Are McDonald's Hash Browns Vegan?

For Americans, McDonald's hash browns are not vegan, as they include beef flavoring (Link). For Canadians and Britons, beef flavoring is not included, and I can't find any other animal products in their ingredient list (Canadian Link) (British Link).

Hopefully, McDonald's in America will catch up with the rest of the world and remove the beef flavoring from their hash browns!

McDonald's American Hashbrown Ingredients: 

Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Beef Flavor [Wheat and Milk Derivatives]*, Citric Acid [Preservative]), Salt, Corn Flour, Dehydrated Potato, Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (Maintain Color), Extractives of Black Pepper. Prepared in vegetable oil: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness. Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

McDonald's Canadian Hashbrown Ingredients:

Hashbrowns
potatoes
canola oil
hydrogenated soybean oil
safflower oil
natural flavor (vegetable source)
salt
dehydrated potato
vegetable monoglycerides
corn flour
dextrose
(Dextrose is a corn-based sugar that is about two-thirds as sweet as table sugar. Our French fry supplier, McCain Foods, uses a diluted dextrose solution on our fries to replace the natural sugars lost during the steam-blanching process and to create a uniform golden colour when they are cooked. The solution is 99.5% water and 0.5% dextrose. The actual amount of dextrose in the cooked fries is even less at 0.15%.)
sodium acid pyrophosphate
(Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, or SAPP as it’s often called, is used by our French fry supplier, McCain Foods, to help prevent our potatoes from turning grey – a natural process that occurs when a potato is cut. You may have noticed similar colour changes at home when potatoes or apples are cut and exposed to air.)
extractives of black pepper
citric acid
dimethylpolysiloxane
(Dimethylpolysiloxane is added to our vegetable oil in very small amounts for safety reasons. Its purpose is to prevent the oil from foaming and boiling over during cooking, which would be a serious safety risk to our crew. This ingredient can also be found in jams and jellies, soft drinks and sauces.)
cooked in vegetable oil
(INGREDIENTS:
canola oil
corn oil
soybean oil
hydrogenated soybean oil
citric acid
dimethylpolysiloxane)

Is it Natural to eat Un-Natural Foods?

Fast food and processed foods have become so common that they have become the norm in our society. As a result, eating natural, unprocessed foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, wild caught fish, etc., can make a person stand out and even be labeled as "weird". Yet those who are quick to use the term "health nut" should also remember that 2/3 of Americans are overweight (Link) and over half of Americans are on chronic prescription medications (Link). In other words, there are far worse things than being labeled a "health nut". The research proves that our bodies do much better on a whole, natural foods diet (Link). And - contrary to popular contemporary opinion - there was life before the 1950's emergence of fast food chains, preservatives and artificial ingredients.

Raw Recipe - Lettuce Wrap

This is one of my staple raw food meals. In fact, this photo is of my lunch today! It is easy to make, filling and delicious. It includes:

1 romaine lettuce heart

1 large avocado

1-2 tomatoes

1-2 ears of raw sweet corn (optional)

1 green pepper (optional)

Only utensils required - knife, cutting board and water for washing - The simplicity of this wrap makes it a great raw fast food option!

B.Y.O.L. (bring your own lunch)

It is a little known fact that people still ate lunch before fast food chains emerged in the 1950's. Even since the dawn of fast food chains, many brave souls have opted to save money and eat healthier by packing a lunch. One problem that many people have when trying to pack a lunch is that they don't have time in the morning. In this case a good option is to pack a lunch the night before. Doing this saves gas money, gives you more time to enjoy your lunch break and lets you choose healthier options that many fast food chains might not offer (or will charge more for). That being said, if packing a lunch is not an option for you, check out these healthy fast food options!