Lawsuit to Taco Bell: Where's the beef?

[Cth]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110125/ap_on_bi_ge/us_taco_bell_lawsuit

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – An Alabama law firm claims in a lawsuit that Taco Bell is using false advertising when it refers to using "seasoned ground beef" or "seasoned beef" in its products.

The meat mixture sold by Taco Bell restaurants contains binders and extenders and does not meet the minimum requirements set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be labeled as "beef," according to the legal complaint.

The class-action lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in the Central District of California by the Montgomery law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles.

Attorney Dee Miles said attorneys had Taco Bell's "meat mixture" tested and found it contained less that 35 percent beef.

The lawsuit on behalf of Taco Bell customer and California resident Amanda Obney does not seek monetary damages, but asks the court to order Taco Bell to be honest in its advertising.

"We are asking that they stop saying that they are selling beef," Miles said.

Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch (PAYCH) said the company denies that its advertising is misleading.

"Taco Bell prides itself on serving high quality Mexican inspired food with great value. We're happy that the millions of customers we serve every week agree," Poetsch said. He said the company would "vigorously defend the suit."

The lawsuit says that Taco Bell's "seasoned beef" contains other ingredients, including water, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent and modified corn starch.

[Ryudo]

Isn't some of that their seasoning?

(not all 65%, but some)

That having been said, you know what you're getting into when you go to Taco Bell.

(Who needs psyllium?)

[Dan-C]

That's not even the worst thing they serve. Have you seen what's in their chicken?

[Ryudo]

That's not even the worst thing they serve. Have you seen what's in their chicken?

And their cinnamon twists?

[Stupendous Man]

Gross but not at all shocking.

And it kind of makes me want a chalupa.

[michealdark]

Taco Hell in a literal $0.99 heart attack. you should know what you're getting when you buy it

[Kedd]

Taco bell meat comes in a bag that is put into hot water where it sits awaiting your order.

[Ryan Elliott]

I don't buy their beef except once in a blue moon.

Only ever their chicken.

That new Chicken Enchilada with Rice is AWESOME.

[michealdark]

I love the flatbread chicken sandwich

[Juinia]

Is anyone actually surprised by this? I mean really. It's Taco Bell, if you think you are getting a healthy, nutritious meal when you go there, you might want some help. O_o

Meanwhile, I will enjoy my nachos and fake, nuclear orange cheese. :9

[Sean Jackson]

Taco Bell was the reason I gave up all fast food years ago. If you can get the food delivered to you through your car window, it's generally best to avoid it.

[justjeffery]

We have an Izzos Illegal Burrito and a stand called Taco Sisters here in town. Ill never ever eat at Taco Bell again because both of those are fan-freaking-tastic!

[Udiguhgudibuh]

Taco Hell in a literal $0.99 heart attack. you should know what you're getting when you buy it

:sherlock: "We dig our graves with a spoon."

Virtually all fast food is neither fast nor food-- and not even cheap. The eventual health consequences will cost you-- then kill you.

More than half of us will die of heart disease. Read microwave dinner labels, use eggs for protein, and you'll soon feel infinitely better, save time, save money, and live longer. In "survival mode" during lawsuits, one of the smartest things I've ever done is to quit driving!

It was my birthday, I needed to renew my van registration, pay car tax, and renew auto insurance. I just opted out! Car-free probably won't work for you, but driving enables you to eat delicious-but-nasty fast fake food. An absolute evil. Just quit it!

I walk six blocks to the library, ditto to the pharmacy, and have my son drive me to get groceries. Unbelievable savings and improvement!

No gas payment, no car repair, no insurance, all I have is a drivers license I use for I.D. Glorious simplicity.

[thatguyfromsyracuse]

What? Not real beef? I really expected more from you Taco Bell!

[Ryudo]

What? Not real beef? I really expected more from you Taco Bell!

Don't drive, and you won't go through the drive thru!

[Udiguhgudibuh]

What? Not real beef? I really expected more from you Taco Bell!

:sherlock: "All-Beef" only has to be 70% meat, allows beef lips, fat, and many "by products" you don't want to know about.

[silverboy]

Taco Bell is the only fast food I'll occasionally indulge myself in. I don't think that will change.

[thatguyfromsyracuse]

Yeah, I was just going to say, is your answer to eating healthy seriously "stop driving your car."?

[Pat Shatner]

What? Not real beef? I really expected more from you Taco Bell!

You're such a demanding lover. How can Taco Bell be expected to keep up?

[Ryudo]

Yeah, I was just going to say, is your answer to eating healthy seriously "stop driving your car."?

His answer to losing weight is to crap a lot.

That line of thinking doesn't exactly lend itself to moments of genius.

[silverboy]

Taco Bell is the best drunk/stoned food, and that will never change.

[silverboy]

Taco Bell is the best drunk/stoned food, and that will never change.

On second thought, the best stoned food is actually whatever's in front of you.

[thatguyfromsyracuse]

I'm getting some Taco Bell when I leave here! I don't give a fuck!

[Jef UK]

Is anyone actually surprised by this? I mean really. It's Taco Bell, if you think you are getting a healthy, nutritious meal when you go there, you might want some help. O_o

Meanwhile, I will enjoy my nachos and fake, nuclear orange cheese. :9

One may know that one isn't getting a healthy, nutritious meal at Taco Bell and still be surprised to learn that their "beef" only has less than 30% beef in it.

[Ryan Elliott]

I'm getting some Taco Bell when I leave here! I don't give a fuck!


And that's why I love you.

[Jef UK]

One may know that one isn't getting a healthy, nutritious meal at Taco Bell and still be surprised to learn that their "beef" only has less than 30% beef in it.

Similarly, Ungiaduda;lkjgbuh can be annoying, and also be right about the advantages of going car free and fast food free.

