Poll: "Ingredients in a Chicken McNugget" or "You Want me to Eat What Now?"

[drdamo]

Wow, I'm amazed at the ammount of people defending McDonalds and fast food in general. Are we as humanity finally at the point where we spend more energy defending our lazyness than the energy it takes cook our own food?
Have we become so blind that sloth is the new pride?

I've stopped eating fast food about 10 years ago when I saw many experiments with fast food, mostly McDonalds', that showed that those products have trouble rotting (if not rotting at all), attracting insects or show any alteration regarding the decomposing process in general.
If food won't rot after days, weeks, months or even years than how can you expect a human digestive system to break it down into nutrients after just 1 day in our intestines?
Sure it tastes good, and yes thats what we all want, and sure life in general is deadly, so this isn't an exception nor an excuse, but for the love of anything, wake up and smell reality.

However I'm not here to judge your choices in life, I'm here to share my opinion. I understand the upcoming hatred direct towards me for my so-called ignorance or lack of proper scientific proof that... etc., yet would it hurt you NOT to eat fast food for a change? Would a proper meal cooked from organic ingredients kill you any faster?

Or to hop the bandwagon and presenting the hypothetical zombie-apocalypse: Does your life depend on others to cook food for you? Its nice that you can pull a trigger or swing that what is in your hands, build traps or have some valueable skill like medicine or electronics, yet all those are a waste if you can't properly provide the basic nutrients to live, let alone be able to fully use abovementioned skills at optimum efficiency.
Regardless of me loosing faith in the survivability of mankind; your body, your choice.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

If my life were to be divided up into story arcs with themes, one of the two themes of this part of my life would be "what do I need to do to be healthy." While researching the answer to that question I came upon this, a list of the ingredients in a Chicken McNugget. I would like to share with you now an excerpt from the notes I took from Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Of the 32 ingredients in a Chicken McNugget, thirteen can be derived from Corn: The corn fed chicken; corn starch; modified cornstarch; mono-, tri-, and diglycerides; dextrose; lecithin; chicken broth; yellow cornflower; vegetable shortening; partially hydrogenated corn oil; and citric acid. A few other plants are used as ingredients, wheat in the batter, and sometimes hydrogenated oil from soybeans, canola, or cotton is used in place of that from corn. McNuggets also contain several completely synthetic ingredients: sodium aluminum phosphate; mono-calcium phosphate; sodium acid pyrophosphate; calcium lactate; dimethylopolysiloxene (which, according to the Handbook of Food Additives, is a suspected carcinogen, as well as a confirmed mutagen, tomorigen, and reproductive effector, it is also flammable); and tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) [which, according to A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, is a form of butane (lighter fluid) that the FDA allows processors to use sparingly in food: it may comprise no more than 0.02% of the oil in a nugget. Ingesting a single gram of TBHQ can cause nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, and a sense of "suffocation and collapse." Five grams of TBHQ can kill.] The nugget is responsible for chicken having passed beef as the most consumed meat in America.

... So now, if I may, let me pose a question. What the hell is wrong with us? Why would anyone eat this? Why would anyone think that it qualifies, even remotely, as food? Considering that statistics say that one in three American children eat fast food every day, shouldn't we be asking ourselves some serious questions like "why is it even legal to serve that to people, nonetheless to children, and on a regular basis?"

EDIT: Well, it looks like it timed out and cut my poll, sorry folks, no poll today.

I lol when people who have zero knowledge on science bash on McDonalds.

How about you get clue that just because chemicals are present doesn't mean it's going to kill you or even harm you. Most of them are there to protect you.

Take for example Potasium Nitrate, added to almost ALL meats. This may startle you if your were utterly ignorant of food science but potassium nitrate is the only safe preservative that prevents the spread of botulism in cut and frozen meat. Botulism causes paralysis of the body and death, its purified toxin is on of the most deadly neurological-agents available to the chemical weapons arsenals...

... and it's 100% natural bacteria and toxin. And if we didn't add this chemical, every piece of meat no matter how well cooked or stored has the risk of killing you.

