McD's Forcing "Healthier" Happy Meals?

[Haiku]

The portions in Australia are about half the size of those in the US. Our MCD's does not have super size portions. Your medium is what we call large here.

 

How in the world are you not living in a constant state of outrage over this?? I mean, McDonald's is blatantly restricting your ability to make choices by deliberately restricting the size of the "food" you order there! They are clearly using their corporate control to nudge you in the direction of not grossly overeating, and they are obviously showing favoritism to Americans by providing us with the "Super-Death-Me" size. Geez! I just don't know how you Aussies can remain so calm in the face of this! :tongue_smilie:

 

Tara

[Daisy]

How is McDonalds forcing anything?

 

I haven't been to a McDonalds in at least six years. If they are forcing, they better work harder at it. ;)

[cdrumm4448]

I am sorry if I offended you somehow.:confused:My apologies. I was just responding to a post I thought was funny. Now I know why I don't post here much. Back to lurkdom for me.

 

I don't have you on ignore. I was referring to a quote by someone else, whi I do have on ignore.

[cdrumm4448]

Just making it extra easy :D

 

Bill

 

Too bad there isn't a smilie with a Canadian flag, eh?

[cdrumm4448]

It's marketing and I can choose to buy their product or not.

 

I disagree that it's just marketing. pqr is correct.

[cdrumm4448]

This is the essence of marketing, so I don't see it as something insidious or surprising or new, just something to be aware of. Some folks seem to be astonished at the idea that a mega-retailer might being doing things to make you prefer to purchase its product rather than someone else's and I'm not sure why the shock? I've spent a fair amount of time dissecting commericals, print ads and marketing campaigns with my preteen daughter to help her be aware of the type of manipulation people have been practicing since the dawn of time in retail, politics, religion, etc.

 

Why do you thing McD would need a government incentive to change their menu in a way that they think will bring them more money? They are targeting a specific market and, if that market doesn't buy in sufficient quantities, they will change again.

 

 

Actually, the essence of marketing is not to assume you're too stupid to make your own choices.

[KungFuPanda]

When I visted the US I could not finish a single meal. I often felt guilty as soon as they bought the meal out and placed it in front of me because I knew on sight I wasn't going to eat even half of it - it felt like such a waste.

 

 

You need STRATEGY!!! When you dine out, order a meal that you'll want again AND reheats well. This way you get 2-3 meals out of one order. Mexican food is great for this especially if you filled up on the chips. My mother goes so far as to order her steak rare with the intention of taking the whole thing home and re-grilling it. She gets full on her salad and half her sides.

 

If you get take-out, it's nice because you can get one order for 2-3 people!

 

Gotta WORK the system :-)

[cdrumm4448]

This is ironic. I just received the Glenn Beck e-newsletter and this is one of the topics:

 

"This has Cass Sunstein written all over it - reports say McDonald's has caved to outside pressures (including from the White House) and has swapped fries with fruit in the classic Happy Meal. Shouldn't McDonald's make changes because the market dictates them, not the White House? Glenn reacts to 'Healthy Meal' on radio today "

 

So, apparently I'm not the only person who think this stinks.

[Audrey]

This is ironic. I just received the Glenn Beck e-newsletter and this is one of the topics:

 

"This has Cass Sunstein written all over it - reports say McDonald's has caved to outside pressures (including from the White House) and has swapped fries with fruit in the classic Happy Meal. Shouldn't McDonald's make changes because the market dictates them, not the White House? Glenn reacts to 'Healthy Meal' on radio today "

 

So, apparently I'm not the only person who think this stinks.

 

 

I think you mean it is a coincidence, not ironic. Ironic would be if your buddy Glenn Beck completely disagreed with you. Ironic means that something occurs in the opposite of the intended.

 

This would be mere coincidence, and not even a surprising one at that.

