By Greetings! You may be surprised to find out that McDonald’s is cutting down on its use of antibiotic rich chicken meat. It would seem like things are changing for the better after reading the press release posted by the NRDC, the National Resource Defense Council. In reality though, McDonald’s is just cutting down on some chicken drugs, the medicinal antibiotics, that are used in commercial poultry operations. Their chicken dishes, if you can call them that, will still contain dangerous growth hormones and a wonderful cocktail of very questionable substances that fall under the category of “food additives”. For a list of what is in McDonald’s chicken nuggets check out this link.
Some people call these types of moves PR Campaigns, or deceptive marketing.
Unfortunately, it seems that moves like these work to hush any resistance against industrialized agriculture and the food science experiment industry known as “fast food”. Many people might be confused into missing the real fact; McDonald’s is just cutting medical antibiotics from their chicken, not all meat. Their chicken still has growth hormones and other harmful additives. I sincerely hope in writing this that many of us avoid becoming self-righteous and self-satisfied and thinking that it is morally justified to eat McDonald’s because they project the image that they are saving the earth and making healthy food because they love Americans.
I understand that for low income families fast food is cheap and easy. I understand that if people have to feed a few kids on 7 or 8 dollars per hour and are working 12+ hours a day, that they don’t have time to make or eat healthy food. So, if healthy food seems like it might break your wallet, you might be right. America kind of screws a lot of people on their good food options. That is why it is impossible for me to preach changing America’s unhealthy food choices when these realities exist. Grassroots food activists need to step up and help low income communities grow their own food, so as to have an alternative to fast food. If more community gardens and community based agriculture exists, more people of all races and classes would be able to access healthy, nutrient dense food. I may dedicate another blog in the future to community gardens and community organizing, but for now, I must stop here.
The American middle class, if that even exists anymore, needs to wake up and smell the coffee. No, not the McCafe or whatever McDonald’s serves. The real coffee, preferably organically and fair trade certified to ensure no chemical use and a fair price for the farmer. But for those who can afford it, please don’t be fooled by Ronald McLiar if he tells you his chicken is healthy. It is not, and the less drugged up food society buys, the more pressure there is on fast food joints like McDonald’s to clean up their act. The solution is to boycott. Again, for those who can, please boycott fast food places like McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, and all processed food for that matter. This is one small thing people who have some luxury can start doing. If you don’t have the luxury, hopefully you can find some way to eat healthy food. You can check out some tips for cutting organic food costs in my blog that I wrote last time.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for our upcoming shows!