"Suspected carcinogen" do you even know what you are talking about? That is meaningless, not to mention even CHARCOAL is considered a "suspected carcinogen" yes, ANY food that is fried, grilled, baked, toasted or cooked in any other way than boiling could give you cancer.

So if you are REALLY worried you should live on boiled vegetables for the rest of your life!

Or maybe you will hypocritically skip that one.

"Why would anyone think that it qualifies, even remotely, as food?"

Oh my god, are you serious!?!? IT IS CHICKEN! Flesh from a chicken is cooked, that's food.

"shouldn't we be asking ourselves some serious questions like 'why is it even legal to serve that to people' "

Because it is not dangerous. The FDA has approved it as safe. THAT is why it is legal.

If you are a scientist qualified in this area and have found and proven that any of the chemicals present in Nuggets are dangerous IN THE QUANTITY THAT THEY ARE PRESENT (that's the important part) then show that to the FDA. And if you have a good case then they may consider changing the rules on what is permissible.

DO NOT start an anti-intellectual smear campaign banking on paranoia over "chemical names" to bash a restaurant.

But I'd question your spurious claim of the contents. You CLAIM these chemicals are present though a google search for dimethylopolysiloxENE leads right back to this article:

http://www.google.com/search?q=dimethylopolysiloxene&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GBfficial&client=firefox-a

The word doesn't seem to even exist.

Here is what McDonalds claims is in a Chicken McNugget:

http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/ingredientslist.pdf

However DimethylpolysiloxANE does exist and you know what is actually is? Harmless Silly Putty.

Yeah, that stuff kids have been playing with FOR DECADES, huge giant chunks of the stuff. And here it is only in trace amounts. The stuff is harmless.

Fuck. Sake.

People these days. Did you deliberately miss-spell Dimethylpolysiloxane just so it was harder for people to check up on your bullshit or are you just so scientifically illiterate you mix up your Alkenes and your Alkanes.

You are NOT QUALIFIED to criticise McDonalds for the contents of their food. Get an education on chemistry first. Yeah, freedom of speech you can say what you like, but your words carry n weight.

The mere fact that chemical names are scary in this sense speaks to an underwritten logic. Our bodies evolved over millions of years in such a way as to exploit the compounds that we find in the natural foods that we eat. But our bodies have had only the past fifty years to adapt to the synthetic compounds that we've been adding to our foods.

The fact of the matter is that we don't know a lot about why certain foods are good or bad for us, and the reason we don't know why certain foods are good or bad for us is because the biological processes that compose the human body are so wonderfully complex. What we do have, however, is thousands of years worth of research on what foods eaten in what ways make up a good diet, codified in cultural rules about eating. We do have more than enough evidence to show that people who eat diets of food prepared and raised with traditional methods outside of the industrial system are absolutely healthier and have lower rates of cancer, diabetes, and other diseases of affluence. Furthermore, food raised using natural systems (a good example would be the model used by Polyface farms) is much freer of bacteria than the meat and produce produced in industrial monocultures, and people who eat it are healthier than people who eat industrialized processed foods.

Evolutionarily, this makes sense. The "food" produced with the industrial system is mostly made with corn (specifically, an industrial corn called field corn #2, which, I might note, is very different from the corn you eat when you're eating corn on the cob), and is much more novel than most people realize. You're right when you say that I can't prove that any of these chemicals are necessarily harmful, but what I can say without a doubt is that we, as a people, are running an experiment with some potentially terrifying outcomes on our entire society. If you think it's appropriate to gamble with the health of an entire country, you're perfectly free to say so, but I would contend that gambling with the health of an entire people is about as immoral as immoral gets.

The real point that I've been trying to make here is that the people who buy Chicken McNuggets, and any other processed foods for that matter, don't actually know what they're eating. No one has told them, and unfortunately, many of them don't realize that they should be asking. Eating from the industrial food system requires a surprising amount of ignorance. Again, if you think that it's alright for companies like McDonalds, ADM, Cargill, Tyson, General Mills, and all the others to use the ignorance of an entire people as a tool for personal gain, you're perfectly entitled to your opinion, but I am contending, again, that it's simply immoral.

