Institute For The Future

Do You Eat Soft-Serve Chicken?

Yes, I hate to say it, but this is your chicken. If you've ever eaten hot dogs, chicken nuggets, or anything else made of mechanically separated meat, you've eaten this. I've eaten it too, and so have my kids, but seeing this picture has changed all of our minds.

The description is even better:

"Say hello to mechanically separated chicken. It’s what all fast-food chicken is made from—things like chicken nuggets and patties. Also, the processed frozen chicken in the stores is made from it.

Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve—bones, eyes, guts, and all. it comes out looking like this.

There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color.

But, hey, at least it tastes good, right?

High five, America!"

What is amazing to me is that despite knowing how incredibly bad fast food is for our bodies, people still consume it in mass quantities. We listen to our short-term, basal lizard brains, going for whatever tastes good right now instead of rationally making long-term decisions based on our values.

Yes, this is a bit of a rant on my part, but seeing the 180-day-old Happy Meal that doesn't rot right next to people having wedding ceremonies at McDonalds ("I'll have the McNuptual, please") in my RSS reader this morning was a bit too much. Is there a way to stem the tide and help people get the message about healthy eating, or is it a lost cause?

I think I'll go have some slow food now.