[thatguyfromsyracuse]

Similarly, Ungiaduda;lkjgbuh can be annoying, and also be right about the advantages of going car free and fast food free.

I'll get rid of my car when Taco Bell starts using 100% ground beef!

[Jason California]

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2011/01/500x_taco-meat.jpg

Beef, water, isolated oat product, salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, oats (wheat), soy lecithin, sugar, spices, maltodextrin (a polysaccharide that is absorbed as glucose), soybean oil (anti-dusting agent), garlic powder, autolyzed yeast extract, citric acid, caramel color, cocoa powder, silicon dioxide (anti-caking agent), natural flavors, yeast, modified corn starch, natural smoke flavor, salt, sodium phosphate, less than 2% of beef broth, potassium phosphate, and potassium lactate. + 36% meat.

This is the definition of ground beef

Chopped fresh and/or frozen beef with or without seasoning and without the addition of beef fat as such, shall not contain more than 30 percent fat, and shall not contain added water, phosphates, binders, or extenders.

http://gizmodo.com/5742413/this-is-what-really-hides-in-taco-bells-beef

[Udiguhgudibuh]

Yeah, I was just going to say, is your answer to eating healthy seriously "stop driving your car."?

:sherlock: Yeah, I did go "full pioneer," which is too extreme for most-- but absolutely eliminates fast food. Try thinking outside "the happy meal" box.

[Jef UK]

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2011/01/500x_taco-meat.jpg
+ 36% meat.

This is the definition of ground beef


http://gizmodo.com/5742413/this-is-what-really-hides-in-taco-bells-beef


Yes, hence the lawsuit that claims that Taco Bell is lying.

[Jason California]

Yes, hence the lawsuit that claims that Taco Bell is lying.


Yes Mr UK. I was adding to the topic with a pitcure and more details.

[GelfXIII]

Now I want a taco. :(

[Ryan Elliott]

:sherlock: Yeah, I did go "full pioneer," which is too extreme for most-- but absolutely eliminates fast food. Try thinking outside "the happy meal" box.


Do you know how easy it is, just as easy as it is to drive up to the drivethru and sit in my car for a few minutes, for me to walk into McDonalds or Taco Bell or whatever and order food from INSIDE said establishment?

[Jason California]

Anybody here ever eat cow head? Not brain, but the head. That shit is good in tacos!

[Jef UK]

Anybody here ever eat cow head? Not brain, but the head. That shit is good in tacos!

I've had cow tongue in a taco. It was good. Tasted like pot roast.

[Jason California]

I've had cow tongue in a taco. It was good. Tasted like pot roast.


I like lengua, but have to be in the mood for it. I can eat cabeza all the time.

[Jason California]

That last post might get worked into a joke at my expense.

[Udiguhgudibuh]

Do you know how easy it is, just as easy as it is to drive up to the drivethru and sit in my car for a few minutes, for me to walk into McDonalds or Taco Bell or whatever and order food from INSIDE said establishment?

:sherlock: You must live tragically close to a fast food joint. Since I travel via "the heal-toe express" (i.e. walking), I budget my miles carefully. For proximity, nutrition, speed and ease, my kitchen always wins. (And I don't have to see tragically fat people.)

[Jef UK]

Yes Mr UK. I was adding to the topic with a pitcure and more details.

Ah, very good. All apologies.

[Jim Schnobrich]

I'd rather have Taco Johns.

[RebootedCorpse]

It's 65% awesome!

[gaspar]

I'm curious about how much actual BEEF is in most fast food "beef" products now. I was not under any illusion that Taco Bell used all sorts of additives and extenders (actually just watched Food Inc. last night and was thinking about this) but I wonder what % actual beef is in a Big Mac, Whopper, Famous Star, Taco Cabana taco, etc.

Thirty something % in Taco Bell "taco meat filling" is pretty rough though. I would have assumed that beef would at least have been a high percentage of the ingredients...like somewhere around 50-70%. Obviously I was wrong.

[mario]

Do you know how easy it is, just as easy as it is to drive up to the drivethru and sit in my car for a few minutes, for me to walk into McDonalds or Taco Bell or whatever and order food from INSIDE said establishment?

Often, it's even faster!

[Ryan Elliott]

Often, it's even faster!


Yep. Lately I've noticed that it is a few minutes faster at the least.

Weird.

[Jason California]

Leave Taco Bell alone!



TACO BELL (http://gizmodo.com/tag/tacobell/) STATEMENT REGARDING CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
'At Taco Bell, we buy our beef from the same trusted brands you find in the supermarket, like Tyson Foods. We start with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef. Then we simmer it in our proprietary blend of seasonings and spices to give our seasoned beef its signature Taco Bell taste and texture. We are proud of the quality of our beef and identify all the seasoning and spice ingredients on our website. Unfortunately, the lawyers in this case elected to sue first and ask questions later — and got their "facts" absolutely wrong. We plan to take legal action for the false statements being made about our food.'
Greg Creed
President and Chief Concept Officer
Taco Bell Corp

[Magnum V.I.]

:sherlock: "All-Beef" only has to be 70% meat, allows beef lips, fat, and many "by products" you don't want to know about.


What about Beef Curtains?

[Matthew Brown]

Leave Taco Bell alone!



TACO BELL (http://gizmodo.com/tag/tacobell/) STATEMENT REGARDING CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
'At Taco Bell, we buy our beef from the same trusted brands you find in the supermarket, like Tyson Foods. We start with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef. Then we simmer it in our proprietary blend of seasonings and spices to give our seasoned beef its signature Taco Bell taste and texture. We are proud of the quality of our beef and identify all the seasoning and spice ingredients on our website. Unfortunately, the lawyers in this case elected to sue first and ask questions later — and got their "facts" absolutely wrong. We plan to take legal action for the false statements being made about our food.'
Greg Creed
President and Chief Concept Officer
Taco Bell Corp


Uh, wow. So full of shit.

