Taco Bell, The Superbowl and a Problem with Vegetables?
Have you ever eaten at Taco Bell? I have. It was in college and against my better judgement, I went in an ordered some type of bean burrito. This was about a decade before I was Paleo, and I rarely ate fast food, but a group of friends and I, all on our mediocre student budgets, opted to go in and grab a bite to eat.
Oh, my word. Aside from the fact that I don’t believe what I ate was actually food (and a recent google search for the following ingredient list confirms that point), I experienced the most horrible GI distress for a good week afterward.
No wonder, given that what I’d ingested contained:
Cheese Cheddar (Milk Pasteurized Cultured, Salt, Enzyme(s), Annatto Color, Anti-Caking Agents) , Tortilla(s) (Wheat Flour Bleached Enriched [Flour, May contain : Barley Malted Flour, Niacin, Iron Reduced, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid (Vitamin aB)] , Water, Corn Ground treated with, Lime, Vegetable(s) Oil [May contain one or more of : Cottonseed Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean(s) Oil, Citric Acid, May contain : TBHQ Contains 2% or less of the Following: (] , Salt, Fumaric Acid, Calcium Propionate, Potassium Sorbate) , Bean(s) (Bean(s) Pinto, Soy Oil [Shortening Trans Fat Free, with TBHQ and, Citric Acid] , Salt) , Beef Seasoned (Beef, Water, Seasoning [Oat(s) Product Isolated, Salt, Pepper(s) Chili, Onion(s) Powder, Tomato(es) Powder, Oat(s), Soy Lecithin, Sugar, Spice(s), Maltodextrin, Soybean(s) Oil, Garlic Powder, Yeast Extract Autolyzed, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Cocoa Powder Processed with Alkali, Silicon Dioxide, Flavor(s) Natural, Yeast, Corn Starch Modified, Flavor(s) Natural Smoke] , Salt, Sodium Phosphate) , Red Sauce (Corn Starch Modified, Maltodextrin, Paprika, Salt, Tomato(es) Powder, Onion(s) Powder, Spice(s), Garlic Powder, Yeast Extract [Gluten] , Paprika Extractives color(s), Xanthan Gum, Malic Acid, Caramel Color, Potassium Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Trehalose, Flavor(s) Natural, Contains less than 22% of Silicon Dioxide) , Sour Cream Reduced Fat (Cream, Milk, Corn Starch Modified, Milk Non-Fat Dry, Maltodextrin, Carrageenan, Locust Bean Gum, Lactic Acid, Gelatin, Guar Gum, Mono and Diglycerides, Citric Acid, Sodium Phosphate, Vitamin A, Potassium Sorbate, Flavor(s) Natural & Artificial) , Lettuce Iceberg, Onion(s) (May contain one or more of : Onion(s) White Or, Onion(s) Yellow) , Tomato(es)
Forget about the fact that it’s not Paleo, regardless of how one might opt to eat, I don’t feel there’s ever a reason to eat something with that many ingredients!
However, it’s obviously not a concern for most, since Taco Bell seems to be flourishing and has recently released, then pulled back, an ad which said that ” bringing a vegetable tray to a party is “like punting on fourth and one.” It said that people secretly hate guests who bring vegetables to parties.”
According to abcnews.com:
Taco Bell is pulling a TV ad after receiving complaints that it discouraged people from eating vegetables. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a health advocacy group, this weekend urged people to tweet their complaints about the ad and the chain quickly made the decision to pull it. We didn’t want anyone to misinterpret the intent of the ad,” says Rob Poetsch, a Taco Bell spokesman. The Center for Science in the Public Interest thanked Taco Bell for its speedy response.
Wonder what the Taco Bell spokesperson meant by not wanting anyone to misinterpret the intent of the ad. What was the intent, then? Did Taco Bell secretly hope that viewers would not by the featured 12-pack of tacos in favor of a tray of crudites?
There is room at any Superbowl party for some veg. I know, I’d be nuts if I expected all the die-hard football fans to ditch all their chips, dips and beer for raw kale, but there’s no reason not to have at least one clean and healthy option, too!
