Ammonium hydroxide is classed by the FDA as "generally recognized as safe", so while I certainly side with the argument that they should be required to disclose this, and I understand that some people may prefer to avoid it, I don't think that it's particularly immoral to do this as a way of offering customers cheap food. In fact I'd argue that it's more immoral of them to be helping people become obese than doing this.
But in Europe McDonalds does not use this procedure. Can't be the philosophy stopping them, so must be the law. The Dutch website even states in a big bold font that they don't do use Ammonium hydroxide. 'Never have, never will'. http://www.mcdonalds.nl/meerweten/kwaliteit-voeding/
If they state "never have, never will" it's unlikely to be the law, otherwise they wouldn't need to say that. More likely is that the marketing win is bigger than the increase in cost and/or the belief that less people would eat there if they used it.
Sorry I should clarify, I wasn't suggestion they want to produce cheap food for charitable reasons at all - but yes, that absolutely is their intent, they're a cheap food place with cheap food prices.
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Ammonium hydroxide is classed by the FDA as "generally recognized as safe", so while I certainly side with the argument that they should be required to disclose this, and I understand that some people may prefer to avoid it, I don't think that it's particularly immoral to do this as a way of offering customers cheap food. In fact I'd argue that it's more immoral of them to be helping people become obese than doing this.
But in Europe McDonalds does not use this procedure. Can't be the philosophy stopping them, so must be the law. The Dutch website even states in a big bold font that they don't do use Ammonium hydroxide. 'Never have, never will'. http://www.mcdonalds.nl/meerweten/kwaliteit-voeding/
If they state "never have, never will" it's unlikely to be the law, otherwise they wouldn't need to say that. More likely is that the marketing win is bigger than the increase in cost and/or the belief that less people would eat there if they used it.
I don't think their intent is to "offer customers cheap food" (as if they could care less). They just use those techniques to increase their margins.
Sorry I should clarify, I wasn't suggestion they want to produce cheap food for charitable reasons at all - but yes, that absolutely is their intent, they're a cheap food place with cheap food prices.