What is the abomination of McDonald's "oatmeal"?
This is the bowl of oatmeal shown on the McDonalds website page — a page that has its own jaunty "oatmeal" tune.
As of Saturday, the article has lived in the top 10 most emailed list for The New York Times since it was published on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Apparently, a lot of people care.
My question is why? Are they preaching to the choir? Or do people actually think in this day and age there is anything healthy about walking through the fabled double arches?
Whether it be from SuperSize Me, Eric Schlosser’s #1 bestseller Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal or a simple read through McDonalds menu ingredients online, we all know McDonalds is not healthy, yet stories continue to be written, emailed, and commented on — detailing the exact nature of the unhealthiness.
Conrad’s “the fascination of the abomination” comes to mind, our inability to look away from a train wreck. However, the true abomination is this. Everyone knows McDonalds is unhealthy, and people go there because they have no choice. They have no choice because, as Michel Nischan of the Wholesome Wave Foundation put it at the TEDx food conferece, “they can’t afford” real food.
According to the Fair Food Network, 92 percent of all Detroit food stamp retailers offer no fresh fruits and vegetables. For an urban food desert like Detroit, and for the rural food deserts in Iowa, the dried fruit in McDonalds “oatmeal” might be the closest a child gets to biting into an apple. That is the real abomination, and worth talking about.
Corinna Borden works with the Westside Farmers Market and writes about many things.
Comments
Basic Bob
Tue, Mar 1, 2011 : 6:40 p.m.
I refuse to eat McDonald's oatmeal as long as they call it maple. It has not even a trace of maple in it. That's just wrong.
L. C. Burgundy
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 2:44 p.m.
Everyone knows McDonalds is unhealthy and people go there because they have no choice. They have no choice, because as Michel Nischan of the Wholesome Wave Foundation put it at the TEDx food conferece, "they can't afford" real food. --- What? Nothing like putting an untested assertion out there and just claiming everyone knows it's true, I guess. Also, I actually looked at the nutrition facts for the oatmeal, and it's about 260-290 calories per 9.2oz serving....that's actually pretty reasonable. The oatmeal I make at home is about 200 calories per serving, and I don't think I get a 9.2 oz yield even out of what I make. --- According to the Fair Food Network, 92 percent of all Detroit food stamp retailers offer no fresh fruits and vegetables. For an urban food desert like Detroit, and for the rural food deserts in Iowa, the dried fruit in McDonalds "oatmeal" might be the closest a child gets to biting into an apple. That is the real abomination, and worth talking about. --- Oh my, this is just silly. It's interesting that you spend your time complaining about McDonald's (which, of course, can do absolutely nothing right by you) instead of being an entrepreneur in Detroit where you seem to think there's no fresh fruit at all. Why have farmers markets gotten so paternalistic and preachy?
Bill Wilson
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 4:28 a.m.
Corinna, Maybe you should have actually looked up McDonald's ingredients. If you had, you'd see that they're natural emulsifiers (binding agents), a preservative, natural salts, and a natural filler. The worst ingredient, the datem, in the minimal amount used, is hardly an issue. You wouldn't find these ingredients in your home kitchen? Of course you wouldn't. The average home kitchen feeds but a handful of people: McDonald's feeds millions, and must store and ship their products around the world. "We all know McDonalds is not healthy" ? Untrue. The body of ingredients are surprisingly well put together. More calories and by default sweeter than necessary? Not if you order it unsweetened, and eat it in moderation. Looks to me like Mickey D's hit a home run with this product.
John B.
Wed, Mar 2, 2011 : 12:57 a.m.
Looks like some folks might be headed for an M.I.
eric
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 4 a.m.
The dried fruit in McDonald's "oatmeal" might be the closest a child gets to biting into an apple. Shocking, I just paid $1.99 for a bag of apples, coincidently, the same cost for a McDonald's oatmeal with a few little apple bits.
a2baggagehandler
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 9:40 p.m.
What, no school lunch in the D? Or do they just ship them down to McDees for some oatmeal.
Patti Smith
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 10:28 p.m.
Oh yeah, there is school breakfast and lunch but it isn't what I would call healthy. I mean, they try to some extent--oranges, apples, peaches in some sort of sauce--but then you have "reduced sugar" Poptarts, "Bagelwiches" (just as appetizing as it sounds) and "beef" stuff. But when you aren't getting fed at home, what choice do you have?
Elizabeth
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 8:44 p.m.
Detroit resident Jim Griffioen wrote an interesting piece on "Detroit is a food desert" - something he says is a myth: <a href="http://www.urbanophile.com/2011/01/25/yes-there-are-grocery-stores-in-detroit-by-james-griffioen/" rel='nofollow'>http://www.urbanophile.com/2011/01/25/yes-there-are-grocery-stores-in-detroit-by-james-griffioen/</a>
Corinna Borden
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 8:54 p.m.
Thank you Elizabeth for sharing, I had not read that article before. Very intriguing.
braggslaw
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 8:33 p.m.
I have had discussion on the "cost" of healthy food with my family. They have always said that it is too costly to eat a very healthy diet. In my experience that is not true. The raw materials are in fact very cheap. As I went through college and grad school I had to control my expenses. Raw food materials such as olive oil, eggs, onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, lettuce, apple, ground turkery, chicken quarters etc. were much cheaper than the processed equivalents. A bit of salt and/or a spice rub made the food acceptable E.g. you can get five pounds of russet potatoes for three dollars. A pound of ground turkey is 99cents, chicken quaters are under 49 cents a pound. A dozen eggs is very cheap. five heads of romain lettuce is three dollars. Eating healthy is not so much about money but choices.
