Life McDonald’s Happy Meal resists decomposition for six months - Page 3

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.'"

Deberg_1990 · 10-13-2010, 09:07 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??)

Actually McD's has been working on a makeover the past few years. Converting a lot of their stores to "McCafes" to compete with starbucks and a better image.
Posted via Mobile Device

Frosty · 10-13-2010, 09:15 AM

So - processed food doesn't spoil as fast as fresh food? Color me shocked!

MTG#10 · 10-13-2010, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Fish

****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:

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....

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...

http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/msm.asp

seclark · 10-13-2010, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Fish

****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...

uh...that tastes like chicken?
sec

ClevelandBronco · 10-13-2010, 09:36 AM

That tears it. I'm having myself breaded and deep fried when I die.

BIG_DADDY · 10-13-2010, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

I hate everything, including Wal Mart, Microsoft, Apple, Sears, Kohls and Santa Claus...

Signed, Chiefsplanet...

, Not Hardly.

BIG_DADDY · 10-13-2010, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arc

So - processed food doesn't spoil as fast as fresh food? Color me shocked!

Dude, that McRib is just flat out disgusting. I don't know how anyone could eat one after seeing that.

McDonalds is an interesting story from a corporate stand point and food supply standpoint. Everyone should watch Food Inc., it's a must see.

**notorious** · 10-13-2010, 09:50 AM

Don't get too excited. Arby's roast beef originally looks like liquid Pepto-Bismol before the food dye is applied and the liquid forms into "meat".

BIG_DADDY · 10-13-2010, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notorious

Don't get too excited. Arby's roast beef originally looks like liquid Pepto-Bismol before the food dye is applied and the liquid forms into "meat".

Yea well I haven't been in an Arby's in like 20 years.

Frosty · 10-13-2010, 09:54 AM

If I made my food decisions based on what my food looks like after sitting on the counter for six months, I doubt there would be much I would want to eat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

Dude, that McRib is just flat out disgusting. I don't know how anyone could eat one after seeing that.

The McRib looks like a pressed meat product, like SPAM or a hot dog. Other than that, I don't see what the big deal is. You were expecting high quality food at McDonald's?

**notorious** · 10-13-2010, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

Yea well I haven't been in an Arby's in like 20 years.

After being told that, everything I order from fast food has to show "grain".

BIG_DADDY · 10-13-2010, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arc

If I made my food decisions based on what my food looks like after sitting on the counter for six months, I doubt there would be much I would want to eat.

The McRib looks like a pressed meat product, like SPAM or a hot dog. Other than that, I don't see what the big deal is. You were expecting high quality food at McDonald's?

I just flat out don't see how people can eat that shit. Knock yourself out though.

BIG_DADDY · 10-13-2010, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by notorious

After being told that, everything I order from fast food has to show "grain".

I basically don't eat fast food with the one exception of a bean burrito when I am on the road at Taco Smell. The one thing I do like at McDonalds is the fries but I don't think I have had an order in well over 5 years. My son is starting to get to that age where his friends get those happy meals. I just tell him we don't eat at McDonalds, period. I will get him one of the toys if that's the delio but none of that shit they are passing as food.

Frosty · 10-13-2010, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

I just flat out don't see how people can eat that shit. Knock yourself out though.

I've never had one and very rarely eat at fast food restaurants (I'm gluten intolerant). I just find it amusing that people get all up in arms that fast food restaurants use processed food, like it's a big surprise.

That McRib is on par with bologna. It's cheap. If they used "real meat", the sandwich wouldn't sell because it would be too expensive, plus it would take longer to cook, slowing the service.

BIG_DADDY · 10-13-2010, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arc

I've never had one and very rarely eat at fast food restaurants (I'm gluten intolerant). I just find it amusing that people get all up in arms that fast food restaurants use processed food, like it's a big surprise.

That McRib is on par with bologna. It's cheap. If they used "real meat", the sandwich wouldn't sell because it would be too expensive, plus it would take longer to cook, slowing the service.

There's a difference between up in arms and informed. I think a lot of peole have no idea what they are eating.

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, 09:15 AM	#32
Frosty Go Beavers! Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Washington Casino cash: $3338243	So - processed food doesn't spoil as fast as fresh food? Color me shocked!
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10-13-2010, 09:36 AM	#35
ClevelandBronco I'm with the banned. Join Date: Sep 2006 Casino cash: $5658955	That tears it. I'm having myself breaded and deep fried when I die. __________________ "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth ..." – Pope Saint John Paul II
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10-13-2010, 09:50 AM	#38
notorious Supporter Join Date: May 2005 Location: Who knows? Casino cash: $-1014116	Don't get too excited. Arby's roast beef originally looks like liquid Pepto-Bismol before the food dye is applied and the liquid forms into "meat".
Posts: 88,593