These two videos were featured on the Get Fit Jersey blog, and they immediately set off my skeptical red flags. Are McDonald’s hamburgers so loaded with chemicals that they fail to decompose at an appropriate rate? Or is there a simpler explanation that would put this apparent phenomenon in perspective. Now is your chance to show your skeptic skills and dismantle the arguments in these videos. Leave a comment here with your reactions. I’m eager to see what people think.
Ticktock
philosodad
Rob T
Jason
February 18, 2009 at 6:43 pm |
Well, apart from the weird argument that food that wouldn’t break down would therefore stay on you thighs you can’t compare a cooked salted french fry with a sliced potato. This has nothing to do with the nutritional value of the food and everything to do with its water content, how it’s been stored, etc. Not to brag, but I have found many specimins of petrified food in my time, not perhaps 4 years old but old enough. Under the right conditions food just dries out. There’s no mystery.
Oprah has a lot to answer for.
February 18, 2009 at 7:09 pm |
Thanks, Nancy. You nailed down two good points – the food had probably dehydrated, and it was cooked, salted, or fried.
February 19, 2009 at 4:14 pm |
Very good points from Nancy and Ticktock. I strongly suspect that a dried-out deep-fried salty fry would last for ages whether you made it at home or at McDonald’s. Dried-out salty meat lasts for a long time too – it’s called beef jerky.
Why would they focus on the longevity of the food and not on the simple fact that too much of it will damage your health and even endanger your life?
Having Mcfood more than once or twice a month is not a good idea.
February 21, 2009 at 3:16 pm |
Yep, salt and cooking goes a long way.
That second video looks like a reenactment of an urban legend — at best. Nothing there.
February 8, 2010 at 7:53 am |
But what about the burger?? Yeah sure the fries might last but meat and bread??