[Ashwin Pande]

I don't know how you people can eat this stuff.

[Magnum V.I.]

I don't know how you people can eat this stuff.

I don't know how YOU people can eat INDIAN food!

It's so smelly and so gassy!!! So hot hot hot!!


Sorry about that....I just had an Outsourced moment.

[michealdark]

It's convenient when you can't decide what to eat and are on the move

[Kirblar]

Hardee's burgers were the highlight of my drive to florida over the holidays.

[Jason California]

I don't know how you people can eat this stuff.


I put cocaine up my nose before as well.

[Ashwin Pande]

I don't know how YOU people can eat INDIAN food!

It's so smelly and so gassy!!! So hot hot hot!!


Sorry about that....I just had an Outsourced moment.

It is pretty gassy.

I just farted.

[Chacalo]

Now I want a taco. :(

I'll have an apple.


I like lengua, but have to be in the mood for it. I can eat cabeza all the time.


That last post might get worked into a joke at my expense.

Tell me about it, señor.

[Henry!]

Anybody here ever eat cow head? Not brain, but the head. That shit is good in tacos!

My mom told me of growing up in Mexico and watching her mom make cow head soup.

[Albert]

Is it really down to me to make the obligatory "all of that other stuff sounds less gross than dead cow flesh" post?

[Udiguhgudibuh]

I'm curious about how much actual BEEF is in most fast food "beef" products now. I was not under any illusion that Taco Bell used all sorts of additives and extenders (actually just watched Food Inc. last night and was thinking about this) but I wonder what % actual beef is in a Big Mac, Whopper, Famous Star, Taco Cabana taco, etc.

Thirty something % in Taco Bell "taco meat filling" is pretty rough though. I would have assumed that beef would at least have been a high percentage of the ingredients...like somewhere around 50-70%. Obviously I was wrong.

:sherlock: "Food Inc." is an excellent eye-opening documentary. My sister in Minnesota does political work against animal "confinement farming." Think concentration camps for animals, and you're close.

"Mad Cow Disease" started with cows being forced to be cannibals-- fed feed with ground-up cow parts. Chickens are raised in cages so small that they have to clip off their beaks-- so they can't peck their cellmates to death. Pigs are raised without ever standing on anything but cement. (Having intelligence comparable to a dog's, pigs in the wild build elaborate nests for their baby piggies.)

The stench and sewage from confinement farms makes the adjoining family farms worthless.

It's peculiar that people read Consumer Reports to get the best deal on a TV or car-- but don't think twice about the pathetic fast-fatty food they actually swallow-- based only on price, convenience, cheapest-possible flavoring chemicals to make it palatable.

This is America, and it's your funeral! Bon appetit, cruel suckers!

EDITED TO ADD:
Weight Watchers was started at the same time as McDonald's and the rest-- as a "reflection" business.

[Ryan Elliott]

:sherlock: "Food Inc." is an excellent eye-opening documentary. My sister in Minnesota does political work against animal "confinement farming." Think concentration camps for animals, and you're close.

"Mad Cow Disease" started with cows being forced to be cannibals-- fed feed with ground-up cow parts. Chickens are raised in cages so small that they have to clip off their beaks-- so they can't peck their cellmates to death. Pigs are raised without ever standing on anything but cement. (Having intelligence comparable to a dog's, pigs in the wild build elaborate nests for their baby piggies.)

The stench and sewage from confinement farms makes the adjoining family farms worthless.

It's peculiar that people read Consumer Reports to get the best deal on a TV or car-- but don't think twice about the pathetic fast-fatty food they actually swallow-- based only on price, convenience, cheapest-possible flavoring chemicals to make it palatable.

This is America, and it's your funeral! Bon appetit, cruel suckers!

EDITED TO ADD:
Weight Watchers was started at the same time as McDonald's and the rest-- as a "reflection" business.

I'm not going to add any more bold to your post, but the weight watchers/mcdonald's thing is false.

McDonald's in 1940 and Weight Watchers was founded in 1963.

[ernster]

but if there's no taco bell, what other cheap means to induce diarrhea can i get at 3 am?

[Matthew Brown]

but if there's no taco bell, what other cheap means to induce diarrhea can i get at 3 am?

*insert joke about my penis*

[Ryan Elliott]

*insert joke about my penis*


*insert joke about INSERTING a joke about your penis*

[Juinia]

but if there's no taco bell, what other cheap means to induce diarrhea can i get at 3 am?

Well, if you just want to poop, I heard Udiguhgudibuh has some great tips on helping with that. :sherlock:

[Udiguhgudibuh]

I'm not going to add any more bold to your post, but the weight watchers/mcdonald's thing is false.
McDonald's in 1940 and Weight Watchers was founded in 1963.

:sherlock: I don't doubt your dates, but it took years for fast food joints to be pervasive. The founders of Weight Watchers said the company started in response to seeing their friends gaining weight from fast food-- easy, convenient, cheap, high-calorie food.

[Jason California]

:sherlock: I don't doubt your dates, but it took years for fast food joints to be pervasive. The founders of Weight Watchers said the company started in response to seeing their friends gaining weight from fast food-- easy, convenient, cheap, high-calorie food.

That does not mean the same thing as


EDITED TO ADD:
Weight Watchers was started at the same time as McDonald's and the rest-- as a "reflection" business.

You could have said one was a response to the growing effects of fast food, but you decided to say they started at the same time.

[Udiguhgudibuh]

That does not mean the same thing as
You could have said one was a response to the growing effects of fast food, but you decided to say they started at the same time.

