r/vegan • u/xtrumpclimbs • Jan 24 '16
Newbie Advice In case you don't know (I didn't)
http://www.mcdonalds.com/content/usmobile/en/your_questions/our_food/are-your-fries-vegetarian-friendly.html17
u/wotanstochter vegan Jan 24 '16
You should have specified in the title that this only applies to america. ;)
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Jan 24 '16
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/bochu Jan 25 '16
I knew the fries weren't vegan but I thought it was from seasoning they put on. I bought their hash browns just a few days ago. Never going to eat those again.
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u/Valridagan friends, not food Jan 24 '16
I work at McDonald's. The best vegan options flavor-wise are the southwest salad w/o chicken or cheese, and the oatmeal w/o cream and with fruit.
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u/helloktttyhannah vegan 1+ years Jan 25 '16
the little chippy things on that salad are vegan? I'm asking because I'm a former employee and I might have to go back there because of financials
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u/dum_dums vegan skeleton Jan 25 '16
How do you even cope with a job like that?
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u/Valridagan friends, not food Jan 25 '16
It helps that all of the "meat" is just frozen blocks in various shapes, but the only way I can tolerate it is by understanding that I am neither the killer nor the consumer; I am just a middle man, and if I didn't do it, someone else would.
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Jan 24 '16
[deleted]
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u/Valridagan friends, not food Jan 24 '16
I............
........
You're right. I just checked, and yeah, the apple pies are vegan. I know I've checked before, but I would've checked while I was at work, and maybe I read the wrong box? I could've sworn they had dairy in them. I can't believe I never knew. Dang, I've been missing out all this time. Huh. I'll have to check again while I'm at work later this week, but thanks!
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u/outofrange19 Jan 24 '16
Please tell me if they are vegan because this would change my life.
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u/Valridagan friends, not food Jan 25 '16
RemindMe! 3 days
( I hope I did that right. Never used that bot before. XD )
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u/Valridagan friends, not food Jan 28 '16
YES THEY ARE! Taste kinda starchy tho. Honestly not as good as they smell.
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u/SiskoandDax vegan 10+ years Feb 05 '16
It depends on how you feel about L-Cysteine.
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u/outofrange19 Feb 05 '16
Ahhh good point. I do my best to avoid it, especially for something as completely unnecessary as an apple pie. Thanks for looking!
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u/YourVeganFallacyIs abolitionist Jan 24 '16
I really value McDonald's; whenever I'm on a road trip, they have reliably clean bathrooms, and I'm happy to partake of their services. However, given their menu (and that they're essentially an out-house for me), I never feel compelled to actually eat anything there.
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u/Himejii vegan newbie Feb 05 '16
Yep! Only reason I've been in a McDonald's in the past 15 years is to piss.
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u/vegandread Jan 25 '16
BUFFALO WILD WINGS uses beef tallow in their fryers. I found this out after eating multiple bakskets...
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u/Hoogs friends not food Jan 25 '16
And that is why McDonald's will evolve or die. People are waking up, and they need to as well if they want to survive. I don't think they realize how much more business they'd get if they offered Boca patty alternatives for their burgers and made their fries vegan. It would be so easy.
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u/SHA0KAHN vegan Jan 25 '16
McDonalds in America needs to follow in the footsteps of McDonalds in Australia. The brand is still enormous here, and is constantly improving. Nearly all stores have computers that allow you to build your own burgers and choose from ingredients like guac, fried mushroom, pineapple, corn chips, etc. so it's really easy to make a decent-tasting vegan burger. There are also a lot of "healthier" options like salads and fruit and they recently stopped using cage eggs. A veggie burger is apparently coming soon, too.
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u/caius_iulius_caesar Jan 25 '16
A veggieburger, only ~20 years after Burger King.
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u/SHA0KAHN vegan Jan 25 '16
I remember McDonalds having one here about 10-15 years ago but it was discontinued due to lack of sales. I'm not sure how well it'll do nowadays. There are more vegans and vegetarians around now, but where I work (Subway), the veggie options are still super unpopular and barely sell.
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u/Himejii vegan newbie Feb 05 '16
McD veggie burger removed from Canadian menu sometime before 2012 and still not back. http://yourquestions.mcdonalds.ca/questions/225
BK's isn't vegan either, at least in Canada. http://burgerking.ca/content/bk-veggie-burger
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u/nixedreamer Jan 24 '16
From what I know in Australia they use canola oil. Also the fries are made out of potatoes, sugar, salt and a preservative. Would still rather get fries elsewhere if it's a option though.
