Reading "Fast Food Nation"...

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slag

Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
10,473
81
101
Originally posted by: Eli
There's nothing wrong with eating meat.

There is, however.. something wrong with eating meat that's pumped full of hormones and antibiotics.. from animals that are still sick, despite the antibiotics.

There's also something wrong with meat being 75%+ of your diet.

You can't deny that. :)


How do you figure? Meat should be the primary staple of any diet. I dont feel like I have eaten a meal unless its loaded with meat or seafood. Vegetables do nothing for me on their own and leave me feeling empty.
 

iamwiz82

Lifer
Jan 10, 2001
30,772
13
81
Originally posted by: Thera
The book is about fast food, not meat eating.

But... that said... my favorite part was where they tested the meats and found that over 75% of it had fecal in it. So to further the "canine incisors" reference. Dogs sometimes eat their own crap to get extra protein, I guess those teeth are good for more than just meat eating. ;)

i bet if they tested your hands or clothes or carpet or home they would find fecal material too. When you flush, not everything magically disappears.

 

smp

Diamond Member
Dec 6, 2000
5,215
0
76
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: Thera The book is about fast food, not meat eating. But... that said... my favorite part was where they tested the meats and found that over 75% of it had fecal in it. So to further the "canine incisors" reference. Dogs sometimes eat their own crap to get extra protein, I guess those teeth are good for more than just meat eating. ;)
i bet if they tested your hands or clothes or carpet or home they would find fecal material too. When you flush, not everything magically disappears.

It doesn't?
75% though man .. that seems kind of high .. I really doubt that you could find fecal matter on 75% of my stuff.
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,419
19,829
146
Originally posted by: smp
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: Thera The book is about fast food, not meat eating. But... that said... my favorite part was where they tested the meats and found that over 75% of it had fecal in it. So to further the "canine incisors" reference. Dogs sometimes eat their own crap to get extra protein, I guess those teeth are good for more than just meat eating. ;)
i bet if they tested your hands or clothes or carpet or home they would find fecal material too. When you flush, not everything magically disappears.

It doesn't?
75% though man .. that seems kind of high .. I really doubt that you could find fecal matter on 75% of my stuff.

Wanna bet? Almost every public bench and seat you've sat in probably had some fecal matter on it.

Hell, fecal matter is what is used to make things grow.

Our world is dirty. It's SUPPOSED to be dirty and our immune system evolved to deal with it. Take away the dirt and our immune systems turn on our bodies. Nothing else explains the rapid increase in autoimmune disorders and asthma in the "cleaner" countries while the rate is still very low in third world countries.

We are cleaning ourselves to death. Every soap we buy is anti-bacterial and we wipe every surface down with antibacterial solutions or bleach. This just wasn't happening before the seventies, and before then, we didn't have nearly the rate of autoimmune disease or asthma.
 

smp

Diamond Member
Dec 6, 2000
5,215
0
76
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: smp
Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Originally posted by: Thera The book is about fast food, not meat eating. But... that said... my favorite part was where they tested the meats and found that over 75% of it had fecal in it. So to further the "canine incisors" reference. Dogs sometimes eat their own crap to get extra protein, I guess those teeth are good for more than just meat eating. ;)
i bet if they tested your hands or clothes or carpet or home they would find fecal material too. When you flush, not everything magically disappears.
It doesn't? 75% though man .. that seems kind of high .. I really doubt that you could find fecal matter on 75% of my stuff.
Wanna bet? Almost every public bench and seat you've sat in probably had some fecal matter on it. Hell, fecal matter is what is used to make things grow. Our world is dirty. It's SUPPOSED to be dirty and our immune system evolved to deal with it. Take away the dirt and our immune systems turn on our bodies. Nothing else explains the rapid increase in autoimmune disorders and asthma in the "cleaner" countries while the rate is still very low in third world countries. We are cleaning ourselves to death. Every soap we buy is anti-bacterial and we wipe every surface down with antibacterial solutions or bleach. This just wasn't happening before the seventies, and before then, we didn't have nearly the rate of autoimmune disease or asthma.