Wolf's Bane
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 8:10 p.m.
Mc Donalds feeds the working poor, many in Washtenaw County cannot afford to buy food at Boutique grocery stores like Whole Foods or Kroger's.
timjbd
Sat, Mar 5, 2011 : 4:24 a.m.
Yes, McDonalds feeds the working poor. That's why 50% of the children of the working poor develop childhood diabetes. It is our sick, sick food industry that has made the sale of these repurposed food industry by-products into the only thing people at the bottom of the economic pyramid can afford. They are hardly to be congratulated. They are disposing of food industry waste products onto unsuspecting people by dousing it with taste chemicals and calling it "chicken mcnuggets" or "McRib" or whatever. Caveat emptor.
John B.
Wed, Mar 2, 2011 : 12:54 a.m.
Nah, Kroger's is just *priced like* a boutique grocery store. Ripoff pricing there, imo. I never shop at any Kroger's.
DBH
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 9:28 p.m.
Kroger's is a boutique grocery store?
David Briegel
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 7:45 p.m.
Even the more sane TeaPublicans Christy and Huckabee, came out and defended Michelle Obama against the unfounded and strange attacks by Ms Palin and Ms Bachman. So, please explain what "leftist leanings" have to do with health and healthy dietary habits? Is health a leftist value and not conservative? Is it really conservative to like your gulf seafood with oil, gas and dispersant chemicals? Is it really a conservative value to add fracking chemicals to your drinking water? And maybe we really should abolish the EPA since they are out of synch with such values!
spm
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 9:17 p.m.
I agree David. Why should politics even come into play when it comes to the food you eat? A conservative friend of mine hates MickyD's and thinks more people need to eat healthy homegrown food. My parents, also very conservative, hate McDonald's too and eat only healthy food. And just for good measure - my husband, a liberal, loves McDonalds and would probably live on junk food if I let him.
Foodie01
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 7:42 p.m.
I think Mark Bittman's article was well-written and insightful; I do agree with Corinna that anyone who expects to find anything healthy at McDonald's is fooling him/herself. But really, to take a wholesome food and junk it up and jack up the price is unconscionable.
TripleVSix
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 9:39 p.m.
Only if you buy it.
Cash
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 6:24 p.m.
Don't worry....once McDonalds get Snyder's billionaire's tax break, they'll sell even more trash food.
DFSmith
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 4:26 p.m.
I know my comment will draw negative reactions, being that we are residents of a town, where a lot of people like to flaunt their progressive and leftist leanings. Well, some of us go to McD's becasue we like eating the food they serve, and because we havent bought into all the conspiracy theories, or bought into the Michael Pollan cult. I think this type of all-consuming, anti-fast food rhetoric comes from a political ideology and worldview that is biased against the concept of the free market and against any successful American business.
Jon Saalberg
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 1:31 a.m.
I believe it unlikely that you have actually read a Michael Pollan book, or you would not refer to his ideas as being of a "cult" - his writings espouse healthy eating, and that large conglomerate food establishments such as McDonald's, are purveyors of food that is absolutely unhealthful for ANY American to eat. You may like what you eat there, but it is harming you, contributing to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other life-threatening and shortening issues. There is nothing "leftist" about eating healthfully - it just makes sense for a longer and healthier life.
limmy
Mon, Feb 28, 2011 : 12:45 a.m.
Eat any food you want. This is just to let people know about the huge number of calories contained in this product. People associate oatmeal with nutritious food and it is really great that the word is getting out that this is not a healthy food. Personally, I am really glad to know that.
johnnya2
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 10:01 p.m.
This whole "free market" ideology is why the country is in the financial mes it is right now. McDonald's being able to sell food that KILLS people is no different than a drug dealer selling crack. No it is actually worse, at least with a drug dealer you know what you are getting. With McDonalds and other companies like them, they tell people their products are healthy. They actually call it MAPLE when in fact there is not a single bit of maple in the product. If the free market is allowing companies to lie cheat and steal from consumers, than I will keep my "leftist" views alive forever.
timjbd
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 6:57 p.m.
"this type of all-consuming, anti-fast food rhetoric comes from a political ideology and worldview that is biased against the concept of the free market" This "rhetoric" doesn't come close to equalling the omnipresent messaging people (mostly children) receive FROM McDonalds. You don't think McDonalds consumerism is an ideology? I think it is and it is vastly more damaging to Americans than any other sort of jihad you might be afraid of.
Mike D.
Sun, Feb 27, 2011 : 6:39 p.m.
I am no fan of righteous hippies flaunting their "slow food," and I don't necessarily believe that processed food is bad for you per se. That being said, McDonald's food is objectively bad when measured against any reasonable medical organization's guidelines. It's too high saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, and calories, and lacking fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The closest thing you can get to healthy is a grilled chicken sandwich without mayo, but even that has insane amounts of sodium and virtually no fiber.
Morris Thorpe
Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 9:34 p.m.
>>The dried fruit in McDonalds "oatmeal" might be the closest a child gets to biting into an apple<< The message gets lost with hysterical, made up on-the-spot, statements such as this.