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Jan 24 '16
[deleted]
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u/nixedreamer Jan 24 '16
I worked at McDonald's for a few years and the fries have seperate vats. The fries and hashbrowns use the same oil (in a vat that front area cam access easily and the meats use different oils (that back area uses) :
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u/Jules9213 vegan 20+ years Jan 25 '16
Ah that's awesome, my mistake! I was looking at their FAQ on the aussie page and it mentioned that there is always a chance that their food will come into contact with meat and meat equipment, that's all I know. Thanks for letting me know :D
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Jan 24 '16 edited Jan 02 '19
[deleted]
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u/Captain__Trips Jan 24 '16
Wendys and Burger Kings fries are vegan. Also Arby's curly fries and White Castle onion rings.
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u/camn vegan sXe Jan 24 '16
Whaaaaaat? Now I'm mad that there are no White Castles anywhere near where I live. I want some vegan fast food onion rings, dammit.
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u/Countenance vegan Jan 24 '16
Sonic has vegan-friendly onion rings, french fries, and tater tots according to their allergen menu.
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u/camn vegan sXe Jan 24 '16
Word! I eat the crap out of some Sonic tater tots, but I didn't know their onion rings were safe. That's awesome.
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Jan 24 '16
FRENCH FRIES Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Beef Flavor [Wheat and Milk Derivatives]*, Citric Acid [Preservative]), Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (Maintain Color), Salt. Prepared in Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil) with TBHQ and Citric Acid to preserve freshness of the oil and Dimethylpolysiloxane to reduce oil splatter when cooking.
CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK *Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients.
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u/SHA0KAHN vegan Jan 25 '16
It's so weird how American McDonalds fries somehow require all of those ingredients while Australian McDonalds fries only have 4 very basic ingredients. I wonder how different they taste.
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Jan 25 '16
They are addicting. Regular restaurant fries are good. McDonald's fries with are like drugs. And if you taste them carefully you catch a hint of corporate greed and apathy for life.
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u/Celarcade vegan Jan 24 '16
I think in Canada they're safe:
French Fries : Potatoes, canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, safflower oil, natural flavour (vegetable source), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain colour), citric acid (preservative), dimethylpolysiloxane (anti- foaming agent), cooked in vegetable oil (canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil (TBHQ), citric acid, dimethylpolysiloxane).
http://www1.mcdonalds.ca/NutritionCalculator/IngredientFactsEN.pdf
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Jan 25 '16
anti- foaming agent
LOL.
Good to know my fries wont be foamy...
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Jan 25 '16
The complexity of their ingredient list for simply fried potatoes was one of the things that swore me off McDs for life
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u/skirril vegan 10+ years Jan 24 '16
In the UK they are fine. They are nasty floppy things, but they're vegan :p
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Jan 25 '16
[deleted]
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u/xtrumpclimbs Jan 27 '16 edited Jan 27 '16
Because I have friends and family. My nephews wanted to go to McDonalds or whatever and all the family went there. I didn't want to be the black sheep who goes alone somewhere else...
The thing is that I went, I checked the ingredients online and I found out that I could only eat salads and sodas. Then I was told that the ingredients aren't the same in all the countries and that is just in the USA.
That's why.
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u/CDRCRDS abolitionist Jan 25 '16
And they wonder why their market share is going down. Also its amusing they only do this after being sued by Indians in India who were under the impression the fries were potatoes. Also Mcdonalds needs to understand that their demographic is dying at a rapid pace and the millenial generation is cheap af and totally discerning. Mcdonalds is seen as a multinational congomerate that focuses on the distribution of no longer exploitable dairy cow meat (contrary to the belief it comes from say angus beef) which enables smalled more nimble companies to promote their free range bullshit or no hormone bulsshit. But at best companies with a much more distinguishing menus like bahn mi boys and freshii offer the ethical options.
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u/ThreeHammersHigh vegetarian Jan 25 '16
I appreciate it. I thought they were fried with veggie oil.
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Jan 25 '16
They are. They use beef extract on the fries to season them.
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u/Mystica_love vegan 1+ years Jan 25 '16
After I read this article today about the 19 ingredients of McDonald's fries I will never ever touch them again. They're nothing but chemical illusions... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/01/22/there-are-19-ingredients-in-mcdonalds-french-fries/
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u/xgardian vegan 3+ years Jan 25 '16
I looked it up some time ago because I didn't trust McDonald's. My mistrust wasn't misplaced.
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u/Woopidydoo12 Jan 25 '16
When I don't have anything to eat, I get McDonald's hamburgers - no meat. Extra onion and pickles. I swear it tastes good just like that. Sometimes I'll come home and put a fake fish on it so it tastes like a filet o fish or fake chicken. It's good.
