Recently on Facebook, my wife reshared a link to a video her friend had posted that's been making its way around the Intertubes. It was apparently posted by a vegan with a vendetta against we normal, eat-meating types.
When I first saw this video, I chose not to say anything as I figured the worst case scenario is that my daughter and I would have to visit McDonalds in secret (she loves Chicken McNuggets almost as much as her Daddy). And, when my wife brought it up to me later, I pretty much gave her a non-committal shrug and a smile as I was really looking to avoid a fight over a trivial matter. But, the reality is, it's not trivial.
As Dr. Novella points out today, it really highlights how the general public really has no idea what constitutes good evidence. This is why we have a significant portion of our population who believes our current President is a Muslim or wasn't born in the US. Despite living in the 21st century and thus having easy access to all of the world's information, creationists, climate change deniers and those who still believe in a geocentric solar system (yes, they not only still exist, they have conferences) are actually growing in number. Even more ironic, it's DUE to having access to the world's information, and thus the treasure trove of ignorant blather that makes up most of it, is what's causing this disease to spread faster than it would normally.
How can this be? Simple: we no longer teach critical thinking skills. People like this choose a point of view and then find evidence to back it up. Then, and this is the critical part, no matter how much ACTUAL evidence they're presented with to the contrary, they refuse to acknowledge any of it. And, what is the amateur videographer's point of view? Well, I have to assume it's that McDonalds is some evil corporation selling you some evil meat-like product designed to ensure you'll die an early death. Since I have no evidence to the contrary, I've proven my hypothesis by simply stating it. Science is SOOOOO easy! Let's face it, McDonalds really doesn't want you to know what's in their food, right?. I mean, I had to click like three different times on their website to get the list of ingredients for all of their products! Who knows what's in this "beef" they claim their patties are made of?!
I think what I find funniest about this is the woman links to a BBC video wherein the host has done some time lapse videos as well to show what happens to food as it rots. Ironically, none of the meat in his video shows signs of mold, either. It does get eaten by larvae and flies, as is to be expected, but it doesn't mold. Really all she's done is proven she has a clean house free of flies. Good for her.
As Dr. Novella says, this is an observation, it's not an experiment. It's meaningless. When we cook meat, we do so to kill all contaminants (Yes, it's also about pre-breaking down some of the amino acids and proteins thus making them easier for us to digest, but do you really think most people understand THAT part of it?), so it's actually surprising to me that someone would be surprised that a cooked meal doesn't mold.
I don't know what the solution is, though. Ignorance is a protected right in the US, as is raising your kids to be just as ignorant. If you try to educate the kids so they won't be ignorant boobs like their parents, you're called a Nazi socialist spreading your liberal agenda. In poking around, it appears this woman's getting a lot of grief from the skeptical and scientific community. Hopefully, that'll be enough, but the reality is it won't. She's "popular" now. People are paying attention to her! McDonalds responded directly to her expose! She's a hero! Not a likely candidate for change.
In many ways, being a skeptic is tough. You have to face reality all the time. You have to listen to loved ones spout things that you know were disproven in the Middle Ages. You have to watch the US grow more and more clueless every day. But, at least in this instance, I'm a winner. I can still eat at McDonalds with my daughter because I know that their burgers are cooked and I don't have to worry about biological contaminants!
Of course, the real question is: will my wife share my post with her McDonalds-avoiding friends?
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