:sherlock: You're right; I should have said "when McDonald's and fast food became pervasive"-- not when they started.

Weight Watchers is widely viewed as the most "honest" of similar businesses. When congress investigated, Weight Watchers was the only one that openly shared their statistics. (Jenny Craig and the rest did not.)

According to a Weight Watchers spokesman, only one in two hundred reaches their goal weight-- and maintains it for life. Weight Watchers does advocate exercise, but does not recommend weight training as the most effective method.

[Jason California]

Now I am forced to wonder about the validity of this information Udi. Perhaps more of the background details you give are bullshit as well, and you are hoping for general ignorance to win you through the day when you tell your stories.

[Ryudo]

:sherlock: You must live tragically close to a fast food joint. Since I travel via "the heal-toe express" (i.e. walking), I budget my miles carefully. For proximity, nutrition, speed and ease, my kitchen always wins. (And I don't have to see tragically fat people.)

"The sound of your piss hitting the urinal ...it sounds feminine. If we were in the wild I’d attack. Even if you weren’t in my food chain I would go out of my way to attack. If I were I lion and you were a tuna I would swim out in the middle of the ocean and freaking eat you! And then I’d bang your tuna girlfriend." - Terry Hoitz

[HeroBoy]

Ugaboo---you realize walking everywhere isn't a realistic goal in a lot of areas, right? I live in a place in which I couldn't walk to work, or to get my child any form of daycare or babysitting.

There is a real quick fix to all weight gain, and it's simply burn more calories than you take in.

[Ryudo]

Ugaboo---you realize walking everywhere isn't a realistic goal in a lot of areas, right? I live in a place in which I couldn't walk to work, or to get my child any form of daycare or babysitting.

There is a real quick fix to all weight gain, and it's simply burn more calories than you take in.
You're wrong!

It's about pooping a lot and walking to the pharmacy!

[HeroBoy]

You're wrong!

It's about pooping a lot and walking to the pharmacy!

At the same time? Should I bring a change of pants?

[Ryudo]

At the same time? Should I bring a change of pants?

Just a plastic bag and a pooper scooper.

But be wary; it's only legal if you live in the Carolinas and are over 60.

And have a large collection of VHS tapes of a now-defunct fitness franchise.

[HeroBoy]

Just a plastic bag and a pooper scooper.

But be wary; it's only legal if you live in the Carolinas and are over 60.

And have a large collection of VHS tapes of a now-defunct fitness franchise.

I am now getting the impression Ungabunga2electicboogaloo is actually Mr. Plinkett from those Star Wars reviews...

[IPeacock]

:sherlock: "All-Beef" only has to be 70% meat, allows beef lips, fat, and many "by products" you don't want to know about.
beef lips is something I would rather not know about. Forget byproducts, you lost me at beef lips.
I don't understand how anyone eats there when their food makes you shit hot water for a week

[IPeacock]

What about Beef Curtains?
with those, it's up to you to add the filler and byproducts

[dEnny!]

Ugaboo---you realize walking everywhere isn't a realistic goal in a lot of areas, right? I live in a place in which I couldn't walk to work, or to get my child any form of daycare or babysitting.

There is a real quick fix to all weight gain, and it's simply burn more calories than you take in.

He was merely suggesting/providing an idea that worked for him.

It's also an option we don't often use.

I love walking, it does take more time, but it's healthier, cheaper, and reduces my carbon footprint as I'm not using my car, but no it's not always the most realistic, especially with my two children.

[Foolish Mortal]

Taco Bell plans countersuit over ground beef (http://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2011/01/taco-bell-plans-countersuit-over-ground-beef.html)


Taco Bell Corp. is pushing back against a lawsuit that claims the fast food chain’s “seasoned ground beef” is not all it’s made out to be.

Taco Bell said on Tuesday that it plans to take legal action against the “false statements” being made about its food. The chain operates, manages or franchises more than 5,600 locations in the United States, according to the lawsuit.

Taco Bell’s tacos, burritos and other Mexican menu items advertised with beef actually contain a filling of mostly non-meat substances like “isolated oat product,” according to the lawsuit filed last week in a California federal court.

“The ‘chicken’ and ‘carne asada steak’ served by Taco Bell is, in fact, chicken or carne asada steak,” the lawsuit says. “The ‘seasoned beef,’ however, is not beef.”

Taco Bell simmers 100 percent U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected beef in a “proprietary blend of seasonings and spices” to give it a signature taste and texture, Taco Bell President Greg Creed said in a statement.

All seasoning ingredients are listed on the website, he said.

“Unfortunately, the lawyers in this case elected to sue first and ask questions later — and got their ‘facts’ absolutely wrong,” Creed said.

Dee Miles, who represents the plaintiff, said Taco Bell calls its product “taco meat filling” inside the company, but beef to customers.

“We’re going to move forward and I believe we’re going to be successful,” Miles said.

The proposed class action lawsuit asks Taco Bell to stop misrepresenting its products and engage in a corrective advertising campaign. It also seeks attorneys’ fees and costs.