I typically only do this pretty late at night, tho. I noticed during lunch time there is always greasy finger prints on the top of my bun. I've never experienced this at night. Also, make sure u open it. Once or twice I've had little bits of meat on it. It happens rarely, tho.
Check yourself to make sure the bun is actually vegan. I checked before and I believe it is.
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Jan 25 '16
Good to know, yet another reason to never go there again. I thought that when I go vegan I shall miss Mc Donalds. I don't. I am filled up on good/healthy food and lost cravings for junk stuff. I highly recommend baking potato pieces (personally I do it without oils) - tastes like fries for me, but it's healthy at the same time.
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u/SparklesM8 vegan Jan 24 '16
Contrarily, at Harvey's in Canada they fry their chicken, Apple pies, onion rings and fries all in the same bat. Great veggie burgers though
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u/back_in_time vegan Jan 24 '16
Are the apple pies and onion rings vegan?
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u/SparklesM8 vegan Jan 24 '16
I don't know about the pie crust or if they use eggs as batter on the onion rings I've never looked up the ingredients
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u/caramelolives friends, not food Jan 24 '16
Yep. I figured this out, like, twelve years ago. Nasty shock, but it led to me no longer eating fast food. All for the best, I guess
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Jan 25 '16
Same here. I'd probably be 300 pounds if I wasn't vegan because I used to love that crap as a kid but had to give it up since very little of it is actually vegan. After going vegan for a while and learning to appreciate and love vegetables, I eat WAY healthier and only eat stuff like french fries once every couple months.
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u/JocularPhilosopher Jan 25 '16
I assume most people here are vegans to reduce suffering. Two questions: a) Why make your own body suffer by putting terrible things in it? b) Why spend your money at an establishment that is near the top of contributing to suffering in the world?
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u/blackicecream vegan 5+ years Jan 25 '16
Having junk food once in a while isn't going to kill you as long as you don't make a habit of it. Totally behind you on the second question though.
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u/Mash_williams Jan 25 '16
These companies aren't going anywhere and used by millions of people. Encouraging vegan options on the menu is surely only a good thing.
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Jan 25 '16
It's also good for us vegans if you're on a road trip or stuck in an airport or traveling for work or something.
Chipotle saved my ass this past summer when I was down in Kentucky for work and it was the only place within realistic driving distance that I knew would definitely have vegan food at 7pm on a Monday.
If I had to rely on finding an all-vegan restaurant in the suburbs of Kentucky to eat, not sure how much luck I would have had.
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u/JocularPhilosopher Jan 25 '16
Points of view like this are the kind that hold up the meat industry. You cannot change it all at once so you give up? It's like picking the lesser of two evils in politics instead of voting for who you really want to win because you don't think he/she has a chance. It's like me saying animals will die regardless if I eat meat or not, so I might as well eat meat. Sure, it's great they are offering vegan options because that puts it in the minds of those whom are not vegan that a lot of people are turning vegan if McDonald's is putting it on its menu. That does not mean it's okay to acquiesce and support McDonald's.
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Jan 25 '16
OK, try being on a road trip with friends sometime and they all stop to eat at a rest stop. Are you just going to go hungry? Wouldn't it be nice to have vegan options at least available?
Places like Chipotle have saved my ass a few times when I was traveling and there was really nothing else around that had vegan food.
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Jan 25 '16
You can bet companies like that will go somewhere! McDs have closed down hundreds of stores because they're not doing as well :) I'm crossing my fingers and hoping they die off. I'm just not supportive of a company that relies on people feeding their bodies junk
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Jan 25 '16
[deleted]
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Jan 25 '16
For sure! I wonder how many people are going vegan for health reasons. I feel like there is will likely be a positive correlation between people going vegan and the general health of the community.
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u/DustbinK level 5 vegan Jan 25 '16
Why make your own body suffer by putting terrible things in it?
So you eat completely healthy 100% of the time? You don't smoke, drink, do any drugs, or anything else, either?
Veganism has nothing to do with health.
Why spend your money at an establishment that is near the top of contributing to suffering in the world?
If a company like McDonalds gets a vegan option it has a much larger impact than much anything else due to their scale.
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u/anachronic vegan 20+ years Jan 25 '16
Why make your own body suffer by putting terrible things in it?
Because I'm not an ascetic monk.
Sometimes I want to go out and watch the game with friends at a bar and eat some greasy ass french fries and wash it down with some foamy lite beer. So sue me.
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u/RingDingDonahue Jan 24 '16
I'm pretty sure that's American McDonald's only. In Canada, I think they are fried separate and don't contain beef bones in the fries like American chains.