Life under these "Golden Arches".

The loss of the golden arches ...

The Golden Arches was  America's best symbol of
spreading democracy  world wide.
However Americans got tired of the menu .

For a long time since I was a kid , McDonald's arches hung over a sign that said "billions and billions" served . I craved the Big MAC , as much as those golden fries . Today in the real world fast food is slowly not a staple of a daily diet . McDonald's represents  the worst in American family values.It's not just the quality of the food ,  (2)> but if you compare other McDonald's around the world , in other countries , those do better serving up a healthier menu . So  I am saying not all McDonald's are the same . It's only HERE IN AMERICA that we are served the worst . Yes, *** for some reason the freshness of the burger is the problem , not as much as the fat content.McDonald's problem is that nearly all its food is highly processed. That is, it is made in a factory, frozen and then delivered to the restaurants for reheating. It is no better than frozen food at your grocery store. When did McDonalds ever offer a decent hamburger? Greasy soaked buns, tasteless patties, a few shreds of colorless "lettuce", and tons of salt...you call that "decent"? In desperation on road trips over the past 40+ years i've had the occasional McDonald's hamburger and it's never changed...never good. Burger Kings is MUCH better, but their prices are higher. McDonalds is the absolute bottom end of food in every way, and one of the reasons Americans lead the world in health problems and obesity.When I crave a burger I skip the golden arches for flame broiled (4)>  Carl's Jr . So I do have a bone to pick with the American McDonald's . So I explain why. According to the survey, released last year , more than 30,000 Consumer Reports subscribers say these restaurants’ signature items are the worst in their categories: McDonald’s has the worst burger. Yes , just how did that came about ? Research shows Americans are spending $683.4 billion a year dining out, and they are also demanding better food quality and greater variety from restaurants to make sure their money is well spent. Now the food quality is perhaps the culprit in sales decline. McDonald’s  MCD -0.80%  reported a more severe sales decline than expected in the first three months of the year Wednesday, with business dropping off from the United States, to Europe and Asia, as fewer customers came in to eat its fast-food offerings.It faces competition from other fast-food chains such as Burger King, which has been gaining market share with a simpler and cheaper version of the McDonald’s menu. And it is being squeezed by more upmarket "fast-casual" restaurants such as Shake Shack and Chipotle Mexican Grill, which are rapidly growing. They have been luring customers—particularly younger ones—away from McDonald’s chicken nuggets and chips by offering slightly better quality food, a high level of customisation (such as the option to choose the ingredients in a burrito or burger) and some table service.  The poor results continue an erosion in business that has been accelerating despite the fast-food chain’s efforts to stanch the bleeding. (1)> There was also the notion that "Too big to care" is an affliction McDonald's shares with other big companies. Even during the recession, they were opening new stores at a breakneck pace. They are so big, they are being propelled forward solely by the inertia of their massive presence, not by the quality of their hamburgers, which have become almost unpalatable. (3)>  McDonald's controls such a massive share of the market, even if they were to lose a whopping 50% of their customer base, they would still be the world's largest fast food chain. They are, literally, "too big to care."

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

*** Most other burger chains use  ground beef, cooks it in front of you, and fresh veggies of your choosing.Fries are from actual chopped potatoes cooked In vegetable oil, and super delicious. Frankly McDonald's beef where it comes from is a matter of debate . Ya, sure from COW's I know , but is it all American beef? McDonald's doesn't exactly have the best reputation for beef quality but if you were expecting to find ammonia-drenched, gut particle-filled pink slime sludge goop de loop, well, you're going to be disappointed. It's all beef. You can see how they make it above.We the consumer demand cheap burgers from McDonalds, but we complain when we find out how they can make them so cheap.For several years now McDonald's has been "testing" the use of imported beef to augment supplies tendered by American ranchers, but not beef from South America, and not necessarily for the reason advanced in the e-mail quoted above. Those who feel stirred by the entreaty to boycott McDonald's in protest of its treatment of American ranchers would be well advised to first acquaint themselves with all sides of the issue before giving up their daily Big Macs. According to McDonald's, it cannot satisfy its need for lean beef by buying solely from American sources and has to turn to beef exporters outside the USA to make up the shortfall. It's not a question of there not being enough beef in the USA; it's a matter of the beef available for sale not meeting McDonald's standards for leanness.There's no way they are serving real beef in those $1 menu burgers. Some PhD student should analyze one of those patties. He/She would be famous all over the media with the results. Mickey D's would probably sue them from giving out proprietary information like that. That's how scary the ingredients are.McDonald's has been battling traffic declines in the US and a health scare related to one of its meat suppliers in China. (1)> Globally, sales at restaurants open at least 13 months (comparable sales) fell 2.3% in the quarter ended March 31, worse than the 1.8% Wall Street analysts had expected, according to Consensus Matrix. In the United States, comparable sales fell 2.6%, despite a number of promotions aimed at winning back diners from the competition.

McDonald's overseas selections are
healthier than the American
versions . I ask why?
( The Ebi Burger only in Japan )

Over in Europe, its largest market, McDonald’s struggled in France and Russia in particular, but saw softness in the region as a whole for which it blamed the local economy. And in Asia and the Middle East, McDonald’s comparable sales were down 8.3%, led by problems in Japan and China, stemming from an image problem that originated in last summer’s food safety scare. All in all, the poor sales brought down McDonald’s operating profit 28% for the quarter.(2)> The lack of innovation for the McDonald's American menu is best illustrated what Mc D's in other countries are serving From Samurai burgers to seaweed-flavored fries and deep-fried bites of brie cheese, McDonald's has tried just about everything to cater to local tastes overseas. It's makes the overseas menu a bit healthier than the stuff we are getting here. The McLobster Roll... You can get it in Maine. That is where it originated from! Started in Maine then became popular in Nova Scotia and Quebec. Everything else, you definitely don't get those in the USA. IN the UK, the British are served only McDonald's has branded its Bacon Roll the "breakfast of choice for all bacon lovers." The bacon is sourced from British farms and served on a roll with either ketchup or brown sauce. In other countries, They care about good burgers. Try McDonald's in Germany, France, Italy, Brussels, Egypt. Turkey, and the Gulf States. They are all good and you can even get a Big and Tasty. Try a burger in the U.S. and you get a flavorless, dry, warmed-over piece of shoe leather. You can sure get it fast, though. Good luck McDonald's.(3)> In the Metropolitan areas the local franchisee has a personal right wing political bent and blares Fox News Channel on TVs in his restaurants in a city that has NO ELECTED REPUBLICAN OFFICIALS and votes almost uniformly Democratic. I resent the intrusion of a TV and resent someone trying to indoctrinate me with fake news from the propaganda arm of the Republican Party. (4)> The competitors offer a better menu , not saying that it's a HEALTHIER ALTERNATIVE or IN PRICE , but I prefer flame broil burgers over grilling a burger on LARD which most Mc D grills are saturated with grease , butter fat .I think the dietitians like when the fat drips off, like in a George Foreman grilling machine.But there is so much fat left in any commercial burger that it's irrelevant.And of course some people like the taste of smoke on their food