I agree with you on everything.
The fecal matter bit though, I mean, I know and understand and agree with what you are saying, but I think that the meat we get out of modern day slaughter houses and farms, is dirtier in every way than meat I could grow in my backyard (provided that I was legally allowed to) . ..
so yeah .. we are cleaning ourselves to death. Everytime i see one of those "Lysol" commercials or anything I cringe. The corpos and their marketting lackeys are the ones who are really cleaning house .. we're just doing away with immunity.



DIRT. IT DOES A BODY GOOD

edit: hehehe .. next thing you know the populace will be onto this too and we're just gonna get sold "good dirt" to spray around our homes to increase our immunity and crap .. hahha.. I can see it now;
"New Lysol! Smells great and it keeps the kids rough and tough."
or some such nonsense... where can I buy some air too?
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,514
44
91
I ask for well done all the time too. ... .. ..
Might as well just munch on some Kingsford charcoal briquettes IMO.

I respect your choices to go with a more healthful diet, but as for me I'll stick with a diet that includes breakfasts of whole milk, bacon, eggs fried in bacon fat, flapjacks and puddles of maple syrup. I'm going to keep right on ordering my beef "rare to medium rare" also.

ZV <--Experiencing a "Big Mac Attack" right now.
 

Rallispec

Lifer
Jul 26, 2001
12,375
10
81
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
I ask for well done all the time too. ... .. ..
Might as well just munch on some Kingsford charcoal briquettes IMO.

I respect your choices to go with a more healthful diet, but as for me I'll stick with a diet that includes breakfasts of whole milk, bacon, eggs fried in bacon fat, flapjacks and puddles of maple syrup. I'm going to keep right on ordering my beef "rare to medium rare" also.

ZV <--Experiencing a "Big Mac Attack" right now.

MMMMMM big mac. sounds good.

 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,419
19,829
146
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
I ask for well done all the time too. ... .. ..
Might as well just munch on some Kingsford charcoal briquettes IMO.

I respect your choices to go with a more healthful diet, but as for me I'll stick with a diet that includes breakfasts of whole milk, bacon, eggs fried in bacon fat, flapjacks and puddles of maple syrup. I'm going to keep right on ordering my beef "rare to medium rare" also.

ZV <--Experiencing a "Big Mac Attack" right now.

You bastard, now I'm hungry. :p
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,419
19,829
146
Originally posted by: smp

I agree with you on everything.
The fecal matter bit though, I mean, I know and understand and agree with what you are saying, but I think that the meat we get out of modern day slaughter houses and farms, is dirtier in every way than meat I could grow in my backyard (provided that I was legally allowed to) .

I disagree. I think some bad stuff slips through, but to be honest, I grew up eating medium rare hambergers and never got sick from them. In fact, the only food poisoning I've ever had was from KFC back when I was a teen.

In some ways I believe modern day slaughter houses are cleaner than older ones, because we KNOW what causes harm now.

E-coli and E-coli infections are nothing new. We are only more aware of them now. Before, all food borne illnesses were simply "food poisoning" in most people's minds... And most were misdiagnosed as "Stomach flu."
 

smp

Diamond Member
Dec 6, 2000
5,215
0
76
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: smp I agree with you on everything. The fecal matter bit though, I mean, I know and understand and agree with what you are saying, but I think that the meat we get out of modern day slaughter houses and farms, is dirtier in every way than meat I could grow in my backyard (provided that I was legally allowed to) .
I disagree. I think some bad stuff slips through, but to be honest, I grew up eating medium rare hambergers and never got sick from them. In fact, the only food poisoning I've ever had was from KFC back when I was a teen. In some ways I believe modern day slaughter houses are cleaner than older ones, because we KNOW what causes harm now. E-coli and E-coli infections are nothing new. We are only more aware of them now. Before, all food borne illnesses were simply "food poisoning" in most people's minds... And most were misdiagnosed as "Stomach flu."

