Big Day for Big Mac Fans

In case you have been wondering about the health and well-being of Wisconsin's own Don Gorske, the featured Big Mac fan in the famed documentary Supersize Me, he is alive and (surprisingly) well and reportedly just sunk his teeth into his 25,000th burger. He accomplished this extraordinary feat over the past 39 years, consumed 12,250,000 Big Mac calories in the process, refers to himself as "healthy as a horse," and has cut back from nine per day to a mere one or two.

Great News on the Healthy Happy Meal Crusade

I know, I know.... having "healthy" and "Happy Meal" in the same title is oxymoronic. Just keep reading...

San Francisco lawmakers approved legislation yesterday limiting fast food chains' abilities to include toys in kids meals with excessive calories, sodium and fat. The law also requires that a serving of fruit or vegetables be included with each meal. So if all goes according to plan, these corporations will no longer be able to reward children for eating convenient, unhealthy junk.

Despite McDonald's Corporate representatives' claims that such a law would "take the joy out of the Happy Meal," the measure drew enough support to overcome an expected veto and I'm sure lots of us hope to see similar laws popping up (faster than McDonald's) nationwide.

Davies Happy Meal Project

How long does it take a McDonald's Happy Meal to decompose? Sally Davies is doing a photo essay on flickr. It's creepy. And considering that Karen Hanrahan's photo below - of a 1996 burger kept in a regular ol' tupperware container - was taken in 2008, I'm guessing it is going to be a while before we see any significant changes.

Lookout, KFC

McDonald's may be getting some of that fast food market share back.

How can they compete with the KFC Double Down, you ask?

McRibbles. Bite-sized McRibs.

While we're on the topic...

How poorly thought out was this ad campaign?

Wowzers.

107 Miles. The farthest you could possibly be from a McDonalds in this fast food nation of ours.

So this is a little disturbing. Or perhaps comforting. Depends on your perspective. It's a visualization of the continental US using only McDonald's locations. The graphic, created by Stephen Von Worley and on display in his recent (hilariously clever) blog post, is a glaring reminder that the fast-food chain holds a whole lot of real estate in this nation.

McFood in Tokyo

Daniel Gross, for Slate, is reporting from Japan this week and next and I love the fact-filled op-ed he wrote about the presence of American food in Tokyo. Find it here.

If you are wondering what or whom defines "American food," it appears to be: Wolfgang Puck, McDonald's, Outback Steakhouse, the Hard Rock Café and T.G.I Fridays.

One of my favorite lines: I've traveled about 20 hours and 7,000-odd miles to wind up in a strip mall. Also love the acronym: SPC, Stabucks Per Capita.

Yuck.

This burger has preserved itself since 1996. Nutrition consultant and wellness educator, Karen Hanrahan, recently posted this disturbing photo on her website and blogged about using the frightening paddy as her "favorite prop" when educating parents about nutrition and healthy food choices. The McDonald's hamburger has been kept in an old Tupperware container without any additional preservatives for twelve years. TWELVE YEARS!

Read the post and view other burger images (including a 2008 to 1996 burger comparison) here. Thank God I have never eaten a hamburger. This is really creepy however I am curious to see how other uber-processed foods would compare after twelve years. (Please, no one suggest I experiment with peanut MnMs. They are my Achilles' heel. There is no way one of those delicious little morsels could go uneaten in my presence for more than twelve minutes let alone years.)

4th meal? Err.. 5th maybe?

As I approached the end of a long dive down to North Carolina on Friday night I had given up on searching for a new radio station every time commercials came on and heard a ridiculous McDonald's commercial. It aired around 11:00pm and went something like this:

Man: I'm gonna run out and get somethin' to eat. Want anything?
Woman: (sounding tired) I just went to bed, like, two hours ago...
Man: I'm going to McDonald's... (he says in a "tempting" voice)
Woman: Alright... (she concedes) Bring me some fries then.
Song: Do do doo do doo... I'm lovin' it.
Announcer: Open 'til one AM or later... feed your late night cravings...

Really? I mean, REALLY?? I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I've heard all the "Eat great, even late" Wendy's ads before. And I think Taco Bell actually made up a name for a fourth meal. AND McDonald's has those snack size sandwiches for mid-morning or mid-afternoon or watching sports or something.

Perhaps this isn't a new thing for McDonald's to encourage folks to wake up in the middle of the night and eat fries and I just haven't been awake after 11pm in a while? Or I've mastered the art of avoiding these silly marketing messages? Or I'm still subscribed to the marketing message that if I am up late and craving something it is because I am pregnant, hormonal, or going through a break-up and the clear fix is a pint of ice cream, likely something with a catchy name like Chunky Monkey? Or maybe I'm just old fashioned and still think late night cravings are a private moment of weakness - a rare guilty pleasure - as opposed to a nationwide nightly occurrence.

Ugh.