The McDonald's McDouble cheeseburger is the "cheapest, most nutritious and bountiful food that has ever existed in human history", according to some observers, maybe. The claim was put forth by a fan of the Freakonomics blog, a Web site run by
writer Stephen Dubner and economics professor Steven Leavitt, authors of the Freakonomics books.
In response to the fan's comments, Dubner organized a podcast debate with Tom Philpott, a food and agriculture columnist for left-wing publication, Mother Jones, and Blake Hurst, a farmer and the Missouri Farm Bureau president. In the discussion, the men examined the food value of the McDouble against its cost. For less than $2, with widespread availability, the McDouble offers consumers 390 calories, 29 grams of protein, as well as 20 percent of the daily recommended amount of calcium and iron. The double cheeseburger's high fat and salt content were neglected in the conversation, however.
Philpott pointed out that the price tag did not reflect the true cost of the double cheeseburger, as its production relies on "an army" of low-paid workers, from the farmers of the soy and wheat needed to produce the buns and the meatpackers responsible for making the beef patties, to the cooks and cashiers at the McDonald's restaurants.
When challenged to come up with a similarly nutritious food, at a similarly low cost, Philpott suggested that red lentils and brown rice would provide better nutrition for less money. Hurst aptly pointed out that lentils and rice would be a hard sell to the average American consumer.
Dubner highlighted in the discussion that one's personal beliefs about food quality will often reflects one's politics and social class, noting that the employees of the left-leaning National Public Radio station he polled found it hard to believe that there was any nutritional value to be found in the modestly-priced McDouble at all.
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