McDonald's Filet-O-Fish: The Ugly Truth

[IronGhost]

Bug-eyed deep sea fish wind up as Filet-o-fish ....

The world’s insatiable appetite for fish, with its disastrous effects on populations of favorites like red snapper, monkfish and tuna, has driven commercial fleets to deeper waters in search of creatures unlikely to star on the Food Network.

One of the most popular is the hoki, or whiptail, a bug-eyed specimen found far down in the waters around New Zealand and transformed into a major export. McDonald’s alone at one time used roughly 15 million pounds of it each year.

The hoki may be exceedingly unattractive, but when its flesh reaches the consumer it’s just fish — cut into filets and sticks or rolled into sushi — moist, slightly sweet and very tasty. Better yet, the hoki fishery was thought to be sustainable, providing New Zealand with a reliable major export for years to come.

But arguments over managing this resource are flaring not only between commercial interests and conservationists, but also among the environmental agencies most directly involved in monitoring and regulating the catch.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/10fish.html?no_interstitial

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To be honest, the McDonald's filet-o-fish is my favorite thing to order. I also like all kinds of other fish -- but I find myself losing sleep at night lately over the world's gluttonous appetites and what's becoming of the ocean's fish populations.

[SilverCougar]

My poor Tuna... =(

Nooo we're not over populated.. not at all! No strain on the enviroment to feed us! >.>

[little_dreamer]

Haven't had a fillet-o-fish in years. It reminded me of the fish they served in school lunches.

[Queenofthefairies]

omg the fillet-o-fish is one of my favourite burger at MD's. i'm from NZ and the Hoki is the BEST fish apart from our blue cod lol we don't just make our money from our fisheries you know

<QueenoftheFairies>

[__Kratos__]

You guys are eating fish at a burger joint? Their new bacon and cheese one third pounder angus burger is gloriously delicious.

And instead of supporting overfishing, you're just supporting global warming and world hunger!

[Caesar]

I usually get the Filet-O-Fish and Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese with a large fry and won't gain a pound!

[el midgetron]

After reading this thread I got hungery for a fish filet, it was delicious.

[itsnotoutthere]

You'd couldn't pay me to enter a McDonalds.

Always makes me laugh when they refer to themselves as a restaurant. Any place where you pay for the food before you've eaten it isn't a restaurant, it's a fast food outlet.

[Lord Umbarger]

I usually get the Filet-O-Fish and Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese with a large fry and won't gain a pound!

BOOOOO! I think I might have gained a kilo or two just reading your comment!

Firstly, I don't like McDonalds. Sort of liked their biscuits for a while in my 20's but, I burned myself out on them.

I have heard that there are a lot of species of fish that are becoming harder and harder to find. My best guess is that humans will have to do one of the following in the years to come.....

1). Start eating more species of plants. There are a world of flavors to be had that most have never tried.

2). Start figuring out better ways to farm fish. Of course, farmed fish are said to have a strange flavor due to rain run off.

3). Control world population. Sort of like the Chinese one child per couple law but, planet wide, for a century or two.

4). Eat more chicken... (that ought to make the cows happy!)

5). Consider other alternative meat sources. (Not to be gross here but, China once put out a cookbook for rat recipes).

6). Agree to a full on world wide ban on fishing for a few years. The ones out there now may be able to bounce back.

7). Just deal with it. Mass starvation across the board.

Of these options, I would say that one and five are the most sustainable options but, people aren't going to do that. Japan and the Philipines for instance consider fish as much a staple as Americans consider fried foods.

Six is probably the best over all option in that it would sort of force folks to explore other foods but, is the bottom of the bucket least likely to have happen. I can't get three people to agree on where to go eat lunch. Can you imagine getting 6.5 billion to stop eating sea food?

Seven is the worst possible outcome of the ones that I can think of at the moment and probably the most likely to actually happen. The upside of it is that it will lower the population and coerce the rest of us to seek out alternative food sources. Of course, I don't like rat chops and would really rather not starve to death... given my chioce in the matter.

[Lt_Ripley]

how far away is soylent green ?

[IronGhost]

BOOOOO! I think I might have gained a kilo or two just reading your comment!

Firstly, I don't like McDonalds. Sort of liked their biscuits for a while in my 20's but, I burned myself out on them.

I have heard that there are a lot of species of fish that are becoming harder and harder to find. My best guess is that humans will have to do one of the following in the years to come.....

1). Start eating more species of ....

