Taco Bell was never one of the usual fast food joints my parents took me to growing up. I was introduced to it by a high school friend. We would go there after school, pull up to the drive through where my friend would order 2 bean burritos with extra hot sauce and scarf them down while I sat there wondering if he would take me to Wendy’s to get a hamburger (my favorite fast food back then). I couldn’t drive yet so I relied on my friend to chauffeur me around everywhere. Eventually I decided to try a burrito instead of begging my friend to make a stop at Wendy’s too. Surprisingly, it was pretty good and had to be healthier than a burger, I thought.
Boy, was I wrong – just take a look at the ingredients below. They are not pretty. A bean burrito is one of the simplest meals ever, but Taco Bell has processed it to death. Their bean burritos contain possible GMOs, preservatives made from butane (a very carcinogenic gas) called TBHQ, hidden MSG additives that trick your brain to remember and crave a flavor and other nasty processed food chemicals no one would cook with in their home!
Watching the headlines from Taco Bell pop up on my computer screen this week brought back this memory. Many of you (The #FoodBabeArmy) wanted to hear my thoughts about what Taco Bell is up to in their latest marketing scheme by revealing what’s exactly in their food on their website.
The motivation for Taco Bell’s latest marketing move came from a lawsuit.
In 2011, Taco Bell took out a full page ad in at least nine major newspapers, in an attempt to explain what’s exactly in their beef product because they were being sued in a class action lawsuit that claimed their beef is only “35% beef” and full of extenders and fillers. Taco Bell shot back that their beef product contains “88% Beef and 12% Secret Recipe”.
And now, three years later, although the lawsuit was dropped, Taco Bell made headlines again this week regarding their webpage called “What Are Those Other Ingredients?“, which attempts to describe the other 12% of ingredients behind their secret recipe that “have some pretty weird names”. Taco Bell President said all of these ingredients are in there to “enhance flavor, texture, taste.” ABC News interviewed a chemist from Duke University that said “There’s nothing on this list I have a problem eating.” After you find out the truth – I wonder if you’ll think the same. Let’s take a close look at these ingredients and see what’s really happening here.
What Taco Bell says vs. what they should really say.
1. MALTODEXTRIN
What Taco Bell Says: “It sounds weird, but it’s actually a form of mildly sweet sugar we use to balance the flavor. You may have had it the last time you had a natural soda”
The Truth: Maltodextrin is likely made from genetically modified corn and according to David Zinczenko, author of “Eat It to Beat It”, “like other sugars, maltodextrin has the potential to raise blood glucose and insulin levels.” GMO Compass explains that it is typically added to food as a filling and thickening agent. I want to know why they have to use maltodextrin to “balance the flavor” when they are already using sugar in the beef mixture in it’s pure form – seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it?
2. TORULA YEAST
What Taco Bell Says: “This is a form of yeast that gives our seasoned beef a more savory taste”
The Truth: This is hidden MSG. According to truthinlabeling.org and Dr. Mark Hyman in his new book “The 10 Day Detox Diet” – Torula Yeast can be a form of hidden glutamic acid – the main component in MSG that makes you crave an unforgettable taste and eat more than you should. Companies love using hidden forms of MSG like this ingredient that prevents them from actually saying “Monosodium Glutamate” on the label. So, while Taco Bell says they don’t use MSG: “Nope, None!” – I find this statement very misleading.
3. MODIFIED CORN STARCH
What Taco Bell Says: “Actually, it’s derived from corn, which is a food staple in Mexican culture as well as many others. We use a small amount as a thickener and to maintain moisture in our seasoned beef. It’s common in many foods like yogurt”
The Truth: Just because it’s “common” doesn’t mean that it’s good for you. Modified corn starch is a highly processed chemically-altered form of corn starch that is added to processed food as a cheap texturizing agent – and it’s not a natural ingredient that you would use in the kitchen. The corn that it’s derived from is likely GMO, as more than 90% of corn in the U.S. is genetically modified.
