Why Is a Big Mac Cheaper Than a Salad?

Between the arrival of 'dollar' menus at fast food restaurants and the rising cost of fresh fruits and vegetables, we've reached an era where it is actually cheaper to feed your family at McDonald's than to go to the produce department, buy raw vegetables and cook a healthy meal at home.

There are many and varied reasons for this trend.  One, of course, is that McDonald's has more control over the market than the individual consumer.  But government policy comes into play as well; in particular the Farm Bill and the subsidies that support different types of food production in vastly different amounts.  The Farm Bill provides billions of dollars in subsidies primarily to huge agribusinesses producing feed crops for animals, which, in turn is a subsidy for meat and dairy production.  Fruit and vegetable farmers on the other hand receive less than 1 percent of total government subsidies from the Farm Bill.

This and much more information on this disparity is nicely presented in an article from Good Medicine magazine, a publication of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.  Also from the article:

Cannibalistic Chicken McBites TV Ad

Did anyone else notice the cannibalistic scene in one of McDonald's TV ads for their new Chicken McBites?

It's suggestive of feeding chicken to a chicken!

Sure it's just a car that looks like a chicken, but couldn't something similar be said of Chicken McBites themselves?

You can watch the whole ad below, but first, a little about the new Chicken McBites...

First, here's the complete nutritional facts:

McDonald's - Chicken McBites
Nutrition Facts Serv. Size 85g Servings 1 Calories 310   Fat Cal. 170 www.foodfacts.info	Amount/serving	%DV*		Amount/serving	%DV*
	Total Fat 19 g	29%		Total Carb. 22 g	7%
	Sat. Fat 3 g	14%		Fiber 1 g	6%
	Trans Fat 0 g			Sugars 0 g
	Cholesterol 35 mg	11%		Protein 14 g
	Sodium 490 mg	20%
	*Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

And second, here are the ingredients: Chicken breast chunks with rib meat, water, maltodextrin, modified rice starch, yeast extract, sodium phosphates, salt, modified tapioca starch, onion powder, garlic powder, sugar, spices, carrageenan, natural (botanical and animal source) and artificial flavors, chicken broth, citric acid, spice extractive, gum arabic, lactic acid, chicken fat. Battered and breaded with: bleached wheat flour, water, wheat flour, food starch-modified, wheat gluten, leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), salt, spices, garlic powder, dried onion, dried garlic, maltodextrin, onion powder, citric acid, natural (plant source) and artificial flavors, lactic acid, yellow corn flower, extractives of paprika and turmeric (color).