PS. My spelling of Dimethylpolysiloxane was a typo, but thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt, and thanks for not demeaning me, treating me like an ignorant moron, and making personal attacks on me instead of focusing on the issues. These things are always appreciated in the course of debate.

 

[Sporky111]

Lovely. I was already on a "chicken-only at McDonald's" rule because of the horror stories I heard about their beef. Though, I don't know if the recipe for the McNuggets is the same as the recipe for their chicken burgers.

But this is really concerning. I mean, carcinogens? A form of butane? I mean, I don't really care that it's in there. It's a small enough dose that it isn't causing problems. You're right, people eat there every day. And so far fast food isn't causing everyone cancer.

What bothers me is that the company is willingly putting it in their food. Who thought it would be a good idea to put TBHQ in a chicken nugget? It's beyond me. But of course, you didn't say why it was in there so we can't be expected to react in any way except "zomg! poizon in mah Macnugglets!"

 

[siddif]

This just in, the FDA says that almost 80% of burger flippers spit on one in five burgers, pee in the frying oil, and wash their hands only after directly handling their junk. ..it's fast food, your options are, enjoy nasty unhealthy shit that takes seconds to create, or wait an hour for something that probably wasn't cooked by a greasy, moody, dick getting paid minimum wage with all the reasons in the world to hate you for making them actually do something.

I agree, though I never did any of the gross stuff or saw anyone else doing it i hated every moment past the initial novelty stage in McDonalds being payed slightly over minimum wage (UK) to do the job of at least 2 or 3 people at once was utter hell there were times when i had to cook the burgers, chicken and special orders by myself as well as clean up after the breakfast menu *shudder*

 

[C95J]

Chicken McNuggets are AWESOME!

They are the main reason I eat at McDonalds! I don't care what ingredients are in them...

 

[Ledan]

Anything in moderation is okay.
Anything to excess is deadly.
Sometimes the margin is really small, but there is probably a certain amount of rat poison each day that would be beneficial. And uranium. And chicken nuggets. And salt.

 

[Danzaivar]

The mere fact that chemical names are scary in this sense speaks to an underwritten logic. Our bodies evolved over millions of years in such a way as to exploit the compounds that we find in the natural foods that we eat. But our bodies have had only the past fifty years to adapt to the synthetic compounds that we've been adding to our foods.

The fact of the matter is that we don't know a lot about why certain foods are good or bad for us, and the reason we don't know why certain foods are good or bad for us is because the biological processes that compose the human body are so wonderfully complex. What we do have, however, is thousands of years worth of research on what foods eaten in what ways make up a good diet, codified in cultural rules about eating. We do have more than enough evidence to show that people who eat diets of food prepared and raised with traditional methods outside of the industrial system are absolutely healthier and have lower rates of cancer, diabetes, and other diseases of affluence. Furthermore, food raised using natural systems (a good example would be the model used by Polyface farms) is much freer of bacteria than the meat and produce produced in industrial monocultures, and people who eat it are healthier than people who eat industrialized processed foods.

Evolutionarily, this makes sense. The "food" produced with the industrial system is mostly made with corn (specifically, an industrial corn called field corn #2, which, I might note, is very different from the corn you eat when you're eating corn on the cob), and is much more novel than most people realize. You're right when you say that I can't prove that any of these chemicals are necessarily harmful, but what I can say without a doubt is that we, as a people, are running an experiment with some potentially terrifying outcomes on our entire society. If you think it's appropriate to gamble with the health of an entire country, you're perfectly free to say so, but I would contend that gambling with the health of an entire people is about as immoral as immoral gets.

The real point that I've been trying to make here is that the people who buy Chicken McNuggets, and any other processed foods for that matter, don't actually know what they're eating. No one has told them, and unfortunately, many of them don't realize that they should be asking. Eating from the industrial food system requires a surprising amount of ignorance. Again, if you think that it's alright for companies like McDonalds, ADM, Cargill, Tyson, General Mills, and all the others to use the ignorance of an entire people as a tool for personal gain, you're perfectly entitled to your opinion, but I am contending, again, that it's simply immoral.