4. SOY LECITHIN
What Taco Bell Says: “When you prepare as much seasoned beef as we do, you don’t want it to separate. That’s what soy lecithin does. It helps (with moisture) to bind substances that would otherwise separate — like oil and water. It’s a common ingredient in many grocery staples, like chocolate bars and salad dressings”
The Truth: This super-cheap ingredient is made from soybean oil that was most likely extracted with the toxic chemical hexane. As described by The Cornucopia Institute, “Hexane is a byproduct of gasoline refining. It is a neurotoxin and a hazardous air pollutant…Whole soybeans are literally bathed in hexane to separate the soybeans’ oil from protein”. This is yet another ingredient that is likely derived from a GMO source – soybeans.
5. SODIUM PHOSPHATES
What Taco Bell Says: This is used “to help make sure our seasoned beef is the right texture…They’re also commonly found in deli items, cheeses, coffee drinks and desserts”
The Truth: Phosphates are added to many processed foods and a phosphate-rich diet can be detrimental to your health. Diets high in phosphates are linked to an increased risk of heart disease, bone loss, and leads to a rapid progression of kidney disease. Janeen Leon, MS, RD, LD, a researcher at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, reported the following:
“We’re finding that, even among healthy adults, people with phosphate levels at the higher end of what’s considered normal have higher mortality rates… Though there’s no hard evidence that high-phosphate diets cause kidney disease, there is sufficient data showing that phosphorous does cause a more rapid progression of the disease… Doctors are making comments like, Is this the next trans fat? Is this the next cholesterol?”
6. LACTIC ACID
What Taco Bell Says: “This safe acid occurs in almost all living things, and we use a very small amount to manage the acidity to get the right flavor.”
The Truth: This type of Lactic acid is created in a laboratory, and likely derived from GMO corn starch or sugar beets. As I avoid ingredients that are derived from GMOs, this is on my “Do Not Eat” list.
7. COCOA POWDER
Taco Bell says: “Cocoa Powder doesn’t add any flavor to our recipe, but it helps our seasoned beef maintain a rich color.”
The Truth: They use cocoa powder to make the beef more appealing to the eye to trick you to eat this less than stellar product. Their ingredient label reveals that their cocoa powder is processed with alkali, which essentially destroys most of its nutritional value. Plus, conventionally grown cocoa beans are one of the most heavily sprayed crops on the planet, often with pesticides that are banned in the U.S., making it essential to only consume organic and ethically grown cocoa. This begs the question: Why do they feel the need to color their “beef” brown anyway?
8. CARAMEL COLOR
What Taco Bell Says: The caramel color “is caramelized sugar, which is a commonly used food coloring (also found in cereals and pancake syrup)”
The Truth: There are four types of caramel coloring used by food manufacturers, and two of these are processed with ammonia. These two dangerous forms of caramel coloring are classified as III and IV, and they contain 4-methylimidazole, a chemical that has been shown to cause cancer. This type of caramel coloring is added to Pepsi and many other food products like some pancake syrups, so it is crucial that we find out which classification of caramel coloring Taco Bell uses. So, what type do they use?
Well, we don’t know. Taco Bell still won’t tell us.
As soon as the news broke last week, my team and I contacted Taco Bell. We called their customer service number, sent website contact forms, emails and Tweets. The representatives that we talked to at Taco Bell did not know what type of caramel coloring they used. So far – we received one response to a website contact form that we submitted – and as you can see, they haven’t answered our question:
Taco Bell states that they “go to great lengths to be open about the ingredients we use, and want you to know the truth”. Following the recent lawsuit against them, the CEO of Taco Bell stated several times that he wished that the Plaintiff had simply contacted them to get information about their beef ingredients. Well – I’m here to tell ya that based on my experience here, it’s not that easy to get detailed information from Taco Bell about their ingredients! They did respond to my tweet on Friday, which was awesome, but I have yet to hear back from the person they had me call. When someone from Taco Bell does get back to me, I will be sure to update you all here.
6/16/2014 Update: After several conversations with Taco Bell’s Head of Communications, I was able to finally confirm Taco Bell uses “caramel coloring IV” – which means it is the worst kind. This type of caramel isn’t the stuff you make at home by cooking sugar. This caramel color is manufactured by heating ammonia and sulfites under high pressure, which creates carcinogenic compounds. Both Consumers Union and Center of Science in Public Interest have studied this chemical and recommended all companies drop this ingredient from their products. Also, in California, it is listed as a known carcinogen. Taco Bell’s statement online about this ingredient is VERY MISLEADING.
