McDonald's urban legends
There are urban legends about McDonald's, the global United States-based fast food chain. A few examples of such urban legends regarding McDonald's food include:
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[edit] Unusual ingredients
Large companies have been the subject of rumors that they substitute unusual or unethical substances in their products, usually to decrease costs. McDonald's is not immune to such claims.
[edit] Earthworms
Dating back to at least 1978, the rumor claims that McDonald's restaurants use earthworms in their hamburgers. This rumor was started in Tennessee by Gerald Heizer after eating what he decribed as a very distastful burger.[1][2]
[edit] Cow eyeballs
One belief is that McDonald's uses cow eyeballs in its products, permitting it to brand them as "100% beef".[3] However, the USDA mandates that all beef by-products, including cow eyeballs, be appropriately labeled. McDonald's, has asserted that its products contain "100% pure USDA inspected beef; no additives, no fillers, no extenders." In addition, cow eyeballs are actually more expensive than real beef, due to demand from scientific institutions for experiments.[4]
A related claim is that McDonald's buys its meat from a company called "100% beef", making it possible for McDonald's to call beef by-products and soy products "100% beef".[5]
[edit] Mutant laboratory meat
Around March–April, 2000, an Internet rumor spread via e-mail in Brazil claimed that McDonald's meat was actually made from a genetically modified animal maintained in a laboratory. The e-mail stated that "the few who saw it assure it is a very unpleasant sight: they have no limbs or horns, no bones (undeveloped cartilage instead), no eyes, no tail and no fur; its head is about the size of a Baseball; they are fed through tubes connected directly into their stomach".[6]
The e-mail carries on saying that "some irreversible health damage can be done by eating this meat, resulting in diseases who manifest themselves in a way similar to AIDS, and have symptoms related to Alzheimer's Disease" and ends encouraging the reader to boycott McDonald's until it sells actual beef.
This rumor is a plot point of the science fiction novel The Space Merchants, by Frederik Pohl (w/CM Kornbluth).
[edit] Pig fat
This rumor is that McDonald's uses pig fat in its milkshakes, ice cream, and fried potatoes. McDonald's provides complete ingredient lists for all of its products on each of its regional websites: this includes unidentified fats within the ice cream used to make soft serve cones and sundaes.[7][8] McDonald's Australia, however, specifically mentions that "No idea how this one got started, there is definitely no lard and pig fat in the McDonald's Soft Serve or potatoes."[9] This rumor should not be confused with the fact that McDonald's has in the past used beef tallow as its frying oil.[10]
[edit] Choko pie
There is a rumor in Australia that McDonald's Apple Pies were made of choko and ostrich eggs, not apples.[11] This eventually led them to emphasize the fact that real Granny Smith apples are used in McDonald's pies.
[edit] References
- ^ Snopes: McSquirmies
- ^ Urban legends: Worms as 'Filler' in Fast Food
- ^ Snopes:Cow Eyeballs
- ^ "McEyeballs". Retrieved January 16, 2006.
- ^ Snopes:100 % beef"
- ^ "If you think you're eating something natural". Portuguese article, contains the original e-mail.
- ^ Williams, Ruth (Apr. 20, 2004)."McSalads bring back health". www.smh.com.au.
- ^ Sanghera, Sathnam (Dec. 16, 2005). "McDonald's bid to sugar its image will do it a fat lot of good". FirsTnews.
- ^ Top FAQs section of http://makeupyourownmind.com.au/. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
- ^ McDonald's To Settle Suits On tallow In French Fries
- ^ "‘We must never forget choko’". The Daily Ripper. Australia. December 17, 2004. http://www.dailyripper.com/2004/12/17/we-must-never-forget-choko/. Retrieved 3 September 2010.[dead link]
[edit] External links
- Make Up Your Own Mind, a site made by McDonald's, dedicated to clarifying myths and urban legends.
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