Jamie Oliver and his fight against McDonald's (and junk food)
It was in March of the year 2010 when the British chef Jamie Oliver was launched against junk food through the American television program in which he debuted, when he explained to the inhabitants of the town of Huntington (where practically half of the population is obese), that their diet based on fast food was going to kill.
It was in that year when, in his already mythicalJamie Oliver's Food Revolution, followed by millions of people in the United Kingdom and the United States, launched a campaign against McDonald's in order to promote a healthier diet by the citizens, and to denounce, in turn, the criticizable practices that the US multinational used in the elaboration of some of its meat products.
So, a short time later, the iconic chef of the modern kitchen was able to demonstrate how the fast food chain McDonald's made its popular burgers and chicken nuggets.
How does McDonald's make meat burgers?
According to Oliver, the most fatty part of the meat used for the popular McDonald's burgers are washed and soaked in ammonium hydroxide to attack the microbes that exist in parts of the beef that are not suitable for human consumption. Then they are used to make the own hamburger itself, using it as a filling.
What is alarming? Although ammonium hydroxide is allowed by the sanitary authorities as an antimicrobial agent, it is used -for example- to dissolve reactive metals such as zinc or aluminum, being harmful to health.
In the words of the British chef himself, "we are talking about meat products that have been sold as dog food and after this process humans are served."
And what about your popular chicken nuggets?
In the case of Chicken NuggetsIn addition to selecting the "best parts", the rest of the product consists of cartilage, viscera, bones, fat, skin, heads and legs.
All this is subjected to a liquefied (mechanical separation), deodorized, bleached, reodorized and repainted with farinaceous marshmallow, fried, and then re-used in oils in general partially hydrogenated.
Come on, as you can imagine, something healthy and very healthy, ideal in a varied diet, healthy and balanced (note the irony).
The reaction of the McDonald's chain was not long in coming
Through a statement, the popular fast food chain has clarified that at the beginning of last year it stopped using "selected cuts of lean beef," so that ammonium hydroxide "has been out of our supply chain since August of last year. "
In fact, he said that already in 2011 the company had changed the recipe in all those countries in which the multinational used this system. At the same time that other American chains, like Taco Bell or Burger King, also announced that they abandoned the use of ammonium in their meat products.
But Jamie Oliver's fight did not stop there
A year later, in the month of July 2012, the British chef started another campaign on the occasion of the concession that the Olympic Games in London gave to McDonald's, in order that this company located its restaurants in the middle of the Olympic village.
However, although the city did not change its decision, the chef managed to keep the debate alive during the celebration of the Olympic Games, penetrating deeply among the majority of English citizens.
Jamie Oliver's documentary on McDonald's hamburgers and their chicken nuggets
As we mentioned at the beginning, and to summarize / conclude, during the program Food Revolution, Jamie Oliver was able to demonstrate that the fatiest part of the meat used for McDonald's burgers are washed and soaked in ammonium hydroxide with the aim of attacking and eliminating the microbes that exist in parts of the beef that are not suitable for consumption human. Then they are used to make the own hamburger itself.
In relation to the also popular chicken nuggets, after selecting the "best parts", the rest of the product is formed by cartilages, viscera, bones, fat, skin, heads and legs. All this is subjected to a liquefied (mechanical separation), deodorized, bleached, reodorized and repainted with farinaceous marshmallow, fried, and then re-used in oils in general partially hydrogenated.
The conclusion is therefore simple: we are faced with two products that, although they are initially of animal origin, are neither much less healthy nor adequate from a nutritional point of view.
Here is a brief part of the documentary in which Jamie Oliver visited a fast food establishment in Huntington (where practically half of the population is obese), and showed live how McDonald's made their hamburgers:
And also how do chicken nuggets:
And who is Jamie Oliver?
You probably already know who is Jamie Oliver. Or it is possible that not, and that you have discovered it at the moment, just for this note. Be that as it may, the truth is that James Trevor Jamie Oliver is a popular and well-known British cook, who was born in Essex (England) on May 27, 1975.
Originally presented by the BBC, little by little and over the years it has become one of the most influential chefs in the United Kingdom, being even member of the Order of the British Empire (in June of 2003).
It was in 1999 when his first television program, calledThe Naked Chef, was originally issued, at the same time that his cookbook came to become a real bestseller in the United Kingdom. This same year he was invited to prepare a lunch for the then prime minister, Tony Blair, at his home on 10 Downing Street.
A short time later the British chef moved to Channel 4, in the United Kingdom, and in 2005 he started a campaign called"Feed Me Better" in order that the British schoolchildren moved towards a greater consumption of natural and healthy foods, and against junk food.
Since then, Jamie Oliver has stood out for becoming a benchmark in the defense of healthy food and fast junk food chains.