9. TREHALOSE
What Taco Bell Says: “It’s a naturally occurring sugar that we use to improve the taste of our seasoned beef”
The Truth: In all my years of researching food ingredients, this is an ingredient that I’m not familiar with, yet now its on my radar screen. This sweetener has been dubbed Japan’s equivalent to high fructose corn syrup, and it looks like we might be seeing more of this ingredient in the U.S. soon. Although trehalose is naturally occurring – Cargill is a major manufacturer of this sweetener, producing it from cornstarch in a laboratory. So, it’s likely derived from GMO corn and heavily processed. My team also contacted Taco Bell and asked for more information on the trehalose they use, and how it is sourced. So, I will update you here if I get more info.
Is Taco Bell really being “transparent” here?
While Taco Bell says their ingredients are “common ingredients also found in food items at your grocery store” they keep suspiciously quiet about some ingredients in their “seasoned beef” that could be harmful to your health:
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Soybean Oil – This is one of the cheapest oils that a restaurant can use, and it is almost always hexane extracted from GMO soybeans. It is also high in omega-6 fat, which according to Dr. Michael Roizen, “causes your arteries to get inflamed, causes your immune system to get inflamed, and decreases your ability to fight infections, decreases your ability to find cancer cells and get rid of them before they cause cancer, and increases inflammation and atherosclerosis in your arteries”
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Yeast Extract – This is another hidden form of MSG. Again, see Dr. Mark Hyman’s latest book for more sources of hidden MSG.
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Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate – These ingredients are really only added to products that contain MSG because they are relatively expensive additives that are ineffective without MSG ingredients. The presence of them in a product is a strong indication that a product contains hidden MSG.
Here’s the complete list of ingredients – in which I highlighted the ingredients that I’m really concerned about:
Taco Bell Seasoned Beef:
Beef, Water, Seasoning [Cellulose, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Salt, Oats (Contains Wheat), Maltodextrin (Corn, Potato, Tapioca), Soy Lecithin, Tomato Powder, Sugar, Soybean Oil, Sea Salt, Yeast Extract (Contains Gluten), Spices, Garlic Powder, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, Potassium Chloride, Cocoa Powder Processed with Alkali, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Trehalose, Modified Corn Starch, Inactivated Yeast, Lactic Acid, Torula Yeast, Natural Smoke Flavor], Salt, Sodium Phosphate, Less Than 2% Beef Broth, Potassium Phosphate, Potassium Lactate
…and what about the BEEF itself?
Yes, I highlighted the beef itself as an ingredient to be concerned about. Taco Bell is on the record saying that they buy their beef “from the same trusted brands you find in the supermarket, like Tyson Foods”. To me, this means that Taco Bell beef comes from cattle raised in a factory farm, fed GMO feed and injected with harmful hormones prior to slaughter. Tyson Foods openly states on their website that they feed their chickens GMO grains, and that is the standard in factory farms in the U.S. Taco Bell’s parent company – YUM Brands – has refused to take steps to label GMO ingredients on their restaurant menus and has joined forces with the Grocery Manufacturers Association to fight mandatory GMO labeling laws. It’s really important to know where your meat comes from and if it comes from animals fed GMO feed because GMO DNA has been found in the meat and organs in these animals. According to The Cornucopia Institute, when animals are fed GMO crops, the GMO DNA is “taken up by the animal’s organs and detected in the meat, milk, and fish” and the U.K. Food Standards Agency reluctantly admits that it’s “possible that DNA fragments derived from GM plant materials may occasionally be detected in animal tissues”
…and what about the “Taco Corn Shell” because no one eats the beef by itself.
Don’t even get me started. Ok fine. I will tell you. But it isn’t pretty. Traditional corn tortillas or taco shells are usually made with corn, salt, water, oil and maybe a little lime. Taco Bell takes this beautiful recipe and wrecks it with TBHQ, and many forms of suspected GMO oils – including one of the worst – cottonseed oil, that is regulated like a textile crop vs. a food crop, meaning it can contain much worse types of toxic pesticides.
