Meh, it isn’t that hard - I tend to avoid convenience foods - salad dressings, spaghetti sauces, canned soups, tv dinners. I would rather cook from scratch anyways, tastes better and I know exactly what is in it =)
Do any of the major fast food burger chains use MSG in anything?
I imagine there is probably some on those famous seasoned Rally Fries… I’m not positive, just assuming.
It’s an anti-MSG website, but if you look here, you’ll find what McDonald’s items contain MSG or its cousins.
I think MSG is about as bad for me as table salt. Which is to say, significant, but not fear-inducing. It’s not something I avoid, but I don’t carry around packets of it to add to everything either. I use it in pretty much one dish(my homemade popcorn seasoning) and in quantities similar to how I would use table salt.
Enjoy,
Steven
I’m an “other.” Both Mr. U and I swear we have exceedingly weird dreams after eating at certain Chinese restaurants.
I don’t cook with it (although I add light soy sauce to some non-Asian dishes). For comparison, I hate Parmesan (except for one brand) and tomatoes.
Well, if we include “or its cousins”, then you’ve got everything that contains meat, cheese, or a good number of vegetables.
OK, its siblings like hydrolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed soy protein, etc. You know what I mean. Extracts and concentrates that are used primarily for their MSG component and as a way to add MSG without actually putting “MSG” on the label, because it freaks some people out for whatever reason.
I’ve never had a bad reaction to it, but I avoid it because I avoid processed food entirely, and I don’t cook with it (although, maybe I should.) I don’t worry about it when we go out to eat, though.
I love it, but my husband gets a bad reaction (blind-tested by me, even), so I avoid it if I’m eating with him or preparing food for him.
Was it Tony Bourdain who said he’d sprinkle MSG onto his cereal if he ever ate breakfast? 
In excessive doses, such as the large amounts put into dishes by over-zealous Asian restaurants, MSG causes my heart to race.
So I try to avoid that by only going to Asian restaurants that I know use it sparingly, or not at all.
I think some cheap steakhouses pour on the MSG, but I never frequent such places, so this is not an issue with me.
But strangely, the Kikkoman soy sauce that I have doesn’t contain MSG. It contains:
Water, wheat, soybeans, salt, sodium benzoate; less than 1/10 of 1% as a preservative.
Without it he is great, a little underweight, but still appealing! (I think I’ve got that right.)
What does it taste like? I’ve heard people say it’s bad for you, but I never cared. I’m not found of Chinese, but I love KFC so I must’ve eaten it.
Hmmm, the last American style rockgut buffet that about killed me was one that the main appeal is the steaks, so of course I ate plenty of steak…
People keep saying MSG occurs naturally in meats, cheeses and other stuff, of which I have no doubt. But HOW much compared to pouring on the powder as some places probably do? Does anybody have any idea? Seems to me if you take something thats a bit “savory” naturally, dump a bunch of MSG on it/in it so now its really “savory” then the amount of MSG you’ve added is larger than the amount that was there naturally.
I never use it in my home cooking, but if MSG or a similarly glutamate rich seasoning appears in something I can buy, it’s not a deciding factor.
Potassium flouromethane? No thanks. 
It contains no added MSG. All soy sauce contains glutamates. They are a natural byproduct of fermentation.
These Sharp Cheddar and Parmesan Cheeze-its I’m eating, just wouldn’t be the same without it. Suspected it had good old MSG in it, and sure enough, it’s the major ingredient after flour, and cheese powder. Good stuff.