McDonald's Takes Good News to Go

Who doesn't associate world-class athletes with the McDonald's lifestyle?

(NEWSER) - Nothing symbolizes physical fitness better than ... McDonald's, right? The fast-food chain is a major London Olympics sponsor, and it has some pretty big plans—literally. The world's largest McDonald's will open this summer in Olympic Park. The AP describes it as a "cathedral-like restaurant" whose two stories house room for 1,500 diners. If spectators can't find a seat there, they'll have three other locations from which to choose in Olympic Park, and a fifth location will be set up in the athletes' village. More»

Picture that the next time you're chowing down ... complete with snow

(NEWSER) - The next time you find yourself shoveling McDonald's fries into your mouth, slow down: You're likely failing to recognize what a precious experience you are engaged in. Bloomberg tucks a fun tidbit into a piece on McDonald's suppliers—apparently, sinking your teeth into a fry should be like "walking on freshly fallen snow." Seriously. That's from the company's director of sensory science, who was leading a contest in which its suppliers were supposed to cook the ideal fry. For the record, a sample from Lamb Weston's American Falls, Idaho, plant won for the second year in a row. More»

Care for some fertilizer with your burger?

(NEWSER) - Duck feathers, human hair, fertilizer: These are among the ingredients you may be ingesting every time you chow down on fast food. That's because the FDA has deemed certain additives to be "generally recognized as safe," even though it may creep you out to learn of them. On Mother Nature Network , Melissa Breyer runs down eight of the most disturbing:

• Duck feathers and human hair: These two unappealing things are the most common sources for an amino acid, l-cysteine, used to make dough easier to process. McDonald's uses l-cysteine, the duck feather kind, in its apple pie.
• Fertilizer: Ammonium sulfate is also commonly used, as "yeast food for bread," in fast food bakery products. But it can also act as a fertilizer for alkaline soils.

Pork suppliers told to phase out hog crates

(NEWSER) - McDonald's is winning praise from animal welfare groups for taking action to create a more humane McRib. The fast food giant has told its suppliers to come up with plans for ending the use of gestation crates for adult female hogs, the Wall Street Journal reports. Most breeding sows in the US spend their entire lives in the tiny pens, which are so small that they cannot turn around. McDonald's says it has decided the pens are "not a sustainable production system." More»

Matthew Yglesias: Steve Ells is to fast food what Steve Jobs was to tech

(NEWSER) - Steve Jobs, meet Steve Ells. Both men founded companies that have revolutionized American culture: Chipotle is doing for fast food what Apple did for technology, writes Matthew Yglesias at Slate . First of all, "Chipotle’s growth since its 2006 IPO should be seen as a great American success story," especially in such a difficult economic climate. The firm added 67 new stores in the fourth quarter of last year alone, and its stock has soared 500% in five years. More»