Check out Technician’s Jordan Alsaqua’s article about Taco Bell’s meat: https://www.technicianonline.com/features/taco-bell-fights-mystery-meat-claims-1.2453669
Tacos can be a delicious foodstuff or a lying menace. At least one woman in California, Amanda Obney, thinks the latter. She filed suit against Taco Bell claiming the company makes fraudulent claims about the amount of beef in their tacos.
Miss Obney and her lawyers brought the class action lawsuit against Taco Bell hoping it would make them tell the truth about their delicious meats. She and her lawyers claim that they have had the meat tested and it was only 35 percent meat, not meeting the requirements necessary to be called “ground beef.”
In response, Taco Bell President Greg Creed turned on the cameras and shot a YouTube video where he described the ingredients that go into their ground beef. According to Creed, Taco Bell’s meat is 88 percent USDA inspected beef. The other 12 percent are secret spices, which include pretty standard seasoning fare. Taco Bell will also be launching an ad campaign to inform the public about the contents of their taco meat.
Whether the meat in Taco Bell tacos is 35 percent or 88 percent beef is really beside the point. No one eats at Taco Bell and leaves thinking about what a fine, gourmet product they have just enjoyed. People eat at Taco Bell because it is cheap, fast, convenient and tasty.
Culturally, we have been inundated with documentaries and books explaining how fast food is cheaply made and bad for us. I am glad. I am all for investigation leading to my knowing what is in my food and whether or not I should continue to eat it.
That being said, this is a fine example of taking a good idea too far. We are already an overly litigious society and to start class action lawsuits over the quality of fast food is a huge waste of time and money. This seems like an attempt to create an unnecessary conflict because the real fight–against eating fast food–is harder to fight and mostly unwinnable.
It is likely that the meat found in your Taco Bell tacos is what the USDA considers utility grade meat, meaning that it is typically used in ground beef, hot dogs and the like. However, it is not high quality meat. This should not surprise anyone when it costs you 88 cents to buy it.
We all know that fast food is unhealthy but often it is the solution to a problem derived from being hungry when you lack time, money or both. Like all things, it should be consumed in moderation. All things taken into account, there is no reason to start suing fast food companies because of the quality of their food. When you go to the $1.50 movie theater, you do not spend your whole time complaining that the screen is grainy or that you are covered in ants. You get what you paid for.
I encourage everyone to budget their time and money more effectively, so that they can enjoy healthy food both on campus and at home. The menus University Dining puts together are both healthy and tasty. Making healthy, affordable food at home is not too difficult if you have or make the time. However, if you decide to throw caution to the winds and enjoy something a little faster and cheaper, I understand, Just try not to sue anyone afterward.
Coverage by WolfTV
Taco Bell Lawsuit – NC State Student Views from Wolf TV on Vimeo.
