

"Most people simply don't think of McDonald's as a healthy place to eat, despite its efforts to offer more menu choices," Civil Eats co-founder Naomi Starkman writes. While consumers may welcome McDonald's move toward more transparency, some critics say what's really needed is a change in its core menu. Since 2011, the number of 19- to 21-year-olds who visited a McDonald's each month has dropped by 12.9 percentage points, as the demographic flocks to fast-casual chains like Chipotle and Five Guys, according to data the restaurant consulting group Technomic gathered for The Wall Street Journal. Same-store sales slipped 1.5 percent during the most recent fiscal quarter, and the company is having a tough time appealing to millennials. The shift in tone also comes as McDonald's sales falter at its U.S. (Perhaps the most illuminating bit of information from that video was that the iconic chicken lumps are made in four shapes - the bell, ball, bow tie and boot.)

The new campaign follows similar efforts to pull back the curtain at McDonald's Australian and Canadian divisions, which released a highly publicized video that let us witness the birth of a chicken McNugget earlier this year. The company does acknowledge this in a longer Q&A on its website, which addresses other unsavory issues, like the fact that most of its beef comes from cattle treated with hormones. What the video fails to mention is that yes, McDonald's burgers at one point did contain lean, finely textured beef, though the company phased it out in 2011. In a video posted on the company's website, Imahara tours a factory in Fresno, Calif., run by Cargill, which supplies the beef used in McD's burgers. And it has enlisted the help of Grant Imahara, former co-host of the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters, to help address some of the most persistent concerns.

This new tell-all, social media-based approach - "in many ways, it's the way the world is going," Ben Stringfellow, vice president of communications for McDonald's USA, told the Associated Press.Īs part of that effort, the company is inviting questions via Facebook and Twitter. On Monday, the company launched " Your Questions, Our Food," a new advertising blitz aimed at dispelling the rumors and convincing consumers it has nothing to hide. So perhaps it's not so surprising that this week, McDonald's USA decided to tell the public, all right, we're throwing open the doors. That may have something to do with the growing ranks of consumers asking pesky questions about what Big Food is feeding them. And lately, its North American sales have been slumping. Over the years, fast-food behemoth McDonald's has faced some pretty disturbing questions about the ingredients that go into its meals.
IS THERE A DOUBLE BIG MAC MAC
McDonald's still won't reveal the recipe for its secret sauce, but it will show you how that Big Mac patty gets made.ĭid you hear the one about the McDonald's hamburger that still hadn't decomposed after 14 years?Īnd "pink slime" - how much goes into McDonald's beef?
