Some have jokingly called Taco Bell "Taco Hell" for some time, and now it seems like the company may be in trouble as litigation over the question of "what beef is" catches America's attention.
But before we get all riled up about something corporate, I want to pose a question. Is it really that big of a deal? Allow me to explain my reasons for questioning.
It's not that I think fast food is great and that people, restaurants, and food producers shouldn't do more to ensure that there is nutritional value to food. That is especially the case now that we have the real possibility of universal health care. If we all have to pay in, I want to be sure that Joe Plumber is eating foods that will sustain him and his health so that he's not overusing the health system.
But the question is, does Taco Bell's beef, or lack thereof, really pose a health issue? Or a false advertising issue at that? Take a minute and think about it. How many mom's since the invention of meatloaf have used "extenders" when making meat based foods? How many restaurants initially used "french" in french fries, french toast, etc. to make the food name sound exotic when it wasn't. Isn't that false advertising?
Meatloaf itself has all kinds of stuff in it, that isn't meat, but you don't see lawyers lining up to say that it can't be called 'meat' loaf anymore. Think of the ingredients: eggs, milk, butter, bread crumbs, seasonings, oils, etc., none of which are even close to the meat department. Sounds like it should be called breakfast-for-dinner loaf instead. Isn't all Taco Bell is doing with things like maltodextrin (sweetener), and soy lecithin, isolated oats similar to what your mother does with meats she prepares?
So the plaintiffs want Taco Bell to have to call their whatever-you-call-it something more like "Taco Meat Filling" instead of beef. Sound's appetizing doesn't it? I knew that fast food menu's took after the Chinese menu, but I thought it was the numbering part, not the bad way of explaining what it is you're eating part.
I think most Americans are thinking along the same lines... at least non-scientific polls seem to be showing that. It also seems that Taco Bell knows that as well, and is adding some humor to the situation by releasing this ad.
Come on America, let's focus on other issues at hand. Sure, we need to be healthy. But food is one of those things that man has been experimenting with for a long, long time. And the whole point of it is to mix things together that make the prepared food much better than it was naturally. Humans have been eating "badly" by our current definitions for millennia, but we've gotten to this point, haven't we? Lets move on.
