Fast food chicken. It’s delicious, it’s crispy, it’s craveable. I loved it as a kid and as a young adult. These day though, I stay away from it. It’s not simply because the food is almost always non-organic and thus laden with GMOs (although that’s a strong point all on its own because the glyphosate and GMO presence in fast food is astounding!), but really it’s the ingredient lists and what’s lurking in those ingredients that you can’t pronounce or recognize. In my opinion the ingredients in many FF joints read more like a laboratory experiment than a food recipe. Butter flavored oil made with soy instead of butter, the main ingredient in silly putty added to many foods, and up there with the most odd to me is the caramel coloring, TO MAKE THINGS MORE BROWN. You just can’t make that last one make sense to me.

Let’s discuss some of the poisonous shit found in the chicken served to millions of Americans every day.

The hugely popular “No Cows” restaurant’s chicken has been found to contain Nicarbazin, which Moms Across America explains is a contraceptive and antiparasitic drug. Yummy. They also use monosodium glutamate (MSG) which is a neurotoxin that creates an “addictive sensation” that causes low satiety and increased desire to eat. No wonder the drive-thru is always packed! Dimethylpolysiloxane is an anti-foaming agent, primarily notable as the primary ingredient in silly putty, and a host of different preservatives. They made an effort  to remove antibiotic chicken for a while, but have publicly stated that they have started serving chicken raised on antibiotics again. 

Banjango (you know the one) drips partially hydrogenated oils and artificial trans fats which sadly doesn’t make them stand out. They also use cottonseed oil (which is GMO almost in it’s entirety) and a very toxic oil, TBHG, which is linked to a host of health issues. The health issues range from your run of the mill carcinogen to ADHD and decreased immune function. Odd then that during those 2020 years, which we all try to forget, that the government wasn’t warning us away from fast food. Hmmm. And then as the weird cherry on top, they use caramel coloring in their mac and cheese! Because who doesn’t miss the color brown in their mac. 

The cartoon sailor man is also guilty of using MSG and it’s shocking how much they use it. On the ingredient list for their amazingly popular spicy chicken, you will see it is listed 3 separate times! Once injected into the chicken, second added to the seasoning, and again added to the batter. “ADDICTIVE SENSATION” Yeah. The next time you hear someone say, “I’m craving chicken”, ask them what kind they like and ask them how often they eat it. Then, draw your own conclusions!

B’ King is among the shadiest with their trickery. They have this image on their website stating that they are banning 120 ingredients from the food BUT…20 of the 120 items listed are already banned by the FDA! So they really couldn’t use them if they wanted to. 5 are listed under multiple names. 3 can still be found in their beverages (artificial colors) and the bullshit just goes on and on.

The Golden Arches also utilizes so mental gymnastics and PR magic. FoodBabe did an article years ago after they made a big splash saying they were removing artificial colors….from their.. wait for it… BURGERS! While in reality, that’s because they never put them in their burgers to begin with. It’s in their shakes! They also use high fructose corn syrup in all of their classic burgers. Why? Because sugar is addictive. It’s wrong and its just a tad evil.

I used to believe that the fancy bread place was the best option because their stuff was non-GMO. But they have found very high glyphosate
levels in their food regardless (The HIGHEST level tested by Moms Across America sadly).

My favorite to-go food is definitely Chipotle. Not only are they non-GMO dedicated, but they also use some organic ingredients and the ingredients they use are simple things you would cook with at home. It is as health as you might make it, maybe not, but it’s a massive step in the right direction.

So with all that in mind, I think I’ll plan ahead on road trips so I can avoid them all together. 

If you are hopelessly addicted to fast food chicken (or really fast food anything), get help before it kills you!

Sources:
FoodBabe: https://foodbabe.com/
Moms Across America: https://www.momsacrossamerica.com/