McDonald's Fries and Hash Browns = NOT vegetarian

[Guest guest]

I came across this shocking fact (which I didn't know before) while browsing

through a copy of Hinduism Today.

 

Strictly speaking, this is off-topic. If I have offended any member by posting

such a message, I sincerely apologise.

 

But the severity of this issue is so high that I don't mind being chastised for doing so.

 

Hopefully, with more awareness, less people will commit the bad karma of

offering non-vegetarian food unknowingly to his/her vegetarian Gurus, family

and friends.

 

Feel free to google further to find out more about this fact.

 

Thank you.

 

Best Wishes,

Pushya.

 

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>From the official mcdonald's nutrition webpage :

 

http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat/nutrition_info/nutrition_lists/ingredients.html

 

French Fries: Potatoes, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, natural flavor (beef

source), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (to preserve natural color). Cooked

in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (may contain partially hydrogenated

soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated corn oil and/or partially

hydrogenated canola oil and/or cottonseed oil and/or sunflower oil and/or corn

oil).

Hash Browns: Potatoes, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, natural flavor (beef

source), salt, corn flour, dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate added to

maintain natural color, and spice. Cooked in partially hydrogenated vegetable

oils, (may contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil and/or partially

hydrogenated corn oil and/or partially hydrogenated canola oil and/or

cottonseed oil and/or sunflower oil and/or corn oil).

 

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Source : http://www.hbharti.com/h_bharti_mcd/mc_d_apology.htm

 

McDONALD'S APOLOGY McDonald's sincerely apologizes to Hindus, vegetarians and

others for failing to provide the kind of information they needed to make

informed dietary decisions at our U.S. restaurants.

We acknowledge that, upon our switch to vegetable oil in the early 1990's for

the purpose of reducing cholesterol, mistakes were made in communicating to the

public and customers about the ingredients in our French fries and hash browns.

Those mistakes included instances in which French fries and hash browns sold at

U.S. restaurants were improperly identified as "vegetarian".

We regret we did not provide these customers with complete information, and we

sincerely apologize for any hardship that these miscommunications have caused

among Hindus, vegetarians and others. We should have done a better job in these

areas, and we're committed to doing a better job in the future.

As a direct result of these events, McDonald's has enhanced its disclosures

concerning the source of ingredients in its food products. This information is

available at McDonald's wesite, www.mcdonalds.com, and will be available at

each store.

McDonald's has created a Dietary Practice/Vegetarian Advisory Panel consisting

of experts in consumer dietary practices that will advise McDonald's on

relevant ditary restrictions and guidelines, which McDonald's and others can

use for marketing to persons who follow those restrictions. As part of this

settlement, McDonald's is donating $10 million to Hindu, vegetarian and other

groups whose charitable and educational activities are closely linked to the

concerns of these consumers.

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http://www.hinduismtoday.com/press_releases/mcdonalds/

 

"They deceived the public about beef flavorings in their "vegetarian fries."

They got caught. They were sued. They settled in court. This week the food

giant McDonald's mailed a check for $254,773.19 to Hinduism Today magazine's

endowment fund (Hindu Heritage Endowment), one of a handful of elite

vegetarian-friendly institutions in America chosen as recipients of the

court-ordered $10 million settlement."