Okay .. so we know everything now?
With every technological advancement that seems safe at first (PCB's were popular) and I'm talking about hormone injected beef ... we think it's safe to begin with. Our current knowledge base doesn't tell us that hormone/antibiotic injected beef is safe/unsafe .. new discoveries could happen in some research lab next year that might prove that this stuff is cancerous (or whatever) .. or that it doesn't cause cancer or SID or something. I'm not saying that it does, but I am highly suspect .. and yeah, steaks are good rare.

edit:
Call me a no good hippy or whatever ..
Living your life in a little box sucks, these animals are born into misery and in misery they remain for their entire short miserable life. I would rather go out into a feild and kill a cow that had a 'good life' hanging out in the pasture eating grass or whatever and getting laid occasionaly .. than some poor miserable creature, who's entire life was spent miserable just for me. Something about that just totally lacks respect for LIFE (cause we all have it) .. bad karma (not that I believe in 'karma' but a usefull term right now)
We eat misery.
 

LanEvoVI

Golden Member
Jul 18, 2001
1,629
0
76
Haha...I have to read this book for my humanities class....

They say it'll keep me away from the fast food...but i doubt it...
 

Rallispec

Lifer
Jul 26, 2001
12,375
10
81
Originally posted by: LanEvoVI
Haha...I have to read this book for my humanities class....

They say it'll keep me away from the fast food...but i doubt it...

nothing can keep us away from fast food.. i can hear it calling my name right!
 

badluck

Diamond Member
Feb 19, 2001
5,357
0
76

Jzero:

I saw George Ritzer lecture on the subject two days ago at the University of Kansas. He's a former professor here. It was a great speech!!
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,419
19,829
146
Originally posted by: smp
Originally posted by: Amused
Originally posted by: smp I agree with you on everything. The fecal matter bit though, I mean, I know and understand and agree with what you are saying, but I think that the meat we get out of modern day slaughter houses and farms, is dirtier in every way than meat I could grow in my backyard (provided that I was legally allowed to) .
I disagree. I think some bad stuff slips through, but to be honest, I grew up eating medium rare hambergers and never got sick from them. In fact, the only food poisoning I've ever had was from KFC back when I was a teen. In some ways I believe modern day slaughter houses are cleaner than older ones, because we KNOW what causes harm now. E-coli and E-coli infections are nothing new. We are only more aware of them now. Before, all food borne illnesses were simply "food poisoning" in most people's minds... And most were misdiagnosed as "Stomach flu."

Okay .. so we know everything now?
With every technological advancement that seems safe at first (PCB's were popular) and I'm talking about hormone injected beef ... we think it's safe to begin with. Our current knowledge base doesn't tell us that hormone/antibiotic injected beef is safe/unsafe .. new discoveries could happen in some research lab next year that might prove that this stuff is cancerous (or whatever) .. or that it doesn't cause cancer or SID or something. I'm not saying that it does, but I am highly suspect .. and yeah, steaks are good rare.

Your stance is illogical. This could be applied to anything in life.

Here's the meat of the matter (pun): There is NO evidence linking hormone injections to ANY ill effects in consumers. There have been MANY attempts to do so, but no valid peer reviewed study has been able to make a link.

Antibiotic use in animals has not been shown to cause ill effects in humans either. The resistance in human germs to antibiotics has been linked not to it's use in animals, but it's abuse/misuse by humans, in humans.

You can spread and feel all the ambiguous, unfounded fear you want. But until you produce ONE valid peer reviewed study showing a link, I wont give it a second thought.

Finally, the way we produce meat has made it possible for even the poorest among us to have a steady source of meat in their diet. Something that just did not happen prior to 50 years ago. If I have to choose between human, or cow/chicken misery, guess which one I'm going to choose?
 

43st

Diamond Member
Nov 7, 2001
3,197
0
0
I'm amazed... You guys just jutified eating poo. hehe, I never thought I'd see the day. I saw a fresh dog poo this morning maybe it'll still be there when I get home. Any suggestion on seasonings? ;)
 

tk149

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2002
7,253
1
0
Originally posted by: Amused

Our world is dirty. It's SUPPOSED to be dirty and our immune system evolved to deal with it. Take away the dirt and our immune systems turn on our bodies. Nothing else explains the rapid increase in autoimmune disorders and asthma in the "cleaner" countries while the rate is still very low in third world countries.

