This makes me sick to my stomach.  It is not a joke.  I want you to read this official press release from McDonald’s regarding the use of ammonia in their hamburger meat and tell me what you think…

“For a number of years prior to 2011, to assist with supply, McDonald’s USA used some lean beef trimmings treated with ammonia in our burgers. We were among other food retailers who used this safe product.

“At the beginning of 2011, we made a decision to stop using this ingredient. It has been out of the McDonald’s USA supply chain since August of 2011. We wanted to be consistent with our global beef supply chain and we’re always evolving our practices.”

For a number of years?  It’s comforting to know that for however long, my family (and yours) was consuming poisonous meat.  You did this to assist with supply?  Oh, that makes it better.  Phew.  Good thing we had some leftover cleaning solution to meet today’s hefty hamburger demands… And remind me again how many BILLIONS you served in those years where you fed our kids “ammonia in [your] burgers?!?”  Next, you try to convince me that, somehow, my ammonia-laced Big Mac was “safe.”  In the event the Golden Arches’ brass hasn’t figured it out yet, you use the same ammonia to clean the public toilets at the close of your shift.  Ammonia is also used as a fuel, fertilizer, and stimulant.  And it took you until 2011 to make the decision to stop?  Someone should be applauded for their “prompt” response… right after they are sent to jail.

For decades, McDonald’s has used clowns, cheap meals and indoor playgrounds to lure parents from around the world to spend their money at their local ammonia-laced burger stand.  McDonald’s has made, literally, profited in the billions for this unsafe behavior.  It reminds me of tobacco companies who, likewise, lured youth to participate in unsafe and addictive conduct.

When is corporate America going to wake up and start being honest with its consumers?  The decade’s old campaign of “profit over safety” must come to an end.