McJunk Science

Wall Street Journal (Subscription required) ^ | September 9, 2002

[John Jorsett]

McDonald's just announced it will use a different cooking oil to reduce the amount of trans fatty acids in its fried foods. It sounds like an advance for corporate responsibility and public health. But it's actually a big fat mistake.

[Leisler]

Same as 2nd hand smoke.

[GailA]

All this hype about cholestrol is good for selling more drugs like zocor..a high $$ perscription.

[Leisler]

As Chris Rock said, " There aint no money in the cure. The money is in the treatment."

[oyez]

Seems like I read somewhere that in Canada cholestrol is not even an issue.

[js1138]

It doesn't matter. All fried foods, particularly fired potatoes, have significant levels of carcenogens. We're all gonna die. I kinda liked 'em fried in lard, with beef fat added. At least they tasted good.

[Cicero]

Whatever they substitute will probably be worse.

There are some healthy oils, but they are unlikely candidates. Cod liver oil would put most people off. Olive oil is too expensive. Butter is politically incorrect. So we'll probably end up with some synthesized oil thrown together in an oil refinery, and who knows what that will do to people's health in the long run?

[John Jorsett]

It's not going to matter to me. I do my own cooking these days; I even use the politically incorrect butter. If McDonalds wants to fry its food in some god-knows-what oil in order to appease the fanatics, let them.

By the way, anyone interested in cooking should check out the show "Good Eats" on the food channel. Entertaining AND informative.

[kaktuskid]

McDonalds fries were better when they were still using beef fat!!

[ladtx]

That's kinda how I order them. "A large fries, extra cholesterol please."

[Just another Joe]

As Mr. Taubes pointed out in his article, the simplistic notion that dietary fat is bad was a political and business judgment, not a scientific one.

Isn't this the typical decision process made in almost ALL businesses nowadays?