[Jason California]

UPDATED STATEMENT REGARDING CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
"The lawsuit is bogus and filled with completely inaccurate facts. Our beef is 100% USDA inspected, just like the quality beef you would buy in a supermarket and prepare in your home. It then is slow-cooked and simmered with proprietary seasonings and spices to provide Taco Bell's signature taste and texture. Our seasoned beef recipe contains 88% quality USDA-inspected beef and 12% seasonings, spices, water and other ingredients that provide taste, texture and moisture. The lawyers got their facts wrong. We take this attack on our quality very seriously and plan to take legal action against them for making false statements about our products. There is no basis in fact or reality for this suit and we will vigorously defend the quality of our products from frivolous and misleading claims such as this."
What is in Taco Bell's recipe for seasoned beef?
"We're cooking with a proprietary recipe to give our seasoned beef flavor and texture, just like you would with any recipe you cook at home.
For example, when you make chili, meatloaf or meatballs, you add your own recipe of seasoning and spices to give the beef flavor and texture, otherwise, it would taste just like unseasoned ground beef. We do the same thing with our recipe for seasoned beef.
Our recipe for seasoned beef includes ingredients you'd find in your home or in the supermarket aisle today:


88% USDA-inspected quality beef
3-5% water for moisture
3-5% spices (including salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, sugar, garlic powder, cocoa powder and a proprietary blend of Mexican spices and natural flavors).
3-5% oats, starch, sugar, yeast, citric acid, and other ingredients that contribute to the quality of our product.

Our seasoned beef contains no "extenders" to add volume, as some might use. For more information about our ingredients go to http://www.tacobell.com (http://www.tacobell.com/)."
Greg Creed
President and Chief Concept Officer
Taco Bell Corp.




http://www.tacobell.com/company/newsreleasearticle/Statement-Regarding-Class-Action-Lawsuit

[Treacle]

I know fake beef is a very serious topic but this thread is full of :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Foolish Mortal]

UPDATED STATEMENT REGARDING CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
"The lawsuit is bogus and filled with completely inaccurate facts. Our beef is 100% USDA inspected, just like the quality beef you would buy in a supermarket and prepare in your home. It then is slow-cooked and simmered with proprietary seasonings and spices to provide Taco Bell's signature taste and texture. Our seasoned beef recipe contains 88% quality USDA-inspected beef and 12% seasonings, spices, water and other ingredients that provide taste, texture and moisture. The lawyers got their facts wrong. We take this attack on our quality very seriously and plan to take legal action against them for making false statements about our products. There is no basis in fact or reality for this suit and we will vigorously defend the quality of our products from frivolous and misleading claims such as this."
What is in Taco Bell's recipe for seasoned beef?
"We're cooking with a proprietary recipe to give our seasoned beef flavor and texture, just like you would with any recipe you cook at home.
For example, when you make chili, meatloaf or meatballs, you add your own recipe of seasoning and spices to give the beef flavor and texture, otherwise, it would taste just like unseasoned ground beef. We do the same thing with our recipe for seasoned beef.
Our recipe for seasoned beef includes ingredients you'd find in your home or in the supermarket aisle today:


88% USDA-inspected quality beef
3-5% water for moisture
3-5% spices (including salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, sugar, garlic powder, cocoa powder and a proprietary blend of Mexican spices and natural flavors).
3-5% oats, starch, sugar, yeast, citric acid, and other ingredients that contribute to the quality of our product.

Our seasoned beef contains no "extenders" to add volume, as some might use. For more information about our ingredients go to http://www.tacobell.com (http://www.tacobell.com/)."
Greg Creed
President and Chief Concept Officer
Taco Bell Corp.




http://www.tacobell.com/company/newsreleasearticle/Statement-Regarding-Class-Action-Lawsuit


If it has oats, starch, yeast, and soy products in it, then it does have 'extenders' in it. Not that there's anything wrong with consuming those things, but they are extenders.

[thatguyfromsyracuse]

Ugi got suspended? Was it the fat cats in the Fake Beef Industry that did it?

[HeroBoy]

Ugi got suspended? Was it the fat cats in the Fake Beef Industry that did it?

And he just friend requested me, too.

Now I feel so lonely...

[thatguyfromsyracuse]

And he just friend requested me, too.

Now I feel so lonely...

I hope everybody sees how much power corporations have! They can say one word, and ruin your life!

[Kirblar]

It was due to some stuff in the now-locked "would you date a transgender person" thread.

[thatguyfromsyracuse]

It was due to some stuff in the now-locked "would you date a transgender person" thread.

I don't believe that for a second. It was obviously the Fake Beef Industry and the Car Industry, and the Oil Industry.

[Kevin T Brown]

Taco Bell plans countersuit over ground beef (http://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2011/01/taco-bell-plans-countersuit-over-ground-beef.html)
“The ‘chicken’ and ‘carne asada steak’ served by Taco Bell is, in fact, chicken or carne asada steak,” the lawsuit says. “The ‘seasoned beef,’ however, is not beef.”


Gah. I fucking hate seeing terms like that.... "Carne asada steak" is "steak grilled steak".

Gah!

:crazy:

[Kevin T Brown]

Ugi got suspended? Was it the fat cats in the Fake Beef Industry that did it?

Obviously he's not 100% Udiguhgudibuh. He's got fillers like oats, starch, yeast, and soy products.

[Ryudo]

Obviously he's not 100% Udiguhgudibuh. He's got fillers like oats, starch, yeast, and soy products.

And Stryfe.

[GelfXIII]

Taco Bell's response? WONDER FLAVORS... ACTIVATE!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/01/29/133307209/taco-bell-enlists-superheroes-to-bite-back-at-beef-lawsuit?sc=fb&cc=fp

[Foolish Mortal]

Taco Bell's response? WONDER FLAVORS... ACTIVATE!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/01/29/133307209/taco-bell-enlists-superheroes-to-bite-back-at-beef-lawsuit?sc=fb&cc=fp

:lol: I have to give them points for being entertaining.

BUT, the meat still has fillers in it. They can try to spin it any way they want.

[russw]

Uh, wow. So full of shit.



no. that was Jack in Box

[Udiguhgudibuh]

:confused:

[Udiguhgudibuh]

Now I am forced to wonder about the validity of this information Udi. Perhaps more of the background details you give are bullshit as well, and you are hoping for general ignorance to win you through the day when you tell your stories.

