“Oh, so That’s What Goes Inside a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget”
National Public Radio
By Maria Godoy
Date: February 6, 2014
In this news piece, Godoy summarizes the contents of a video produced by McDonald’s that demystifies the ingredients of the famous, Chicken McNugget. It has been speculated that the McNugget was made from a “pink goop” or “mystery meat,” its origins unknown. The video follows McDonald’s Canada employees through the processing plant to witness the making of the crunchy, chicken tenders.
Quantitative: Flesch-Kincaid grade level--8.2 No Lexile Level or ATOS available.
Qualitative: The video produced by McDonald’s Canada has the potential to be shown at grade levels ranging from 5th grade to high school. However, due to the multiple access points, students in grades 8-12 (and even college) would benefit most from this material.
Content Area: English; Social Science--U.S. History; Social Science--World History; Social Science--Civics; Economics; Government/Ethics; Finance; Food Science; Health; Science--Biology.
Curriculum Suggestions: This article and accompanying YouTube video (see below) would be a strong addition to a reading of Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (Lexile Level--1240; ATOS--10.2). McDonald’s prominence and popularity make it the perfect example and also the face of the fast food industry. Lenses of examining this video include:
1) Discussion of our food supply
2) Government responsibility in legislating food regulation (this could get into the debate
over GMO labeling).
3) Bias--should we trust a video produced by McDonald’s?
4) Fact and Fiction lesson that directly address information literacy skills--examine the myths and conspiracies behind McDonald’s products: Are they based on fact? How can we decipher between fact and fiction?
5) Examine the role of the media in perpetuating myths and clarifying facts.
Common Core Standards: RI.11/12.7-8; SL.11/12.2-5; RH.11/12.1-2
Additional/Digital Content:
- What’s in a chicken McNugget? YouTube video--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua5PaSqKD6k
- The facts about “Pink Goop”--http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/msm.asp
- McNugget nutrition facts--
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/product_nutrition.chicken.124.919.chicken-mcnuggets-4-piece.html
- National Chicken Council FAQ sheet--
- Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
- In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
- Debate over new chicken law in California--http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/03/07/286811197/poultry-farmers-to-fight-back-on-california-cage-free-egg-law
Personal Thoughts: This simple video has the potential to reach all content areas. Teachers could develop a unit that branches off into various aspects of the issue in order to include a focus from each content area and address multiple facets of the CCSS, including research. Furthermore, students have the potential to reach beyond chicken and see the impact on our food supply as a whole--from beef to fish.
*Meets the "Media Item" requirement
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