by Ann Major

Created on: April 21, 2008   Last Updated: June 10, 2010

The Big Mac has had a good run. Forty notorious years. It has lasted longer than the effervescent Seinfeld, the hilarious Carol Burnett, Trekkie and M.A.S.H. fans, even Everybody Loves Raymond. It is inconceivable how the Big Mac became such a culinary feat, high in calories and fats and totally devoid of nutrition, could capture generations of people for 40 years. It is time to retire the Big Mac; even the entire conglomeration of McDonald's.

McDonald's should be congratulated for its remarkable marketing strategy of promoting the Big Mac as good delicious food. It has enticed young people and suggested to parents they should lead their infants to slaughter by introducing them to obesity and onset diabetes by consuming Big Macs and the ever-glamorous chicken McNuggets, advertised through Happy Meals.

I am glad I did not raise my son in the tradition of the Big Mac. I tried when he was young, but luckily my efforts fell by the wayside. I am glad this failure will not perpetuate future generations going through the doors of the Golden Arch.

McDonald's Big Mac offends me as it did two other French chefs eons ago, when they were subjected to the wonders of America's fast-food hamburger; to analyze it, eat it and evaluate the taste of it. The only conclusion they could proffer was to make fun of a food which went against all culinary protocol; by adding fat to fat, that is, having a fatty hamburger dressed with another fatty condiment, mayonnaise. How totally unhealthy!

McDonald's is also offensive, with its reams and reams of non-recyclable packaging and boxes, littering the establishment and filling garbage sites with infinite clutter. As much as packaging is the trademark of most fast-food establishments; the never-ending mound of plastic and paper demeans the concept of fast food.

For purists, it would not be any fun to replace the Big Mac with something more organic, more nutritious, or even greener. This is not what the Big Mac is all about. In the beginning, it started out as a cheap hamburger, made available for the masses. As it grew in popularity, with of course, the price going up; it is still the same cheap hamburger. The Big Mac is, what it is - sin food. So in order to indulge, for those hamburger lovers, the essence of Big Mac must be maintained. You either get rid of it altogether, or keep it the same, and see how many more years it can last.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good hamburger as much as the next person. But could I please see some substance? Have some texture, so my mouth can chop on something that is tangible? In the late eighties, there was a very appropriate commercial which involved an older, white-haired lady coming to the counter and demanding to know "Where's the beef?" Exactly, Big Mac, where is the beef? I would rather see the Big Mac retired to where I can get more meat for my money.

If the entire concept of McDonald's hamburgers were revamped, where instead of getting flat and steamed pieces of bun, meat, lettuce and tomato, I would open my package to contain something which didn't look like a dead cow; I might be won over to a new and improved Big Mac of the 21st Century!

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