[stripe]

What many here are absolutely refusing to grasp is that there are people out there (Cass being one of them) who want to preselect your available choices for you. Even if they are what he considers to be the better or healthier choice, people do not need his services. He influences not only our current administration, but is working to influence private industry.

 

 

1 - McDonalds agreed to change their menu. It's not like some rogue mama broke in and replaced the beef with tofu burgers.

 

2 - Restaurants have many reasons to change their menu or adapt to what's desired, to stay in business. This is why McDonald's serves vegeburgers in India, chocolate mousse in France,and any number of other things elsewhere.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-mcdonalds-food-around-the-world,0,5168632.photogallery

 

3 - If I eat at a restaurant, by definition, I am putting myself in a situation where I am selecting from a small subset of their options. If I want to be in total control, I have to eat at home, and preferably grow everything myself.

[Truscifi]

You need STRATEGY!!! When you dine out, order a meal that you'll want again AND reheats well. This way you get 2-3 meals out of one order. Mexican food is great for this especially if you filled up on the chips. My mother goes so far as to order her steak rare with the intention of taking the whole thing home and re-grilling it. She gets full on her salad and half her sides.

 

If you get take-out, it's nice because you can get one order for 2-3 people!

 

Gotta WORK the system :-)

 

:iagree: Absolutely! I love the portion sizes - I eat at least 2 meals, sometimes 3, off of whatever I order when we go out to eat.

 

1 - McDonalds agreed to change their menu. It's not like some rogue mama broke in and replaced the beef with tofu burgers.

 

2 - Restaurants have many reasons to change their menu or adapt to what's desired, to stay in business. This is why McDonald's serves vegeburgers in India, chocolate mousse in France,and any number of other things elsewhere.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-mcdonalds-food-around-the-world,0,5168632.photogallery

 

3 - If I eat at a restaurant, by definition, I am putting myself in a situation where I am selecting from a small subset of their options. If I want to be in total control, I have to eat at home, and preferably grow everything myself.

 

:lol: I totally have this mental image of a very determined-looking middle aged woman in a denim jumper, a dark colored hoodie, and dark shades in the middle of the night breaking into the local McD with a cooler of tofu burgers now!

[Shawna in Texas]

 

2 - Restaurants have many reasons to change their menu or adapt to what's desired, to stay in business. This is why McDonald's serves vegeburgers in India, chocolate mousse in France,and any number of other things elsewhere.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-mcdonalds-food-around-the-world,0,5168632.photogallery

 

 

 

I know what I'm eating if I ever visit the Philippines.

 

"Pasta topped with a sweet tomato sauce -- and sliced hot dogs -- for the spaghetti loving islander. Or McDo it up right with a fried chicken leg on the side."

 

[Soror]

I still don't get this. I am a conservative leaning, constitutionalist mama I don't see how a private company changing their menu from their own accord is forcing me to do anything. Heck, McDs has only been around for how long anyway? That Glen Beck thinks this is a conspiracy, well he think everything is a conspiracy(this coming from someone he listens to Rush Limbaugh). Beck has 2 reactions cry or cry conspiracy. If they were forced to do this, if some food was outlawed perhaps but even then I think some food "products" out there these days aren 't even in the realm of real food and I don't see how we have some right to eat anything and everything that can be engineered in a lab.

[meggie]

This is ironic. I just received the Glenn Beck e-newsletter and this is one of the topics:

 

"This has Cass Sunstein written all over it - reports say McDonald's has caved to outside pressures (including from the White House) and has swapped fries with fruit in the classic Happy Meal. Shouldn't McDonald's make changes because the market dictates them, not the White House? Glenn reacts to 'Healthy Meal' on radio today "

 

So, apparently I'm not the only person who think this stinks.

 

Are you kidding me? Glen Beck is such a phony. Two years ago he hosted the Stadium of Fire here in Provo. My husband was working at that event and he SAW and HEARD Glen Beck run through his lines 3 times in rehearsal, just like an actor would. During the show and only during the show, Glen said those same lines with all the emotion and crying that is associated with him. I don't trust him farther than I can throw him.