:sherlock: http://www.google.com/search?q=USA+TODAY+U.S.+Obesity+rates

***LINKS TO GOOGLE SEARCH: CHOOSE TOP LINK:
"U.S. obesity rate leveling off, at about one-third of adults"
__________________________________________________ _________________

:thumb: Weight Watchers did indeed start with the prevalence of fast food: Increasing health care by $344 billion, equal to risk of smoking. :Pimp: :Pimp:

[Jason California]

:sherlock:

http://www.usatoday (http://%3Cb%3Ewww.usatoday%3C/b%3E).com/news/...2010-01-13-obesity-rates_N-htm


Your link is broken buddy.

[Udiguhgudibuh]

:confused:

:innocent: I fixed my link (up above)-- sorta!

[Jason California]

gotcha

[Ryudo]

Time to re-Adblock that Sherlock GIF...

[HeroBoy]

Time to re-Adblock that Sherlock GIF...

It was fun whiel it was unblocked, although I bet you never saw it once. Probably best to perma block it.

[Udiguhgudibuh]

It was fun whiel it was unblocked, although I bet you never saw it once. Probably best to perma block it.

:sherlock: You're almost right, HeroBoy, about maintaining weight being "calories in = calories out." Your ever-shrinking muscle mass, however, is the flaw in the in/out calorie equation.

Why, you ask? Each year, you lose one-half pound of muscle! Since a pound of muscle burns 35 calories per day, you're burning an average of 17.5 fewer calories each day. With no change in diet, you'll gain 1.5 pounds of fat each year. Calories you used to burn each day are now going to fat. "Young and strong... to old and fat."

The only way to maintain weight is weight/resistance training. Cardio helps a bit, but cannot maintain your weight (since it causes no muscle gain)-- even when controlling calories.

RELATIVE FAT LOSS & MUSCLE GAIN BY EXERCISE METHOD:
Cardio + Calorie Control: 3.2 lbs. Fat Loss /-.3 Muscle Loss!
Cardio + Calorie Control + Weights: 10 lbs. Fat Loss /+2 lbs. Muscle Gain
Weights + Calorie Control: 18.1 lbs. Fat Loss /+2.4 lbs. Muscle Gain

*Eight-week study on men and women.

Here is a link to fascinating fast food facts:

http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/schlosser.fast.html

McDonald's had 1,000 locations in 1968-- now 28,000 locations worldwide.
Taco Bell started in 1962. The obesity curve is parallel to the growth of fast food. (Adjusted for inflation, minimum wage for fast food employees peaked in 1973.)

[HeroBoy]

I'm glad this thread came back up. It's almost lunch and I need something lunch like with Frito's directly on it...

[Ryudo]

Cardio helps a bit,

:lol:

[Udiguhgudibuh]

:lol:

:sherlock: I hope you're kidding about that. Cardio burns very few calories-- with a minimal 15% calorie "afterburn." Cardio does not add muscle mass or strength-- it specifically increases only endurance.

:cry: PLEASE tell me you were joking! (If you're not joking, you're buying into a huge, proven myth.)

[HeroBoy]

I would hate to think he would be mythtaken.

[silverboy]

The only way to maintain weight is weight/resistance training. Cardio helps a bit, but cannot maintain your weight (since it causes no muscle gain)-- even when controlling calories.


I'll take issue with that. I lost 50 pounds by running and eating well. No weight training, though I've since started doing some resistance exercises to give my body some shape.

[Udiguhgudibuh]

I'll take issue with that. I lost 50 pounds by running and eating well. No weight training, though I've since started doing some resistance exercises to give my body some shape.

:sherlock: Fifty pounds is an incredible accomplishment! Weight training is the way you can keep it off. People don't realize that up to one-third of weight lost from dieting is muscle tissue! For a 50-pound weight loss, that could be 16 pounds of lost muscle.

As a general number, running burns 100 calories per mile-- with an additional 15 calorie after burn following the run. Since a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, that's a long tough road.

A thrice-weekly, basic, 30-minute weight workout increases metabolism by 15% (about 200 calories per day) even before you start adding muscle. Another great bonus is that each weight lifting exercise lasts for such a short time that you're burning the local glucose (sugar) out of each muscle-- which burns calories much faster than cardio.

Another HUGE myth is that cardio is great because "it burns fat." The problem with burning fat is that it's literally burned at 1/18th the rate at which you can burn calories with weight training. Since any calories you burn are replaced by calories from your body fat (in the hours after a workout) it's much more effective to burn sugar.

Sugar is like the kindling and newspaper you put in the fireplace: it gets hot fast and releases a huge burst of energy. That effect comes with weight training. Cardio is like the very slow-burning log that burns energy at literally 1/18th the rate of sugar-burning weight-training.

If you want a suggestion for a rubber tubing gym, let me know. I've had one for years. I have weights too, but the resistance tubing system is a great way to start.

[Ryudo]

:sherlock: Fifty pounds is an incredible accomplishment! Weight training is the way you can keep it off. People don't realize that up to one-third of weight lost from dieting is muscle tissue! For a 50-pound weight loss, that could be 16 pounds of lost muscle.

As a general number, running burns 100 calories per mile-- with an additional 15 calorie after burn following the run. Since a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, that's a long tough road.

A thrice-weekly, basic, 30-minute weight workout increases metabolism by 15% (about 200 calories per day) even before you start adding muscle. Another great bonus is that each weight lifting exercise lasts for such a short time that you're burning the local glucose (sugar) out of each muscle-- which burns calories much faster than cardio.

Another HUGE myth is that cardio is great because "it burns fat." The problem with burning fat is that it's literally burned at 1/18th the rate at which you can burn calories with weight training. Since any calories you burn are replaced by calories from your body fat (in the hours after a workout) it's much more effective to burn sugar.