The reason I say “suspected GMO oils” is because we’ve asked Taco Bell whether they use any GMO ingredients, and they have yet to provide a statement on GMOs. But if I were betting in vegas on this, I am pretty sure I’d come out as a winner winner, chicken dinner.
Also, if you are daring enough to get the XXL Taco, you’ll be eating parabens, which are endocrine disruptors linked to cancer. If you try the Doritos Loco Taco, you’ll get a nice dose of excitotoxins that can kill brain cells and artificial food dye made from petroleum.
So what do you do?
Stop eating at Taco Bell. They don’t deserve your money or your health. Instead, try one of these homemade recipes that will satisfy that Mexican craving:
- Kale Tacos
- Mexican Pizza
- Cauliflower Lentil Taco Salad
- Fast Food Burrito
- Quinoa Avocado Tacos
- Sweet Potato Quesadilla
- Mexican Casserole
- Hot Poblano Pockets
If you have a friend or a family member that likes to go to Taco Bell, here’s your chance. Share this post with them and tell them the truth. Don’t let this fast food giant pull the wool over our eyes any longer.
Hope you have a wonderful and happy Cinco de Mayo!
Vani
P.S. If you like investigations like this, sign up for my very personal email list where I share breaking information about what’s really happening in the food industry and healthy living tips every week. Xo!
Hi,I just had a thought,have you had the opportunity to investigate Raising Cane’s restaurant? Are they bad like most fast food?
Thank you.
Jim.
Yes go after Taco Bell and make them get the GMO’s out of there food my son loves there food I wish he didn’t.
You would think that at least one of these fast food restaurants would have the guts?, brains, foresight, to totally revamp all of their menu items, cleans weep them and make them healthy. I mean they would make national news and have tons of customers so where is the downside of this? What am I missing?
Chipotle is on the way to that. It is the only restaurant that I can eat in. A Chipotle order of tacos is 3 but you can get just one or two.
But then they wouldn’t make a profit , which is why they won’t do it. Cause you would complain about the price and they would lose money from such high overhead.
There are a few out there. Chipotle is the only fast food place I will eat. They are very ethical about how their animals are raised and what they use in their food.
Don’t forget who owns Chipotle. Hint: They engage in a fair amount of clowning around when it comes to their food.
False — McDonald’s does not own Chipotle. Chipotle’s website says “There is a popular misconception that Chipotle restaurants are owned by McDonalds. While they were once an investor in our company, they divested in 2006 and our company went public on the New York Stock Exchange that year.” However, you can research this on your own and find the same answer everywhere else.
I would love to know what Jack in the box uses in there food
But then they wouldn’t make a profit , which is why they won’t do it. Cause you would complain about the price and they would lose money from such high overhead.
How safe and what kind of stuff (poison?) do the Chicken Wing (WingStop, Buffalo Wild Wings, etc.) places use? They always come on as being a healthy alternative.
#FoodBabeArmy rocks!
In your editorializaton on the “mystery” ingredients, the term “likely” is used quite often. Now I’m no proponent of fast food, it seems fairly misleading to the general public that you are making accusations that are based on “likelyhood”.
Yes, the term is used frequently because the company refuses to divulge their ingredients. Why do you think that is?
If a company won’t come out and say their ingredients are non-GMO, then clearly it’s not non-gmo. Same can be said for organic. Food babe is too kind when using the word “likely”. She should omit the term until the company proves otherwise.
I love your articles. Lately I have noticed A&W advertising no antibiotics or growth hormones in their meats. I would really like to know what nasty ingredients they are hiding. There is no mention in there ads about GMO”s which leads me to believe that it is in everything. This form of advertising they use will definitely make people believe that their food is healthy.
Thank you #FoodBabe It warms my heart to know that you are fighting for what is healthy vs. not healthy to eat in the world today! I adore the fact that you go to great lengths with each of your cases and voice your view on what is going on! I first heard of you when you discussed the subway chain, since which my family and I have been more discerning when it comes to certian foods. Please keep it up! Thanks
Another restaurant that plays “the shell game” with food. Where’s the food? Is it here? No…try again.
The “better living through chemistry” racket these restaurants and food outlets play at is getting more dangerous for consumers. The conclusion most will end up with is the simpler the food, the better.