 

I think you mean it is a coincidence, not ironic. Ironic would be if your buddy Glenn Beck completely disagreed with you. Ironic means that something occurs in the opposite of the intended.

 

This would be mere coincidence, and not even a surprising one at that.

I knew you were awesome.

 

And I'm not sure what being liberal or conservative has to do with this. I'm a conservative (although not really a Republican, it's hard to say for sure where I fall in the political spectrum; I just distrust all politicians?) and I don't like that they put the ammonia in meat. I'm a conservative and I don't see a conspiracy in changing their menus. Restaurants do that ALL. THE. TIME. Olive Garden is always promoting their new specials. Ever see Restaurant Impossible (Food Network, Robert Irvine) or Kitchen Nightmares (Fox, Gordon Ramsey). Some restaurants have stagnated and become outdated because they've failed to keep and adapt with the market. Isn't there a line in business about how standing still is the same as moving backward?

[cdrumm4448]

I think you mean it is a coincidence, not ironic. Ironic would be if your buddy Glenn Beck completely disagreed with you. Ironic means that something occurs in the opposite of the intended.

 

This would be mere coincidence, and not even a surprising one at that.

 

I do not believe in coincidence.

[cdrumm4448]

I still don't get this. I am a conservative leaning, constitutionalist mama I don't see how a private company changing their menu from their own accord is forcing me to do anything. Heck, McDs has only been around for how long anyway? That Glen Beck thinks this is a conspiracy, well he think everything is a conspiracy(this coming from someone he listens to Rush Limbaugh). Beck has 2 reactions cry or cry conspiracy. If they were forced to do this, if some food was outlawed perhaps but even then I think some food "products" out there these days aren 't even in the realm of real food and I don't see how we have some right to eat anything and everything that can be engineered in a lab.

 

That is the point. It wasn't of their own accord. McDonald's (as most of the fast food industry) is receiving pressure from the current administration to change their offering. It seems the current administration is pressuring quite a few people to do quite a few things lately.

[Rosie_0801]

You need STRATEGY!!! When you dine out, order a meal that you'll want again AND reheats well. This way you get 2-3 meals out of one order. Mexican food is great for this especially if you filled up on the chips. My mother goes so far as to order her steak rare with the intention of taking the whole thing home and re-grilling it. She gets full on her salad and half her sides.

 

If you get take-out, it's nice because you can get one order for 2-3 people!

 

Gotta WORK the system :-)

 

But our nanny state prohibits doggy bags, so we can't always do that. Which is not to say no one does, of course, but it is necessary to make laws to protect people from making ghastly mistakes like eating the left over Chinese food they forgot to take out of the car the night before.

 

See? Even our conservatives are socialists. :rolleyes:

 

It seems the current administration is pressuring quite a few people to do quite a few things lately.

 

What's new? That's what governments do. How else would they get anything done?

 

Rosie

[KungFuPanda]

But our nanny state prohibits doggy bags, so we can't always do that. Which is not to say no one does, of course, but it is necessary to make laws to protect people from making ghastly mistakes like eating the left over Chinese food they forgot to take out of the car the night before.

 

I've only ever heard of buffets prohibiting doggie bags. I think I missed something here.

[KarenNC]

Actually, the essence of marketing is not to assume you're too stupid to make your own choices.

 

When it comes to practice, I totally disagree, based on any number of ad campaigns, political campaigns, evangelization campaigns, radio talk shows, etc. From what I can see, the people who put these together pretty obviously believe that I (consumer, citizen, non-believer, whatever group they are targeting) am too dumb to know what I actually need or want. Their goal is to show me that I have a burning, critical need for their product and theirs alone, or, worse, showed my stupidity by foolishly choosing that inferior product from their competitor. I agree that some are more blatant than others, particularly when it comes to religion, but certainly I see little evidence that any of them believe that I am capable of making a rational decision unless I show evidence of rationality according to their definition by buying (or buying into) their product/conspiracy theory/ideology/etc. Then they work to convince me that I am now part of the only ones who really know what's going on and that everyone who disagrees with us is making a stupid decision.