Sugar is like the kindling and newspaper you put in the fireplace: it gets hot fast and releases a huge burst of energy. That effect comes with weight training. Cardio is like the very slow-burning log that burns energy at literally 1/18th the rate of sugar-burning weight-training.

If you want a suggestion for a rubber tubing gym, let me know. I've had one for years. I have weights too, but the resistance tubing system is a great way to start.

This guy calls you out:


Yes, it's true. It's a scientifically proven fact that muscle proteins are broken down and used for energy during aerobic exercise. But don't worry, you are constantly breaking down and re building muscle tissue anyway. This process is called "protein turnover." Your body is constantly alternating back and forth between anabolic (building) and catabolic (breaking down) cycles. That's just a normal part of life. Your goal is simply to tip the scales slightly in favor of increasing the anabolic side and reducing the catabolic side just enough so you stay on the anabolic side and you gain or at least maintain muscle.

This fact of human physiology has often been taken out of context and used to scare people into not doing cardiovascular exercise for fear of losing muscle. When you fast overnight as you sleep, you lose muscle too, but that doesn't mean you should stop sleeping!

Sure, it's possible for you to lose muscle from doing too much cardio, but it's highly unlikely. Shying away from cardio completely because you think you'll lose muscle is a huge mistake. Only excessive amounts of cardio would cause you to lose muscle because over-training tips the scale towards the catabolic side. It's difficult to generalize and pinpoint one specific amount as too much, but I think it's safe to assume that just about anyone could do up to 45 -60 minutes of cardio a day, 6 to 7 days a week without losing any muscle - as long as the proper nutritional support is provided.

Trainer John Parillo has always been an advocate of lots of aerobics, even for his bodybuilder clients who are trying to gain muscle mass.

"Aerobics can enhance your recovery from weight training by promoting blood flow and oxygen transport to your muscles," says Parillo. "Aerobics forces oxygen through your body, increasing the number and size of your blood vessels. Blood vessels are the 'supply routes' that transport oxygen and nutrients to body tissues, including muscles, and carry waste products away for muscular growth, repair and recovery. The expansion of this circulatory network is called 'cardiovascular density.'"

So, according to Parillo, aerobics can actually enhance recovery from weight training and increase muscular growth by developing the circulatory pathways that provide nourishment to the muscles. Cardiovascular training is important for fat burning, for good health and for muscle-building.

Losing muscle has more to do with inadequate diet than with excessive aerobics. If you suspect you are losing muscle there are four likely causes:

1. You are not eating enough protein. Protein is the only nutrient that is actually used to build muscle. To stay anabolic you must eat five to six protein containing meals. Each meal should be spaced out approximately three hours apart. Research has proven that if you are physically active, you need a minimum of .8 grams to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

2. Your carbohydrates are too low. Low carb diets are often used for fat loss, but it is a mistake to cut your carbs too drastically. Carbohydrates are protein-sparing , so even if you are eating large amounts of protein, you can still lose muscle if you your carbs are too low.

3. You are not eating enough calories to support muscle growth. This is the most common cause of muscle loss. When your calories are too low, your body goes into "starvation mode." Your metabolism slows down and your body actually burns muscle tissue to conserve energy. Muscle is metabolically active tissue, requiring a great deal of caloric energy just to maintain it. That's why your body will shed muscle if it thinks you are starving.

4. You are not training with weights. It is a common misconception that if you want to lose weight, you should start with cardio only and add the weights later - another big mistake! It is the weight training that keeps you from losing muscle while you are dieting.

You are much more likely to lose muscle from not eating enough than you are from doing too much cardio. All too often, people are afraid to eat a lot and do a lot of cardio at the same time. It doesn't seem to make sense. Logically, it seems like the two would cancel each other out - but the opposite is true. Many people believe they must "starve" the fat by drastically lowering calories. Unfortunately, this approach can cause you to lose muscle along with the fat. The only way to maintain your lean mass while losing fat is to feed the muscles with plenty of nutritious calories and at the same time,burn the fat off with cardio.

Whether your goal is muscle development, fat loss or both, you should always include some form of cardiovascular activity as part of your training program. Unless you're doing some kind of ultra-endurance regimen, CARDIO DOES NOT CAUSE MUSCLE LOSS, in fact it supports the pathways that help you build it!

[Udiguhgudibuh]

This guy calls you out:

:sherlock: I thought Parillo was fairly good; but he seemed to be talking to a bodybuilding crowd that only wanted to lift weights and be ginormous-- guys who saw no purpose in cardio whatsoever.

Since aerobic capacity declines by 15% per decade, we need cardio for the cardiovascular maintenance. In the test results I posted, the group who (1) controlled calories, (2) did cardio, and (3) lifted weights had the perfect outcome.

The only thing I thought was truly nuts was 45-60 minutes of cardio 6 or 7 days a week. That's too much. At about 18 miles per week, you've maxed out your cardiovascular benefit-- and the danger of injury goes way up.

He also threw around unnecessary light-technical verbiage meant to impress-- but was just fluff that took up space. No real substance.

[Ryudo]

:
He also threw around unnecessary light-technical verbiage meant to impress-- but was just fluff that took up space. No real substance.

:lol:

http://www.moccasin.com.au/messandnoise/pot-kettle.jpg

[Udiguhgudibuh]

:lol:

http://www.moccasin.com.au/messandnoise/pot-kettle.jpg

:sherlock: "Don't be a moon-calf! Don't be a luddy-duddy! Don't be a jabbernowl! You're not those, are you?" --W.C. Fields

[Boris the Blade]

:lol:

http://www.moccasin.com.au/messandnoise/pot-kettle.jpg
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8894/kaneklapqo6.gif

[Udiguhgudibuh]

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8894/kaneklapqo6.gif

:sherlock: NPR's "People's Pharmacy" just repeated a fact that has been known for 25 years: Calorie restriction and cardio work are helpful, but permanent fat loss is only possible if weight training is also added. (Only weight training reverses the metabolic decrease that comes with dieting and aging.)

