone who speaks and understands English at the drive through.

Hahaha...

We have a Baskin Robins and Dunkin Donuts 24/7 shop where I live...and the drive thru greeting is a recording...

all indian people and you can't understand them for shit...they just hit the recording button when you hit the censor and it spouts out their 15 second greeting and tells you to go ahead with your order...clear as day, I'll give 'em that

**Bugeater** · 10-13-2010, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Meat Dragon

Hahaha...

We have a Baskin Robins and Dunkin Donuts 24/7 shop where I live...and the drive thru greeting is a recording...

all indian people and you can't understand them for shit...they just hit the recording button when you hit the censor and it spouts out their 15 second greeting and tells you to go ahead with your order...clear as day, I'll give 'em that

What happens when there is a question about your order and they need to verify it? Wait, I'll tell you what happens...you're ****ed.

Hootie · 10-13-2010, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bugeater

What happens when there is a question about your order and they need to verify it? Wait, I'll tell you what happens...you're ****ed.

well the only thing I order is a medium mint chocolate chip shake so it's pretty hard to **** that shit up...

**Saul Good** · 10-13-2010, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Meat Dragon

P.S. This is only because as white people, and as black people...we feel super entitled because this is "our country" (whatever the **** that means) so we feel as if we're above all of the bitch work that pays minimum wage in this country...

Whereas these Mexicans all have at least two full time jobs, are here for one reason (work) and they don't care if it's doing dishes, flipping burgers, mowing lawns, running the grill, or selling crack...they'll do any of it, and they'll do it at 140%...

Sort of...
Let's say that the Canadian minimum wage was $100 per hour, and they would pay illegal American immigrants $75 per hour. You would have Americans lining up to do that work, so they would be able to choose the best workers even for lowly positions.

Consistent1 · 10-13-2010, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Meat Dragon

P.S. This is only because as white people, and as black people...we feel super entitled because this is "our country" (whatever the **** that means) so we feel as if we're above all of the bitch work that pays minimum wage in this country...

Whereas these Mexicans all have at least two full time jobs, are here for one reason (work) and they don't care if it's doing dishes, flipping burgers, mowing lawns, running the grill, or selling crack...they'll do any of it, and they'll do it at 140%...

You do get that benefit of having a weed and blow dealer in-house for your servers and bartenders quick cash party fixes most of the time for sure.

Fish · 10-13-2010, 08:23 AM

****ing McDonalds.... it quit being actual food a long long time ago.

Do you guys know how Chicken McNuggets are made? In case you didn't...

This is mechanically separated chicken. Chickens are turned into this goop so we can create delicious chicken nuggets and juicy chicken patties. It's obscenely gross and borderline alien but it's not going to stop me from eating nuggets. They're too good.

The process works a little something like this:

Quote:

There's more: because it's crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be refalvored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color.

Yeah, that's just disgustin. But I can't shake my roots. I'm a chicken nugget fan (and all around fat food guy) for life.

http://gizmodo.com/5654066/chicken-n...k-chicken-goop

And on top of that....

Quote:

Interestingly, perhaps even moreso than the above, are ingredients actually purchased from chemical plants that go into the "chicken" nuggets.

Aluminum phosphate and calcium lactate help prevent the rancid vegetable fats in the nuggets from starting to rot visibly and starting to smell disgusting.
Dimethylpolysioxene is added to the oil to prevent starches (and, as you can see, starches aren't just present in the nuggets--they're outright abundant.) from binding.

Problem: this chemical is a carcinogen.

What's more--and you'll like this--it's actually flammable.

Tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) is derived from petroleum and is an antioxidant that is actually sprayed directly on the nugget most of the time to preserve freshness. For those of you familiar with TBHQ, it will come as no surprise to you that TBHQ is a form of butane. Butane is lighter fluid.

That's two flammable ingredients in "chicken" nuggets from McDonalds. I'm starting to suspect that McDonalds is responsible for alleged cases of spontaneous human combustion.

TBHQ is allowed in small quantities by the FDA to be used in our food. This is a good thing that it is at least limited. A single gram of TBHQ, when ingested, can induce nausea, vomiting, delirium, collapse, and worse. Three to six grams of TBHQ can, and have, killed people.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...ets.html?cat=5

Please think twice before buying that new 50 nugget value pack from McDonald's... and don't feed this shit to your kids...

**gblowfish** · 10-13-2010, 08:31 AM

So, you're saying McDonald's is crap?
You get what you pay for!

KCFalcon59 · 10-13-2010, 08:40 AM

I am not giving up my wendy's spicy chicken go wraps for anything.