Edited July 28, 2011 by KarenNC

[cdrumm4448]

When it comes to practice, I totally disagree, based on any number of ad campaigns, political campaigns, evangelization campaigns, radio talk shows, etc. From what I can see, the people who put these together pretty obviously believe that I (consumer, citizen, non-believer, whatever group they are targeting) am too dumb to know what I actually need or want. Their goal is to show me that I have a burning, critical need for their product and theirs alone, or, worse, showed my stupidity by foolishly choosing that inferior product from their competitor. I agree that some are more blatant than others, particularly when it comes to religion, but certainly I see little evidence that any of them believe that I am capable of making a rational decision unless I show evidence of rationality according to their definition by buying (or buying into) their product/conspiracy theory/ideology/etc. Then they work to convince me that I am now part of the only ones who really know what's going on and that everyone who disagrees with us is making a stupid decision.

 

I disagree based on a Master's degree in Marketing Communications, as well as 25 years working in marketing.

[Haiku]

I do not believe in coincidence.

 

Rather OT, but it's interesting to me that "coincidence" somehow means that things happen in some eerie, "meant to be," unexplainable way, when in reality if you deconstruct the word "coincidence" it means "co-incidence," just that two things occurred at the same time. Like the fact that I am typing on a computer right now, and somewhere in China someone is sleeping. Coincidence? YES!!! :D

 

Tara

[nmoira]

Actually, the essence of marketing is not to assume you're too stupid to make your own choices.

No, its essence is to assume you are too stupid to figure out what your choices are... and on more than one level. Lifestyle marketing is perhaps the most insidious, at least after any kind of pharmaceutical marketing.

[KarenNC]

I disagree based on a Master's degree in Marketing Communications, as well as 25 years working in marketing.

 

Different perspectives then. Mine is from a lifetime of being targeted by marketers of various sorts.

[Soror]

That is the point. It wasn't of their own accord. McDonald's (as most of the fast food industry) is receiving pressure from the current administration to change their offering. It seems the current administration is pressuring quite a few people to do quite a few things lately.

 

I still don't see they were forced though, did I miss that?

[Peela]

Since we have outgrown McDonalds and especially Happy Meals, I am fine with it :) But overall...I think whatever directions they want to make in the direction of healthier is a good thing...but I am thinking future generations- I am not having to go through the change myself (not that I would care much if I was).

 

I think its about time unhealthy fast food was phased out over a generation or two anyway. We don't need it. We are addicted to it. I would like to be able to stop with my screaming (grand)kids and pick up healthy foods that taste good, as easily as I can pick up junk- and for that to be normal rather than strange.

[Spy Car]

Actually, the essence of marketing is not to assume you're too stupid to make your own choices.

 

The essence of marketing is to try to convince people that adding ammonia to meat is "natural", an additional source of protein, and that ammonia has a yummy taste profile.

 

Bill

[nmoira]

The essence of marketing is to try to convince people that adding ammonia to meat is "natural", an additional source of protein, and that ammonia has a yummy taste profile.

 

Bill

Because the "only" alternative to using ammonia is risking death from E. coli. It's an easy "choice" to make, no? *shudder*

[stripe]

The essence of marketing is to try to convince people that adding ammonia to meat is "natural", an additional source of protein, and that ammonia has a yummy taste profile.

 

 

Ammonia is a source of protein with a yummy taste profile? I've clearly not been missing anything!

 

What does Ishmael have to say about that, I wonder...

[Spy Car]

Because the "only" alternative to using ammonia is risking death from E. coli. It's an easy "choice" to make, no? *shudder*

 

It is the *only* alternative if you insist on using meat that has hit the slaughterhouse floor and is badly contaminated with pathogens (some deadly to humans) and expect to be able to market these contaminated meat fillings as "lean meat trimmings."

