Internet Propaganda

It litters my Facebook newsfeed.  Internet propaganda.  We all know what it is, those little links that people post to "make a point" that they are somehow superior because someone else has "done a study" about something or another.  The latest one that bugs me is the McDonalds happy meal "experiment".  You've seen it.  Someone took a plain hamburger and fries, left it on a plate for 6 months and then concluded that because it didn't decompose, it was obviously so full of preservatives and plastic that it was not actual food.   I don't even want to post the link because it's so preposterous, but in the interest of full-disclosure, here you go.   This isn't the actual experiment, but rather a typical blog post about it.   (I'm curious to know why they expected to find worms?  I have let PLENTY of food rot in my house, and so far, no worms.  Oh yeah, because worms are living creatures who need to come from somewhere... like an egg)

As soon as I saw this so-called-experiment, I was dubious (to be polite).  Take the bread to start...  as someone who makes her own bread crumbs by doing little but leaving bread on a counter until it petrifies, I can attest that if you leave bread in a bag, it will grow mould, but if you leave it exposed to the open air, the moisture content will dissipate faster than mould can grow.  Mould needs moisture.  I could tell that all that was happening was that this hamburger was drying out and petrifying well before being allowed to rot.

Even consider your compost bin...  stuff doesn't decompose if you just leave it out there, you have to mix it together, add moisture and heat.

All I wanted to do was go out, buy an organic tofu burger and do the exact same experiment.

Luckily, 30 seconds on the internet saved me the trouble (of having half a dozen different hamburgers drying out on my dining room table).  Lo and behold, people had already done it.   This time, however, they had followed the rules of an elementary school science fair, and included more than one variable, and... *drumroll* ... a CONTROL.  (If you're trying to prove that a certain hamburger doesn't rot because of the amount of preservatives, you'd better darn well try the same experiment with a hamburger that has no preservatives.)

Surprise, surprise.  All the hamburgers acted in exactly the same way, thereby proving that this "experiment" that is so widely promoted as fact, is in fact, hogwash.  (And before you start whining about the fries, someone did an experiment on that one too)

Test your spirits people, don't believe everything you read on the internet.  If you look hard enough, you can "prove" just about anything, whether actually valid or not.  If you don't want to eat fast food, that's your choice, but that doesn't mean you need to judge others for their choices.  I have no problems with fast food, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.  I don't eat it often, but when I do, I enjoy it.  I balance it with fresh vegetables, whole grains and lean protein, and I don't feel guilty.