10-13-2010, 02:03 AM
BIG_DADDY THE RED MENACE Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Texas Casino cash: $2558410	McDonald’s Happy Meal resists decomposition for six months http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot...for-six-months Tue Oct 12, 1:54 pm ET McDonald’s Happy Meal resists decomposition for six months By Brett Michael Dykes Vladimir Lenin, King Tut and the McDonald's Happy Meal: What do they all have in common? A shocking resistance to Mother Nature's cycle of decomposition and biodegradability, apparently. That's the disturbing point brought home by the latest project of New York City-based artist and photographer Sally Davies, who bought a McDonald's Happy Meal back in April and left it out in her kitchen to see how well it would hold up over time. The results? "The only change that I can see is that it has become hard as a rock," Davies told the U.K. Daily Mail. She proceeded to photograph the Happy Meal each week and posted the pictures to Flickr to record the results of her experiment. Now, just over six months later, the Happy Meal has yet to even grow mold. She told the Daily Mail that "the food is plastic to the touch and has an acrylic sheen to it." Davies -- whose art has been featured in numerous films and television shows and is collected by several celebrities -- told The Upshot that she initiated the project to prove a friend wrong. He believed that any burger would mold or rot within two or three days of being left on a counter. Thus began what's become known as "The Happy Meal Art Project." [DIY: Make happier meals for your kids at home -- just don't forget one key tip] "I told my friend about a schoolteacher who's kept a McDonald's burger for 12 years that hasn't changed at all, and he didn't believe me when I told him about it," Davies told us. "He thought I was crazy and said I shouldn't believe everything that I read, so I decided to try it myself." [Did you know? Before the Happy Meal, there was the Fun Meal] Some observers of the photo series have noted that the burger's bun appears at different angles, and therefore aired suspicions that the Happy Meal may not in fact be as "untouched" as the project's groundrules stipulate. Davies says there's a simple explanation for the mobile-bun effect. "The meal is on a plate in my apartment on a shelf," she says, "and when I take it down to shoot it, the food slides around. It's hard as rock on a glass plate, so sure, the food is moving." Photo courtesy of Sally Davies Davies' friend was the person who should have done the additional research. Wellness and nutrition educator Karen Hanrahan has indeed kept a McDonald's hamburger since 1996 to show clients and students how resistant fast food can be to decomposition. As for Davies, she said that she might just keep her burger and fries hanging around for a while as well. "It's sitting on a bookshelf right now, so it's not really taking up any space, so why not?" she said. It ceased giving off any sort of odor after 24 hours, she said, adding: "You have to see this thing." In response to Davies' project, McDonald's spokeswoman Theresa Riley emailed The Upshot a statement defending the quality of the chain's food. Riley's email also blasted Davies' "completely unsubstantiated" work as something out of "the realm of urban legends." "McDonald's hamburger patties in the United States are made with 100% USDA-inspected ground beef," Riley wrote. "Our hamburgers are cooked and prepared with salt, pepper and nothing else -- no preservatives, no fillers. Our hamburger buns are baked locally, are made from North American-grown wheat flour and include common government-approved ingredients designed to assure food quality and safety. ... According to Dr. Michael Doyle, Director, Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, 'From a scientific perspective, I can safely say that the way McDonald's hamburgers are freshly processed, no hamburger would look like this after one year unless it was tampered with or held frozen.'"
Posts: 32,522

10-13-2010, 07:34 AM	#19
Hootie Banned Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Casino cash: $10004900	Here's a fact: Minimum wage employees who are Mexican are, 99.9% of the time, MUCH MUCH MUCH better employees than minimum wage black people and minimum wage white people. If I were in charge, I'd have "illegal" mexicans doing 80% or more of my grunt work (gotta hire some whites and blacks to keep the regulators off your back)...they do it without bitching, generally a smile on their face, are much faster and efficient, and don't bitch every 5 minutes about getting a raise/show up for all of their shifts/the turnover ratio of employment would be minimal. Which is why every time you go to a chain restaurant (Chilis, Applebees, etc. etc. etc.) your "chefs" are 100% of the time 100% Mexican. Now they are taking over the fast food industry and in all honesty, as a fast food fan, I couldn't be happier! I was very tired of spitburgers and shitfries.
Posts: 56,356

10-13-2010, 07:35 AM	#20
Hootie Banned Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Casino cash: $10004900	P.S. This is only because as white people, and as black people...we feel super entitled because this is "our country" (whatever the **** that means) so we feel as if we're above all of the bitch work that pays minimum wage in this country... Whereas these Mexicans all have at least two full time jobs, are here for one reason (work) and they don't care if it's doing dishes, flipping burgers, mowing lawns, running the grill, or selling crack...they'll do any of it, and they'll do it at 140%...
Posts: 56,356

10-13-2010, 08:31 AM	#29
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $16856178 VARSITY	So, you're saying McDonald's is crap? You get what you pay for! Attached Thumbnails
Posts: 41,023

10-13-2010, 08:40 AM	#30
KCFalcon59 MVP Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Topeka, Kansas Casino cash: $-510000	I am not giving up my wendy's spicy chicken go wraps for anything.
Posts: 6,797