 

Marketing genius!

 

Bill

Edited July 29, 2011 by Spy Car

[stripe]

It is the *only* alternative if you insist on using meat that has hit the slaughterhouse floor

 

i thought it was contaminated because the animal's intestines got knicked during butchering, leaking fecal matter into the meat. (slurp)

[nmoira]

It is the *only* alternative if you insist on using meat that has hit the slaughterhouse floor and is badly contaminated pathogens (some deadly to humans) and expect to be able to market these contaminated meat fillings as "lean meat trimmings."

 

Marketing genius!

 

Bill

:ack2:

 

You're preaching to the converted... there's no need to get graphic.

[nmoira]

i thought it was contaminated because the animal's intestines got knicked during butchering, leaking fecal matter into the meat. (slurp)

 

You too. :eek:

 

 

 

:tongue_smilie:

[Haiku]

i thought it was contaminated because the animal's intestines got knicked during butchering, leaking fecal matter into the meat. (slurp)

 

Wasn't it Fast Food Nation that talked about the sh!tburgers? Or was the Super-Size Me?

 

Tara

[Spy Car]

Ammonia is a source of protein with a yummy taste profile? I've clearly not been missing anything!

 

What does Ishmael have to say about that, I wonder...

 

You evidently missed this amusing denial/admittal by McDonalds that they don't/do put ammonia in their burgers (OK, they don't do it, their suppliers do).

 

Then they claim ammonia is natural, a good source of protein, and makes food taste good!

 

Andd they also call the contaminated meat they now add to the burgers "lean meat trimmings" That is marketing!!!

 

I'm hungry already.

 

Bill

 

And as to the ammonia thing, see below.

 

Thank you for contacting McDonald’s and for sharing your concerns. I appreciate the opportunity to share the following information with you.

Please know that McDonald’s food safety and quality assurance standards are among the highest in the industry. With extensive food safety measures in place throughout the entire supply chain process, McDonald’s standards meet or exceed government requirements. McDonald’s uses only 100 percent USDA-inspected ground beef in their hamburger patties.

Be assured that we do not add ammonia to our hamburger patties. In fact, ammonia is only used by our suppliers as a processing aid to kill harmful bacteria. This process is approved by the USDA and ensures safe, quality food.

Additionally, ammonia is a basic building block of protein and occurs naturally in beef, both raw and cooked. It is a key component of the flavor of cooked beef. Ammonia is a naturally occurring compound in meats and fish – (fish and shellfish have more than beef). Ammonia is a nitrogen containing compound and so are proteins.

As you may not know, lean beef trimmings are approved by the USDA and are a widely used and well-established industry practice. They are subject to the same stringent standards, and inspection and testing practices, required for all beef used in the production of our hamburger patties.

McDonald’s continues to work with its suppliers, local, state and federal agencies, our industry and others, to ensure these standards are rigorously maintained. And, more importantly, that we serve safe, high quality products to every customer, every time they visit our restaurants.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald’s.

Lisa

McDonald’s Customer Response Center

 

Doesn't sound like a problem.

[Audrey]

You evidently missed this amusing denial/admittal by McDonalds that they don't/do put ammonia in their burgers (OK, they don't do it, their suppliers do).

 

Then they claim ammonia is natural, a good source of protein, and makes food taste good!

 

Andd they also call the contaminated meat they now add to the burgers "lean meat trimmings" That is marketing!!!

 

I'm hungry already.

 

Bill

 

 

Hey, it makes me hungry. I may just go out and whack up one of the cattle right now.

 

 

Seriously though, reading things like the McD's "explanation" and related books/articles/miscellanea makes me really glad to have a freezer full of our own pastured beef and pork.

 

No ammoniated sh!tburgers for me, but thank you ever so much for offering! :D