I’ll never pay attention to my taco bell craving ever again.
real corn tortillas are made from corn and water, period.
Yes Dave! I make my own Tacos & never once put sugar of any type in or on them, & they taste better than Taco bell’s.
Not really just corn and water for true tortillas–which are made from masa harina and water (and salt unless you like bland to the extreme). Masa harina is corn that has been treated with lime or other alkali. That releases vital nutrients otherwise not digestible by humans. Had the Mayans and Aztecs not worked out that process they would likely have not survived and “tacos” may not exist today.
Foodbabe you rock!
Could you please find out some things about soy milk. This is all I can drink I would like to find some things a bout it bad things. thanks Minnie
Try organic soy ….soy is full of flouride!!! Read, “The Devils Poison’, how fluoride is killing you” by Dean Murphy. A chapter on soy and its growing process. Interesting if you are a soy drinker/eater.
Can u have Almond Milk? Almond is better to use then Soy. If u can do almond the brand to get is Silk Almond Milk original which is non GMO. If u do the soy make sure it is organic and non GMO. Soy is high in Estrogen and if u use a lot of soy this will make your estrogen levels in the body to high and this is what caused breast cancer. We have the highest levels of breast cancer over her because of this and soy should never be given to babies or children. If u can do the almond or goats milk is good too.
Tete
Have you ever tried to get a hold of a live person at Perdue? Try it. The question to ask is…based on their countless TV spots where Mr. Perdue states that “all their chickens are raised on a “veggie diet” with no chicken meal but a USDA-Certified 100% all grain and marigold petal diet of corn, canola and soy.”Personally,, it’s simply a trick in advertising making us have a false sense of comffort that they’re fed a “USA-Certified Diet” What the heck is that?
What they don’t tell you is whether the “all-veggie” grain diet is GMO-laden or not!! Does not the GMO residue stay in the chicken flesh if raised to be processed or in the eggs if raised as egg-layers? Curious minds would like to know about this and ALL other “farm-raised” catfish, salmon, tilapia, beef, chicken, turkey, pork, shrimp, oysters, clams, etc., etc.
I’ve never set foot in that restaurant (is it a restaurant??).. Thank you for making sure I will never do even if I get stranded in the middle of nowhere! I can’t believe they can deceive people like that! Why isn’t our government more effective against food companies or food service companies, especially when they lie in our face?
Rosanna, You are right regarding our government, in this case, the USDA, not being more effective against food companies. They are for them instead of for the US Citizens. Just like the FDA they are more for the pharmaceuticals than for the puyblic. THE BOTTOM LINE IS, THEY GET THEIR POCKETS FILLED BY THESE COMPANIES BY APPROVING ALL OF THEIR JUNK FOOD AND MEDICINES.
rt.com/usa/monsanto-bill-blunt-agriculture-006
Chris and Jeff,
If you have ever done food research, you will find out how difficult it is to get straight answers to questions about ingredients and methods of preparation of foods commonly purchased in grocery stores. It is fair to assume that they use commonly available ingredients that we do know about. To assume use of GMO’s is certainly more than just a likelihood. It is practically a certainty. If their products are indeed healthy, this would be something to crow about. Instead, their is a lot of obfuscation. Food Babe has been fair and meticulous in her articles. If you ask me, these fast food companies are taking advantage of their consumer’s ignorance.
Roger
What all of these fast food joints do, does not bother me at all… I simply stay away from them…
My wife and I refer to Taco Bell as “Taco Hell”
To Frank: Are you a Martin fan? He sings that in “Freedom of the Road”
(not that it’s relevant to this discussion.)
My mom used to call it “Taco Smell”, haha – So thankful to have discovered real food and to not be eating this garbage anymore. Thank you for all your hard work in helping all of us to know what is really in our food!
Typically excellent report; thanks again Vani. We all need to wake up and take back our power regarding our health and longevity. A big first step? Remember and take personal action regarding one of the greatest open secret causes of poor health and disease in our times: the perversion of food production, transport, storage and preparation with “convenience” and excess profits on an obscene scale. Viva FoodBabe!