[Caley Tibbittz]

I seriously cannot read Uguiboogy's posts anymore. The formatting enrages me.

[Udiguhgudibuh]

I seriously cannot read Uguiboogy's posts anymore. The formatting enrages me.

:sherlock: NaughTibbittz is right. Tomorrow morning, I'm checking in at Les Izmore's reformatting rehabilitation center.
What once was bold is now simply old: "Les Izmore~ The Name Says It All."

[dEnny!]

I seriously cannot read Uguiboogy's posts anymore. The formatting enrages me.

Then feel free to ignore them.

And remember if you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all. ;)

[dEnny!]

:sherlock: NPR's "People's Pharmacy" just repeated a fact that has been known for 25 years: Calorie restriction and cardio work are helpful, but permanent fat loss is only possible if weight training is also added. (Only weight training reverses the metabolic decrease that comes with dieting and aging.)

Couldn't I just eat less and less...it would also have the added benefit of saving money. ;)

[Udiguhgudibuh]

Couldn't I just eat less and less...it would also have the added benefit of saving money. ;)

:sherlock: Learning from Oprah's bad example The more drastically you cut your caloric intake, the more quickly your fat layer will balloon back up-- beyond your current weight!

In 1988, Oprah Winfrey ("the richest woman in entertainment") started years of monumental effort dieting with Optifast liquid protein. In the beginning, the diet seemed to work. Oprah shrank from 235 pounds to 160-something. At 5' 6.5" tall, Oprah considers her "optimum" weight to be 152. On her show, Oprah wheeled out a red wagon containing 67 pounds of animal fat representing her own weight loss. An accurate representation, however, would have been much closer to 22 pounds of muscle-- and only 45 pounds of fat.

Four years after starting the liquid protein diet, Oprah weighed 237-- two pounds more than when she started!

1992, Oprah was embarrassingly obese and staring at the ground when she met trainer Bob Greene at a trendy spa in Telluride, Colorado. Unfortunately for everyone who bought the Oprah/Greene #1-selling Make the Connection exercise book in 1996, Greene was woefully ignorant of dramatic advances in exercise science.

High in Colorado, Greene didn't even own a television (didn't know who Oprah was) and worst of all, Greene had missed the widely-publicized revolutionary 1991 research results from national YMCA exercise physiologist Dr. Wayne Westcott, Ph.D. In independent research, Westcott verified what we had discovered in The FIRM workout studios 12 years earlier-- combining (1) calorie restriction, (2) aerobics/cardio, and (3) weight training delivers three times the fat-loss of cardio-only workouts and calorie restriction-- and best of all, the fat does not come back!

Greene's Flabby Science "When you look the part," said my favorite trainer Big Ron, "they don't question your knowledge." And Greene looks the part: lean, moderately muscular, and handsome (which always helps).

I love Oprah and her choices of Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil, but Bob Greene's head is one empty vessel. Greene put Oprah back on a diet and added cardio-- but no weights! When Greene occasionally appears on TV, the blank look in his eyes says, "Nobody's home."

"What about weights?" asked Katie Couric on NBC's "Today." "For fat loss," says Greene, "you should start with aerobics. Weights are good," says Greene, "but only later on"! Sure, and blue monkeys will fly out of my butt!

All the research agrees that cardio and weight training should be started simultaneously and immediately. To cover his ignorance, Greene simply lied, saying, "Strength training makes you incredibly hungry."

All the research shows that cardio and/or weights do not "work up an appetite." Working out is shown to reduce or have no effect on appetite-- unless you go to Olympic marathon extremes. (I phoned the exercise physiologist I trust most in the area of research, and he agreed, "Greene just pulled that idea out from between his glutes." I can't identify this "un-named" source because I promised not to.)

[Cth]

http://static.funnyjunk.com/pictures/48f0e99a_051c_e8a70.jpg

[Udiguhgudibuh]

gotcha

:sherlock: Having assumed incorrectly in the past, Mr. C., I guess I gotta ask why I got this "gotcha"?

[Udiguhgudibuh]

Now I am forced to wonder about the validity of this information Udi. Perhaps more of the background details you give are bullshit as well, and you are hoping for general ignorance to win you through the day when you tell your stories.

Jason California hurt my widdoe feewings, called suspicion of "bullshit" on me... and ran away!

Yes, Ryan Elliot is right: McDonald's started earlier than Weight Watchers, but didn't make it to New York City until 1973, ten years after Weight Watchers was started (also in New York City). Taco Bell franchised in 1964. (I don't know when it opened in New York.)

The point is my post said that Weight Watchers started when McDonals's and the rest started. To be precise, I should have said "when the fast food movement started to dominate" eating patterns.

In the USA Today article I referenced above, you'll see that America's present two-thirds overweight/obesity rate started in the same year Weight Watchers started-- and fast food began to dominate. (Regarding McDonald's in particular, it took them 30 years to spread from Illinois to New York.)

:cool: As you can tell, fitness is "a mission" in my life-- and I do my public service work to correct popular myths. (I'm also savvy in art and popular culture, which makes this site a good fit.)

:bored: Sheesh! I know, Mr. C., you still think I'm some bad-boy formerly banned from this lovely site. That's impossible, because no comic-book aficionado would also have an equal amount of fitness science information. Your search was correct, except for the picture and city. (I live in Columbia as registered; St. Matthews is where my now-deceased wife once lived.)