The Story of a Happy Meal
This is only slightly off topic. Via GOOD I came across a post this morning about the Happy Meal Project by New York photographer Sallie Davies. So far Davies has followed the life of an untouched happy meal for 137 days, though she plans to continue until something happens.
See, in case you didn’t notice, the above picture taken on day 137 looks shockingly like the one from day one—there’s no mold, no dinsintegration… I’d wager that, for all intents and purposes, that Happy Meal isn’t even food.
I bring this up for two reasons. One, what we eat (and how we feel) is inextricably bound to how we look. Two, nothing we put on or in our bodies should last indefinitely. While it’s not an argument without some merit, I’m so sick of hearing how important preservatives are and how the real danger is bacteria. Ok ok I get it, but can my freaking burger biodegrade on day three, guys? Does my hand cream have to last ten years?
Hmm, how about becoming a vegetarian? I stopped eating meat over twenty years ago, & I’ll never go back to it. I know that doesn’t solve the issues you brought up in the post, but it’s a way individuals can control what they consume.
It’s definitely a good option! I also haven’t really eaten meat for twenty years either (save some bacon here and there, or really special offerings), but I’ve been known to indulge in my fair share of french fries. Those unchanging McDs fries are creeping me out!
well… its the preservatives that are the danger!! its just so completely NOT NATURAL for food to last that long!!- seriously!! the cleaner the food we eat, the better for our bodies it is!! theyre putting so much crap in foods these days and falsely selling it as “good food”, when in actuality all its doing is diminishing the real food value down to complete crap!! grr.
This is just a very disturbing picture especially after so much time has passed
I showed the picture of the Happy Meal to my roommate (and covered up the day in the bottom corner). She thought it was taken quite recently after it was cooked. She was amazed when I showed her that it was 137 days later. Terrible, terrible food!
I think it’s dumb to say that something isn’t “real food”. Real food is anything that your body can break down and use as energy. The Happy Meal creeps me out too, but it is certainly real food. Not necessarily optimal food perhaps, but real.