Dear Food babe and crew. What can I say,,,, Keep up the great work. 🙂
🙂
Almost 20 years ago, I regularly volunteered at a women’s shelter and sometimes I would help the women make dinner. One night we had a large white bucket labeled “taco meat” (with the Taco Bell logo on the outside) that had been donated to the shelter. We planned a taco dinner, opened the bucket and scooped the “meat” into a hot skillet. It smelled somewhat like chemical-tinged meat, but it had the MOST disgusting color and texture – it resembled wet pink sawdust. As I watched it cook, I vowed then and there to NEVER eat at Taco Bell again – and I have not. I didn’t really know what was in that bucket, but it was very apparent that it had little to do with real food…
The lines of cars at places like McDonalds and Burger King and Taco Bell are proof that millions of Americans pay very little attention to what they put into their mouths and bodies. Sad.
thank you for telling us will check the beef when it comes in i work there
the power of the petition, if you want to get a company’s attention and have them reply to you. a petition with 100,ooo plus signatures will do the trick.
Oh my, we just returned from taco bell & thought it was a good fast food restaurant. After reading the article on taco bell, will not eat there again!
It’s Taco Bell. I don’t eat there. Once I tried something there. A burrito I think. Was nothing special and worse yet had something in it I’m allergic to. I would rather take the time and prepare something at home.
Hi!
Thanks for the heads up on Taco Bell!
I will Boycott Taco Bell just like I Boycott Subway, McDonalds, KFC, Burger King and for that matter any fast food outlet.
Going to these outlets is like dicing with Russian Roulett.
My advice to everyone is DONT GO TO FAST FOOD OUTLETS FULL STOP….
Wow, talk about smoking guns. They won’t get anything past our food guardian 🙂
Wow, had we dug this deep into our own administrariin, We would actually have our country back.
Jake I believe that would be easier. All we have to do is get everyone to register & take the little time to go vote at every local & nation election, & vote for no one running for a second or more term. Get the career politicians out of our Government (careers are to make money) Look good sound good & do nothing for our country.
Please tell us if rubios subscribes to healthy ingredients. Thanks
1 dollar burritos? Everybody always knew that Taco Bell was Garbage from day 1
#5 Sodium Phosphates. I had a kidney transplant back in 96 and everything was going good for years after it. Then I had to work about an hour outside of Blythe out in the middle of the desert between Indio and Blythe . Needless to say there’s nothing to eat anywhere near there so in the morning on the way to work we had to pick up our lunch for the day so we thought we were making a healthy decision by grabbing a sandwich from Subway. Low and behold after about 2 weeks of this I started noticing my feet, ankles and all the way up to my knees were retaining fluids. But I should have noticed the signs ” I thought I would fight through it”. WRONG !!! My transplanted kidney couldn’t take all that processed crap and low and behold my kidney gave out. Now I’m on dialysis and on the waiting list once again for a kidney transplant. So please everyone listen to what Foodbabe has to say! unfortunately I found her a little to late but none the less you haven’t. She is turning over the food industry and I am glad to tap into her and learn things daily from her site. Thanks for your time if you read this .
I think it’s clear that Taco Bell and all the other major fast food chains are not going to be honest with us here. The more people show love to their own bodies and others, the more we realize what we deserve… and then we begin to demand what we deserve.
Americans have been complacent for so long about this nations food in general, that it’s going to take a lot of work, awareness, and change on the part of the average consumer. You’re just going to have to love yourself more!
By that I mean, provide your body with the best nutrition possible. Get close and personal with your food… know where it originated. Know how your food was prepared! You should get so intimate with your food that you grow a least a portion of the food you consume.
We cannot look to corporate food giants to be responsible in the making of their products. We must take on the responsibility ourselves and SHOW the corporations how it’s done!
Nice job Vani, Thank you for keeping corporations on their toes and for keeping us informed. Suzanne
I recently noticed my supermarket in Michigan, Kroger, has added sodium phosphate to all its pork products. I was wondering what that was all about and you’ve answered it for me. I will no longer buy pork at Kroger…..or any pork or any other food with sodium phosphate added. Thanks again Vani.
We discovered sodium phosphate in 2000 when we had small pork chops for dinner and my husband woke up the next morning and could not close his fingers from the fluid retention. It makes the meat retain water so they get more money from no effort. Now we can only eat pork from happy pigs at Chipotle or buy from a farmer.