PS. My spelling of Dimethylpolysiloxane was a typo, but thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt, and thanks for not demeaning me, treating me like an ignorant moron, and making personal attacks on me instead of focusing on the issues. These things are always appreciated in the course of debate.

Your federal authority has tested and judged all of the chemicals that go into this stuff safe. If everyone had to know everything in modern life then we'd all be in school til 30 just learning pointless trivia so everyone is 'properly informed'. The only immoral part would be if they hid this information from people. You seem to have found it easily so that clearly ain't an issue.

It's just a case of delegation and trust. You obviously don't have much trust, but a lot of people do...

 

[Lukeydoodly]

Every time I go to Macdonolds I get 20 nuggets.

I know they are full of shit, but not to that extent. Surely it would be cheaper to just use normal ingredients?

 

[siddif]

Wow, I'm amazed at the ammount of people defending McDonalds and fast food in general. Are we as humanity finally at the point where we spend more energy defending our lazyness than the energy it takes cook our own food?
Have we become so blind that sloth is the new pride?

Regardless of me loosing faith in the survivability of mankind; your body, your choice.

Fast food once in a while has never hurt anyone and in my last few comments i have mentioned working in McDs and hating it but i am also a qualified chef and enjoy cooking, doesnt mean i wont be lazy and order take out or go for fast food. it doesnt make it wrong or right to do either or.

Now if you are at the stage where you are wider than you are tall you may have made a few eating mistakes but on the whole as long as you are happy and healthy a little culinary deviance can be allowed.

 

[Neofishie]

See, this is why I eat double quarter pounders with cheese.

Cuz' that's WAY better for me to eat....

 

[CrystalShadow]

In all honesty, the problem is that just about everything contains weird crap.

Especially if you look at it in terms of it's chemical composition.

Petroleum based? - They're called 'organic' compounds for a reason.

Trouble is, the whole issue with chemical names is that telling the dangerous stuff from the harmless is nigh on impossible.

Is a chicken nugget bad for you? Probably.
But I highly doubt it has much of anything to do with what you're pointing out here, and far more to do with more basic aspects of cooked meat.

Should I even point out the long and frankly disgusting history of meat in general?
Much of it would make you feel ill if you knew where it came from.


For that matter, fast food isn't the only culprit.

Potatoes are a relative of deadly nightshade, and contain small doses of a highly toxic and hallucinogenic poison.

Does that make them unhealthy by definition?

You can find examples of this all over the place with even supposedly 'healthy' fruit, vegetables, meat, etc. Organic or not.

Fast food is unhealthy that seems a well known fact. But homemade food created from organic ingredients can be just as bad depending on what you do with it.

That's just the nature of food.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

That's why I said 'lowest tier' .

I love it when stuck of rich guys waltz over to take a shit where I eat.

Yeah, your type, love to bash McDonalds, probably because you're well off enough to eat at some swanky restaurant most days. Well the NHS doesn't pay very well.

A meal costs £5.40 in Burger King and I have to pay for BBQ sauce. Same size meal costs £3.79 in MD and I get WiFi and BBQ sauce for free. That's 45% more at BK, for what?

I know this is just my personal experience but I went into burger king once and a rat, A FUCKING RAT ran past me and out the door. I know that's an isolated incident but seriously, what the fuck?!?! How did it get there, why was the staff so surprised when told them I saw a rat? Had they not even seen it?

Also. Egg McMuffin. Seriously. How the fuck is that "lowest tier" and they're open at 6am. Good pancakes too. You know a restaurant on the highstreet that does better than that!?!?

They're coffee is bitter crap but otherwise they are God Tier.

