A story has been making its way around the Web the past couple of weeks regarding a nondecomposing McDonald’s Happy Meal.
Sally Davies, a New York-based photographer, and artist, bought a Happy Meal back in April 2010 and left it out on a plate in her kitchen ever since to see what would happen.
The upshot of this homegrown experiment?  Other than an acrylic sheen, plastic-like texture and becoming hard as a rock, no other discernible changes have occurred!
Davies’ science project has been photographed weekly and the results posted on Flickr for all to see and wonder about.   Should children really be given food that doesn’t decompose?
If bugs, mold, and bacteria don’t want this stuff, how could this be counted as any sort of nourishment for children other than just empty calories and toxic chemicals?
What may be even more surprising, however, is that the lack of decomposition of McDonald’s fast food is not unique in the processed foods industry.
Oh no, not by a long shot. Hold onto your hats, everyone!
How about adding supermarket cupcakes (and other baked goods) to the list of foods that neither bugs nor bacteria want anything to do with!
You know what I’m talking about – the supermarket birthday cake that is served at just about every kids’ birthday party you’ve ever attended.   How about that cake you ate at your cousin’s wedding last summer?   Yes, even those delightfully decorated Halloween cupcakes you saw the other day in the supermarket bakery that seemed just perfect for the Trick or Treat get together this coming weekend!
Yes, all of it.
This stuff doesn’t decompose either!  It doesn’t even get moldy!
Best of all, I’ve got pictures!!
You see, many years back when I first began eating real food, I met Dennis Stoltzfoos, a local grass-based farmer who had a curious box of cupcakes sitting in his kitchen.
He explained that these cupcakes were from a party back in December 1995.
The box with the 3 remaining cupcakes never got thrown out, so it just kind of stayed in his kitchen for weeks, then months, now over TWENTY YEARS later.
After seeing this story about the nondecomposing Happy Meal, I emailed Dennis and his wife Alicia to see if they still had this box of supermarket cupcakes. Â Â They did, and Alicia snapped these photos taken only last week of the now 20+ YEAR OLD cupcakes that now practically have artifact status!
Check it out!Â
In this photo, you can still just make out the “1996” on the cupcake box label which indicated the expiration date for the cupcakes (it originally said “January 1996”). The cupcakes were purchased in December 1995.
Kash n’ Karry, the supermarket where these cupcakes were purchased, no longer exists. Kash n’ Karry supermarkets are now called Sweetbay Supermarkets. Update: Sweetbay is now gone too! They were bought by Winn Dixie.
Alicia Stoltzfoos told me that the sticky, sweet, artificial smell of the cupcakes was still very much evident when she opened the box to take this picture!
My hope is that parents who see this blog are motivated to never again buy supermarket bakery goods and to take the time to make a wholesome, homemade birthday cake/cupcakes with REAL ingredients for their children.
If it’s not good enough for bugs, mold, and bacteria, it’s most certainly not good enough for your children!
Source
Many thanks to Dennis and Alicia Stoltzfoos of Full Circle Farm for the pictures and story behind this blog.  Dennis, Alicia, and their four healthy, beautiful children own a leading-edge, grass-based dairy farm in Live Oak, FL.  To contact them to find out more about nutrient-dense, healing foods, email them at [email protected].
I think 'ornery' is part of your charm, Sarah 🙂
FWIW, I'll take your's and Stanley's cooking over Sara Lee's any time.
Of course the preservatives contribute but they are not the only factor. Sorry to be so ornery, but I never cease to be amazed at how people can possibly defend the corrupt practices of Big Food.
Paul, it is amazing. And frightening. But it shows the power of propaganda.
It is wonderful that we have websites like this one, where we can share what we know, from our own experience, which is much more valuable than corrupt, purchased studies.
Astonishing, somebody actually championing sterile, denatured food.
actually my son had an experiment with bread to see if it would mold faster wet or dry. The bread used was Sara Lee Soft n smooth wheat; the dry one didn't mold at all the entire school year! So preservatives (which are part of the chemicals you're talking about) probably do contribute…
NO – regular bread from the store with preservatives will mold! Its much more than preservatives that is causing this food to stay plastic for years. It's chemical cake – it's not food at all.
Oh, and anonymous, by the way, I guess we can't draw any conclusions that the sun will come up tomorrow without a controlled study either, right? It's thinking like yours that has our children in such a big MESS health-wise in this country.
Isn't that the purpose of preservatives? They are designed to keep food from growing mold or bacteria that can actually make you sick. What would I rather my children have, something made by someone with bad hygiene made from God knows what or something from Publix? That doesn't even take into account someone who may purposefully choose to make my child sick. Better yet, leave the treats at home.
Anonymous, you don't need a controlled study to see the obvious .. cupcakes made with Real Food would AT LEAST get some mold on it within a few days. Are you for real with this ridiculous attempt to defend the chemical cake from the supermarket bakery? You are a fool if so.
This is ridiculous speudo-science. Once something dries out completely, of course nothing (mold, bacteria) will decompose it. A real experiment would be to make your own cupcake/burger, etc. and put it next to the same store bought food and expose both to the same conditions. Over time, then you could actually make intelligent and relevant comments. Without a control to compare to, you can't draw any conclusions.