I love this! I knew Taco Bell was fake and bad, but not THIS bad…
Definitely won’t be craving a Doritos Loco Taco ever again.
You should do research on Chipotle and Burgerville. I like to think that they are one of the “healthy” fast food restaurants…but it is fast food. So in the back of my mind I keep wondering is too good to be true…
Where the hell is our government when it comes to these foods and chemicals……….other countries don’t allow this. Some won’t even purchase certain foods from us anymore. The are all trying to kill us.
Eew. Why can’t food be simple? I’d like to eat a taco without having to look at the chemicals used to disrupt the way our bodies function. I’d also like to look at food the way I used to when I was a kid, well younger…(I’m only an 8th grader) Anyways, its sad that you have to give up things that you used to enjoy just to try to prevent cancer. I’ve given up soda, fast food, and chips for this reason. GMOs are nasty and so are the rest of these chemicals.
Thanks Food Babe for all of your investigation and dedication to what goes in our food. Love your healthy recipes!
I’m in love with foodbabe
As usual Vanni, THANKS, and keep up the pressure there! We follow…
I was wondering what your credentials are. There are several flaws in your report. The fact that you dont eat gmo foods for one. Even if you grow your own garden for vegitables your still eating gmo veggies. The same seeds you get from walmart or your local greenhouse is the same ones farmers buy just in a different package. Next if a chimest from a well known and respected university stated he trusts the ingredients. He probably has a good idea what is in them. And do you even know what gmo means? Its simply just modifying the genetics of a plant by cross breeding with a different species of the same family. All it dose is help make the particular plant more resistant. Bees do this all the time its a natural process we just speed it up. So do us all a favor either stop eating and die slowly or get the stick out your ass and if your going to state something as fact back it up with fact. Most of the sites or people you qouted are not reiable sources.
Regarding growing your own food when u buy seeds it is organic non GMO seeds that ones buy when growing their own veggies. This is what I get. U can get them on Ebay and other sites. We care about what is in the food we buy and of course in what we grow. You have a miss understanding about what GMO is which a lot of people do who r not into health. GMO is NOT cross breeding it is genetically modifying totally different. There is NO cross breeding done in GMOing. Because of GMO foods it is actually killing our bees!!!!!!!!!!! and butterflies!!!!!!!!! If GMO is not bad for us then why do they banned it in other countries and if it is no big deal then why r companies fighting to not have it labeled on products and spending millions to prevent it? I think it is u that needs to educate yourself. Also a chemist would get fired from the company he worked for if he said something bad about what they produce in the lab and put in what we eat. Helloooooooooo Take your stick and go on a site where people don’t care.
GMO crops have absolutely nothing to do with honeybee decline. The last Monarch butterfly is as likely to die on the windshield of an electric minivan loaded with environmentalists headed to a save the Monarch rally as it is to die by GMO. Should I remind you that organic farmers also use the spray on version of the worm killing gene in GMO crops?
Brad,
First, there are several flaws in your post. I am wondering what your credentials are…I am guessing college of any sort was not among them. Second, you are wrong about the vegetables (check the spelling here) in our gardens. You can purchase heirloom, organic seed and avoid GMO (note the capitals in the acronym). Third, I might trust a chemist (note the spelling) from a well-regarded university but I would rather trust a biologist, since genetic modification is NOT simple cross-breeding but the forced insertion of the genetic material of a different species (sometimes from the animal kingdom) into a plant, in most cases without long-term studies on the potential harm do those ingesting the resulting plants, not to mention the contamination of non-GMO plants by wind drift and insect pollination. Lastly, why such a caustic tone in your post? She does back up her statements with links to information unlike you, who didn’t bother to reference even one source for your “facts” which were wrong anyway.
Well said Amy!!!!!!! These r the ones that will greatly benefit from the Obama Health Care.
Tete
Truth be told..none of this will matter to the Brad’s of the world until they come down with an illness and don’t respond to medication. Only then they might realize that they are what they eat.
Wow, is “your spelling is bad” really the backbone of your response? You must be quite the academic. Credentials?
Can you go deeper into the difference between animal genes and plant genes?