I know what it is. Nah, I've figured it out. It's the price, so cheap certain types get suspicious when you're not spending more than £6 for a meal. Well that's "sound" logic expense = quality[/sarc]. (Console games cost about 35-50% more than PC games)

Well i see where you are coming from but I'm not posh and i certainly am not rich. Just to let you know that if you get one meal a day for the standard working week (Mon-Fri) from McDonald's then you are spending £18.95 on fast food add an extra £1.05 and you've got £20.00. Take into consideration that if you went to Asda with that and did some shopping then you would be surprised at the things you could get. Most certainly you could get enough, and with some to spare, for you to make a lunch your self that would be considerably better for you. So for me it's got nothing to do with the price being low, in fact i think that the price is very high for what you get. The most i would pay for one of there meals would be no more than £2.00.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

You probably should be reading up on the much more serious problem of Dihydrogen Monoxide (http://www.dhmo.org/)

Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is a colorless and odorless chemical compound, also referred to by some as Dihydrogen Oxide, Hydrogen Hydroxide, Hydronium Hydroxide, or simply Hydric acid. Its basis is the highly reactive hydroxyl radical, a species shown to mutate DNA, denature proteins, disrupt cell membranes, and chemically alter critical neurotransmitters. The atomic components of DHMO are found in a number of caustic, explosive and poisonous compounds such as Sulfuric Acid, Nitroglycerine and Ethyl Alcohol.

Should I be concerned about Dihydrogen Monoxide?
Yes, you should be concerned about DHMO! Although the U.S. Government and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) do not classify Dihydrogen Monoxide as a toxic or carcinogenic substance (as it does with better known chemicals such as hydrochloric acid and benzene), DHMO is a constituent of many known toxic substances, diseases and disease-causing agents, environmental hazards and can even be lethal to humans in quantities as small as a thimbleful.

Each year, Dihydrogen Monoxide is a known causative component in many thousands of deaths and is a major contributor to millions upon millions of dollars in damage to property and the environment. Some of the known perils of Dihydrogen Monoxide are:

Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities.
Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage.
Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects.
DHMO is a major component of acid rain.
Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns.
Contributes to soil erosion.
Leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals.
Contamination of electrical systems often causes short-circuits.
Exposure decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
Found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.
Given to vicious dogs involved in recent deadly attacks.

I read the first line and burst into laughter.
Nice way to avoid saying H2O.


But if this was published in a national paper, it would cause mass hysteria.
*sigh* silly humans.

 

[siddif]

This just in, the FDA says that almost 80% of burger flippers spit on one in five burgers, pee in the frying oil, and wash their hands only after directly handling their junk. ..it's fast food, your options are, enjoy nasty unhealthy shit that takes seconds to create, or wait an hour for something that probably wasn't cooked by a greasy, moody, dick getting paid minimum wage with all the reasons in the world to hate you for making them actually do something.

I agree, though I never did any of the gross stuff or saw anyone else doing it i hated every moment past the initial novelty stage in McDonalds being payed slightly over minimum wage (UK) to do the job of at least 2 or 3 people at once was utter hell there were times when i had to cook the burgers, chicken and special orders by myself as well as clean up after the breakfast menu *shudder*

Here is how messed up one of my trips to McDonalds was. So I get my food, I sit down, and I'm eating, I don't care whats in it, the guys in back are probably too busy to spit in my food, what with is being the lunch rush and all. So out of nowhere the guy flipping burgers does a front flip (not really) over the counter with a cell phone to his ear and says "I'll be right there" at which point another guy who was not working at McDonalds (not in uniform, no name tag, why he was back behind the counter I have no idea) comes up to the manager, some 20 year old girl, and says that the cook's mother has been hurt and he has to go to the hospital and asks to fill in. Now as I said the guy didn't work there, but the manager was just like "sure, go for it" and went back to talking to this group of girls by the door. ...WTF, I'm hoping that it's just my McDonalds, but god damn, does any fast food place just go "sure, our cooks out at the moment, get back there even though I have no idea what you're capable of"? Made me glad I got my food before that guy had to leave.

Sounds pretty bad and I hope it was only that one occasion but tbh in McDs everything is on a timer and theres posters telling you how to make everything via pictures, a lot of my co workers were polish immigrants with poor english skills and mostly they were better than the natives at the job as its just basically common sense. As long as you hands are washed, you use gloves on the raw meat and stick to the timers the food should be fine.

