Why do people still claim there are animal products in McD's french fries even though they have been given!
http://www.makeupyourownmind.co.uk/veget...
http://www.makeupyourownmind.co.uk/quest...
Is this seal of approval only valid in the U.K. or is it the same in the U.S.?
Just facts, spare me the opinions. Please link to the facts. A linkless post will be considered opinion.
Thanks.
Answers: the Vegetarian Society seal of approval?
http://www.makeupyourownmind.co.uk/veget...
http://www.makeupyourownmind.co.uk/quest...
Is this seal of approval only valid in the U.K. or is it the same in the U.S.?
Just facts, spare me the opinions. Please link to the facts. A linkless post will be considered opinion.
Thanks.
French Fries: Potatoes, a blend of partially hydrogenated fat and oil (beef fat and cottonseed oil), may contain
dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate and cooked in 100% vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil,
hydrogenated soybean oil with THBQ, citric acid and dimethypolysiloxane).
Mc Donalds does not have a stellar reputation for food saftey or food handling, it is unlikely that there is meaty goodness in your fries , but if you desire certainty, either in the meatyness of their burgers or the vegginess of their fries you are out of luck. I have witnessed cooks throwing sausage patties and bacon in the fryer when they are pressed for time....
They say pretty clearly on that page that they're referring to McDonalds of the UK, and don't say anything about McDonalds of the US, so it seems to be different. Here's the ingredients off of the US site:
French Fries:
Potatoes, vegetable oil (partially hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor (wheat and milk derivatives)*, citric acid (preservative), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), dimethylpolysiloxane (antifoaming agent)), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, partially hydrogenated corn oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent). *CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK (Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients.)
Notice they only list the two "starting ingredients" of the natural beef flavor - I just have a hard time understanding how they could make natural beef flavor without beef, and it's a bad sign when they don't list all the ingredients. You could always ask them.
They also say that "None of our products are certified as vegetarian." at http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat/nutriti... but that may be because they haven't had someone in to certify them yet. I wouldn't eat there even if I wasn't vegan.
having grown up in London, England, the Mc D's are very different thereas opposed to here. Over there is a very high inclusion of the vegetarain community, and many business have many options for vegetarians and vegans.
This implies that the standards there are greater in line with the vegetarian consumer then they are here. over here, many business's do not care/cater the vegetarian diet, hence there menu and reflects that. Whereas in England the menu is very vegetarian friendly.
Standands in both countries differ very much.
I know you said you wanted facts.
Well when i went to Mc'D and asked for a veggie salad, with "no meat", I was given a chicken salad three times at three different places. so the knowledge is not always translated into what is veggie and what is not!
yeah it friggin matters, as vegetarian is a chosen diet and they have a right for full disclosure.
From Fast Food Nation:
"McDonald's India assured customers and protesters that its fries were never cooked in oil containing animal products, a fact that Bombay health authorities later confirmed through chemical analysis. Nor was beef added to the fries at McDonald's in Great Britain, a country with a seizable Hindu population. The company was quietly adjusting its French fry recipe to suit varying cultural preferences and taboos. In canada, japan, Mexico and Australia [AND THE USA], McDonald's still made fries the macho, old-fashioned way, cooking them in beef tallow."
It still puzzles me why any ethical vegetarian or vegan would want to eat at McDonald's...
McDonald's is the devil.
You can't really take information from a British website and apply it to a food-chain's locations in the States. They often have separate recipes and menus for each country.
I'm not arguing, just pointing that out. I don't care what they put in their fries because, as I put it, MacDo is TEH EVAL.
This is fairly recent news, December 2007, when i checked on the veggie soc database last week the french fries were not in the list. And I see the veggie soc have revamped thier database front end as well so they have probable updated it. I see they have also removed thier caveat ( which was hilarious ) about not supporting anything else MCDs do.
I've taken out a half page ad in the Veggie socs magazine for this year. I bet MCDs don't ;-) They would be hounded out of there. Not saying thats right, but, to be honest, most people are uncomfortable with MCDs getting this accreditation but they followed the rules and coughed up thier ￡265 so they are entitled to use the seedling symbol.
Great, they are veggie, I still can't bring myself to buy them though.
Maybe I should, maybe i should reward MCDs for taking this step but to me it would be like saying "good job" to a mass murderer because he cleaned his knife afterwards. I think thier support of poor animal welfare negates any effort they make. Sorry, but thats just the way my brain works.
I think the veggie soc status only applies to the UK because in September 2007 MCDs issued a press release that stated they wouldn't gaurantee any of thier products.
Here is the text:
"No products are certified as vegetarian; all products may contain trace amounts of ingredients derived from animals.
McDonald's does not represent any of our foods as being vegetarian. However, we gladly accommodate customer requests to custom-order items without meat (i.e., without beef, pork, chicken or fish). Note that even though we provide the flexibility to order items without meat, we cannot guarantee that during preparation the item does not come into contact with meat or poultry."
Food Items That Appear To Be Vegetarian But Are Not: French fries (beef- and dairy-derived natural flavors cooked in oil containing milk ingredients); Newman's Own? Cobb Dressing, Creamy Caesar Dressing, and Low Fat Family Recipe Italian Dressing (anchovies); Newman's Own? Creamy Southwest Dressing (egg yolks, whey, sugar, animal-derived natural flavors); American cheese (animal rennet); Caesar salad without chicken (Parmesan cheese made with animal rennet); mayonnaise (animal-derived natural flavors, egg yolks); Premium Ranch Sauce (animal-derived natural flavors, buttermilk, egg yolks); Fruit and Walnut salad (yogurt, gelatin, animal-derived natural flavors, sugar, honey); Newman's Own? Ranch Dressing (buttermilk, egg yolks, dairy- and animal-derived natural flavors)
So, in September in the USA, they couldn't say anything was veggie, not even thier tomatoes.
Its also funny how MCDs think they have been "working with the vegetarian society for years" and the veggie society think they have been "campaigning agressively into MCDs for many years"
I have no link, sorry, so i guess thier press release is just my opinion, fair enough, i received the press release as part of my business so cannot link to it. But I also don't think "links" on the web actually prove or disprove something, they CAN form part of evidence, thats all. The Flat Earth Society has a website, doesn't mean its credible.
"Makeyourownmindup" is a site owned and operated by McDonalds. That would have been worth pointing out in your question because its more "make your own mind up with a little help from our public relations staff"