We are cleaning ourselves to death. Every soap we buy is anti-bacterial and we wipe every surface down with antibacterial solutions or bleach. This just wasn't happening before the seventies, and before then, we didn't have nearly the rate of autoimmune disease or asthma.

This is the first time I've heard this theory. Do you have any sources? I've often wondered about why we seem to have a higher rate of disorders.
 

dolph

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2001
3,981
0
0
i like how no one's really arguing that if eric schlosser(the author) is right or wrong, but the merits of vegetarianism. you can be healthy and eat meat, it's pretty well proven, as is being vegetarian and healthy. the only thing that's bad for you is fast food. one big mac won't kill you, but a lifetime of big macs with fries and coke for lunch every day isn't going to help you out much health wise. so if you don't mind that you'll probably (not definitely) be fatter, spend more money, live less time and have more health problems, then by all means supersize your extra value meals. it's a (relatively) free country, and it's your right to live that lifestyle. but know what you're getting into everytime you pull through the drive through and get extra cheese and onion rings with the double whopper meal.

(a little bitter sounding, maybe, but i've eaten pretty badly my whole life and have decided to turn it around. week 6 of running 3 miles a day, swimming 2 miles, eating grass, and i gotta admit, i've never felt or looked better. the only thing i regret is not doing it earlier)
 

Liviathan

Platinum Member
Feb 21, 2001
2,286
0
0
I was a vegetarian for about 5yrs. I really did enjoy being meat free...felt healthy.

But some how i cracked, and i fell of the wagon faster than Robert Downey jr.

I had one bad experience with steak since I've been back on the dark side. I thought my stomach was going to explode.


Nothing wrong with eating meat, just choose it right and cook it thorougly.
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,419
19,829
146
Originally posted by: tk149
Originally posted by: Amused

Our world is dirty. It's SUPPOSED to be dirty and our immune system evolved to deal with it. Take away the dirt and our immune systems turn on our bodies. Nothing else explains the rapid increase in autoimmune disorders and asthma in the "cleaner" countries while the rate is still very low in third world countries.

We are cleaning ourselves to death. Every soap we buy is anti-bacterial and we wipe every surface down with antibacterial solutions or bleach. This just wasn't happening before the seventies, and before then, we didn't have nearly the rate of autoimmune disease or asthma.

This is the first time I've heard this theory. Do you have any sources? I've often wondered about why we seem to have a higher rate of disorders.

Actually I came up with it on my own about 8 years ago. I was justified in my suspicions when I saw a Discovery Channel show that discussed this very theory. (I know, not very good proof)

What convinced me is a study they spoke about. People with autoimmune disorder were clinically infected with intestinal worms that cause little to no discomfort, but caused a huge immune response from the body. After 6 or so weeks of being reinfested with these worms, the folks with autoimmune disorders saw a marked decrease in symptoms, with the majority losing all symptoms.

I'll try to find something on the web for you.
 

MacBaine

Banned
Aug 23, 2001
9,999
0
0
I've been a vegetarian for 5 years now, and I stopped eating fast food about a year ago. The only fast food I eat now are veggi subs from Quiznos. Mmmmmm... honey mustard :D
 

PG

Diamond Member
Oct 25, 1999
3,426
44
91
Just got back from Applebee's down the street. I splurged and had the 20 oz. porterhouse cooked medium rare, nice and bloody. Mmmm.....was that good. :)

 

LanEvoVI

Golden Member
Jul 18, 2001
1,629
0
76
hehe...bringing back an old thread...but this book just surprises you with some crazy facts...

Just got done reading about J.R. Simplot who is the reason that French Fries are the most widely sold food item in the US. He also provided the initial capital for the guys who started Micron, and owns a block of north american real estate larger than Delaware.

Not bad for an 8th grade dropout...
 

xospec1alk

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2002
4,329
0
0
just to resurrect this thread...awesome book

read it last year for ethics class...and immediately went out to mcdonalds...awesome book