 

[Madcat75]

You probably should be reading up on the much more serious problem of Dihydrogen Monoxide (http://www.dhmo.org/)

Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is a colorless and odorless chemical compound, also referred to by some as Dihydrogen Oxide, Hydrogen Hydroxide, Hydronium Hydroxide, or simply Hydric acid. Its basis is the highly reactive hydroxyl radical, a species shown to mutate DNA, denature proteins, disrupt cell membranes, and chemically alter critical neurotransmitters. The atomic components of DHMO are found in a number of caustic, explosive and poisonous compounds such as Sulfuric Acid, Nitroglycerine and Ethyl Alcohol.

Should I be concerned about Dihydrogen Monoxide?
Yes, you should be concerned about DHMO! Although the U.S. Government and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) do not classify Dihydrogen Monoxide as a toxic or carcinogenic substance (as it does with better known chemicals such as hydrochloric acid and benzene), DHMO is a constituent of many known toxic substances, diseases and disease-causing agents, environmental hazards and can even be lethal to humans in quantities as small as a thimbleful.

Each year, Dihydrogen Monoxide is a known causative component in many thousands of deaths and is a major contributor to millions upon millions of dollars in damage to property and the environment. Some of the known perils of Dihydrogen Monoxide are:

Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities.
Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage.
Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects.
DHMO is a major component of acid rain.
Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns.
Contributes to soil erosion.
Leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals.
Contamination of electrical systems often causes short-circuits.
Exposure decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
Found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.
Given to vicious dogs involved in recent deadly attacks.

I read the first line and burst into laughter.
Nice way to avoid saying H2O.


But if this was published in a national paper, it would cause mass hysteria.
*sigh* silly humans.

Was just able to get one of my friends to say they were going to make sure they never touched it again and to check what they eat and drink for it, I thought they were joking but I had to /facepalm and /facedesk when I found out they were serious, I then had to break it to them what it was, amazing how when people see a chemical name like that and are told it is bad they believe it without doing any research of their own and finding out the truth.

 

[Treblaine]

This just in, the FDA says that almost 80% of burger flippers spit on one in five burgers, pee in the frying oil, and wash their hands only after directly handling their junk. ..it's fast food, your options are, enjoy nasty unhealthy shit that takes seconds to create, or wait an hour for something that probably wasn't cooked by a greasy, moody, dick getting paid minimum wage with all the reasons in the world to hate you for making them actually do something.

Err, you've NEVER been into a McDonalds have you?

You can see RIGHT INTO the kitchen from where you stand to take an order, the staff have no alone time, there is constantly a manager around, they never know if one is right on their shoulder or a customer looking through from outside.

The "spit in their burger" is a rich-boy myth, an excuse for justifying them going to gourmet restaurants and feeling like they are spending their money well.

You'll be surprised what happens in fancy restaurants where the kitchens are out of sight of the customers where they get plenty of time alone with your food. The waiters too bringing it to your table, what if he didn't think you tipped enough? THEY are the ones paid minimum wage, they have a demeaning job waiting on you hand and foot, THEY are the ones who have a real reason to vandalise your food.

If a mcdonalds staff hates anyone, it is the manager, the guy the interact with keeping them in line. NOT the customer, who they barely see and interact with on a much more equal level.

Really I think what you lot hate most about McDonalds is not the company but the customers.

You don't like the idea of rubbing shoulders with the dirty "plebs". Nothing like an expensive restaurant to sort the wheat from the chaff, don't want to be sharing your table with some minimum-wager.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Thankfully, the only fast food retailer within reasonable walkinf distance from here is McD's, adn I hate McD's. However, there's a Subway and a Greggs.

I fucking love Subway and Greggs. Granted, chicken tikka pasties are a bastardisation and probably contain more fat than Anne Widecombe's arse, but I love them all the same because they're delicious (which is more than can be said for Anne Widecombe's arse).

 

[Rusty Bucket]

Every time I go to Macdonolds I get 20 nuggets.

I know they are full of shit, but not to that extent. Surely it would be cheaper to just use normal ingredients?

Wait, these aren't normal ingredients?

This is about as old as news gets. Fast food is bad for you and contains questionable ingredients. No one gives a shit because it tastes so fucking good. I'll take a box of chemical nuggets and some chips that never go off over a salad every time.