One thing I would add to your suggestions is ... Insect Protien! Yes, why not?

I was watching a thing on public TV about some African village, and one day the kids spent a whole day out collecting various kinds of insects and grub worms, etc. -- and they made this big pot of stew out of them.

By the time McDonald's get done processing the hoki to create a filet-O-fish, it's could be pretty much anything anyway -- I bet you could mash up a pile of insects, put them through some kind of blender or processor, then deep fry it in yummy oil -- and voila! -- you would have a nice burger with a golden crust, and it would be 90% insect stuff -- and everyone would love it.

I bet if you topped an insect burger with some imitation bacon made out of processed seaweed and articfical flavoring, slathered it with cheese and smothered it with ketchup, Kratos would order three at a time and chow them down, and order a couple for the road...

You could capture the insects mechanically -- set up some kind of vacuum devices that would suck in insects all day, run them through a kind of internal compactor to make nice little insect protien cakes, which would later by processed into Filet-O-Grasshopper or something ...

It could work, folks -- and you'll never run out of insects.

After all, everybody loves a kind of insect spit we call honey.

Edited September 11, 2009 by IronGhost

[The Silver Thong]

The only shocking and surprising thing about this article is finding out that McDonalds used -real- fish.

Ok that made me laugh.

I have never tried a filet o fish as Mcdonalds and fish just seem an odd combination. Might have to try one on the way home as most here seem to think there not bad hmmm extra tartar please LOL

[Irish]

It's all the fault of those nasty seals, eating 10 time their own body weight daily. Grab your clubs and meet me in Newfoundland and we will ensure Rotten Ronny's can serve up all that excess cod.

[IronGhost]

It's all the fault of those nasty seals, eating 10 time their own body weight daily. Grab your clubs and meet me in Newfoundland and we will ensure Rotten Ronny's can serve up all that excess cod.

Why not also use the seal meat for a burger? The McSeal quarter pounder.

[Irish]

Why not also use the seal meat for a burger? The McSeal quarter pounder.

Great idea! They could give away little seal skin boots in the happy meals.

How bout serving up a few blue whales call it the MacBlubber burger.

[IronGhost]

Great idea! They could give away little seal skin boots in the happy meals.

How bout serving up a few blue whales call it the MacBlubber burger.

I'm sure if it would make Bad Ronald's a profit, they would eventually run every manner of sea and land creature through their grinders.

I'd like to see a McKrill burger, and eventually and McAlgea burger, and possibly even a McMonkey burger.

[Irish]

I'm sure if it would make Bad Ronald's a profit, they would eventually run every manner of sea and land creature through their grinders.

I'd like to see a McKrill burger, and eventually and McAlgea burger, and possibly even a McMonkey burger.

Maybe even a few protesters it would not be the first time I gotten a little Greenpeace in my burger

[Admiral Danger]

yeah...

i wouldve thought that these big commercial companies would be sensible to start fish farming

[Wickian]

I haven't eaten fast food in months. One day when I started looking at it, it stopped looking like food to me.

[itsnotoutthere]

If you'd read the book i've read, by a guy that did 3 month stints in each of the three main fast food outlets McDs, KFC & BK, you'd never go in one of those places again, well not unless you like body fluids with your meal.

[Bill Hill]

If you'd read the book i've read, by a guy that did 3 month stints in each of the three main fast food outlets McDs, KFC & BK, you'd never go in one of those places again, well not unless you like body fluids with your meal.

yeah after hearing about that book, I haven't been to a McDonalds since,,

Just the thought of it, plus if you look at the people serving, you just know it's true,,

[Princess Serenity]

I don't get it. They're angry because McDonald's use a deep sea fish?

I don't even eat the thing. So I really don't care.

[Mr Honeybadger]

Well when you order a Filet-o-Fish from McD's , you pretty much figure that you're getting a pile of ground up fish parts pressed into a square and called a fish sandwich. ( Which trust me. I don't care. I don't care what I'm eating as long as it tastes good )

But I did get sick one time from a McDonalds fish sandwich. But it was probably bad tarter sauce. But I lived.

And trust me. I eat way worse garbage than anything McDonalds sells

[Mekorig]

It was at least 10 or 12 years ago i eat something from McDonalds, really, the last time it make me sick. For burgers i prefer to make my own, or eat in a restaurant. It is cheaper, at least here in Argentina.

[Shush_rules]

McDonald's in Australia really isn't that bad at all. The worst i've ever had happen is that it was a little cold... that's it