Thank you Food Babe for all of your hard work. It is very much appreciated. You are making a difference! Keep going! ♡♡
Thank you for your article. I know without Taco Bell disclosing its entire use of ingredients, we can never be 100% sure of what is in the food. That is what is scary. Why so much secrecy on food? Why not just tell the consumer what in it? I wished companies voluntarily would be honest and transparent to the consumer. Hopefully, one day soon, we will know.
Personally, I stopped eating there years ago when a friend told me their packaged meat label said it contained “other parts but edible”. So I asked her what was other parts? She said she was not sure. Scared me enough to stop going. Then I thought I could eat just the beans. My stomach disagreed. I had really bad pain after eating the beans and it wasn’t gas. I avoid going there.
Thank you again for sharing what your investigation reveals. Keep up the good work.
I used to eat taco Bell all the time in college because it was cheap. The more I open my eyes to what they put in foods it makes me mad as hell. They are killing us slowly with these chemicals and the corporations only care about profit… Social media has opened lots of peoples eyes and all I can say is express yourselves against GMO”S and Monsanto. These corrupt people must go! Take back our country and our food and product safety…
I’m SO confused. I don’t often find myself in a situation were I have to eat fast food.. but, now, when I do… what do I do? Is there a lesser of 2 evils? What is your best option besides insisting whoever you are with find a grocery store so you can go piece together a lunch? I like to eat clean but there is always that “one time”..
rt.com/usa/monsanto-bill-blunt-agriculture-006
From what I’ve been reading and have learned over the past few yrs, It seems one would have to eat strickly organic to avoid poisin in food. Think about all the food products in your kitchen… meats, can goods, spices, veggies, etc. , all contaminated with something bad. Still I agree it is better to eat homemade rather than fast food. Nut it’s gonna get ya anywhere you look. Sooo sad. Wish I could afford all organic but it would break me. I do what I can when I can to eat healthy hoping every little bit helps. I’m wondering why Taco Bell has been targeted when most fast foods is the same.
to Trish: FoodBabe did an article on how to eat organic on a budget! A lot comes up when you google it, that might give you some ideas.
To target Taco Bell is just this point the the process. There will be others. It’s a “movement.”
Good luck!
Taco Bell – Stinking Outside the Bun!
Never before have I seen a comments page littered with so much irrationality from so many misinformed, scientifically illiterate people. Please tell me why it is a bad thing to eat GMO. Please cite evidence from peer-reviewed, replicated studies. Oh … darn… thats right … Foodbabe and her minions don’t do science – better to do a provocative, misleading headline and get off on wielding power rather than tell the truth as determined by boring, repetitive facts. Also funny how the uber-narcissist FoodBabe lists absolutely none of her qualifications on food on her website … because she has none (her B.Sc in computer science does not count).
Common sense tells me you don’t need credentials to know something. I don’t need a birth certificate for you to know I was born.
why are you resistant to learning of the many studies on GMOs, showing damage to bio-chemical pathways? Go to your corner until you can apologize for your nasty attitude lol.
Hi, I just recently returned from my first visit to a Whole Foods store. I am from Canada and I was really interested in going to a whole foods store in the states. As you go in the store the word HEALTHY is in huge letters over the door.
Th e produce looks great and price was reasonable. I found what I was looking for in the bath and body section. Bonus!! I continued through the store and my jaw dropped from the bakery section. Not because it looked good but because it was THERE! I liked your advice that to change your eating, changing your store will help.
What is the deal with having this massive bakery section? I just can’t wrap my head around it. I too, am looking forward to the movie “Fed Up”. The youtube show of “The Secret of Sugar” a Canadian show changed my thinking several months ago and I have not looked back. Check it out if you have time. Thank you for all you do, it is greatly appreciated!!
I just wanted to say, that I worked at Taco Bell way while I was in high school way back in the 80’s. Back then, I can tell you with 100% certainty that their food was prepared fresh daily. Prior to leaving there at closing dried beans would be placed in pots to soak. When the early shift arrived at about 6 a.m. we began to prep for the day. This involved cooking beans, mashing them by hand with the largest masher I have ever seen, cutting and preparing fresh vegetables, and cooking fresh ground beef that was delivered daily. When things changed, I am not sure, but nothing tasted so good as a fresh burrito for breakfast back when it was actually real food!