# taco bell meat **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2000, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954 "2000-07-18T06:41:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2000, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/41 "2000-07-18T22:08:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \* > \*\*I’ve never read so many slanderous accusations in one thread. > > The [Taco Bell web site](http://www.tacobell.com) says: > > > [@](#): > > > > We use the highest quality ingredients; from our seasoned beef, skinless grilled chicken, beans and marinated grilled steak to our real cheddar cheese, freshly-prepared salsa, and wholesome flour or corn tortillas. > > Please note the use of the words “highest quality”, “real”, “freshly-prepared” and “wholesome”. \*\* Yes, Arnold. And the President of the United States of America said on live television “I never had sex with that woman: Ms.Lewinsky…” And the cigarette manufacturers testified before Congress that nicotine is not addictive. And Richard Nixon broadcast “I am not a crook”. And guys tell girls “I won’t come in your mouth”. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2000, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/42 "2000-07-19T00:41:16Z")
I think **Yarster** covered it pretty well. For what it’s worth, a coworker of mine was working at a Taco Hell during this restructuring. When he started there, they had real honest-to-goodness recognizable ground beef that they fried up themselves every day. Then one day it started coming in bags. According to him, the taste was exactly the same. It was the same stuff, too, just packaged earlier. They also used to cook their own chips several times a day. Now they come in bags, too. Ah, progress. ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2000, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/43 "2000-07-19T00:53:54Z")
i was not implying that buf (remember the umlaut) was not beef, but rather that it was dehydrated beef, later rehydrated and cooked. but anywway, this thread is FANTASTIC! off topic, but search for “sifl” and or “olly” on napster. i’m listening to it right now. you will not be disappointed! ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2000, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/44 "2000-07-19T01:07:26Z")
Even though Arnold W. posted this I will post it again: > [@](#): > > For over 35 years, TACO BELL® has been dedicated to serving the best tasting tacos, burritos, nachos and unique Mexican food at a great value. We use the highest quality ingredients; **from our seasoned beef,** skinless grilled chicken, beans and marinated grilled steak to our real cheddar cheese, freshly-prepared salsa, and wholesome flour or corn tortillas. As much as I despise the government intrusions in most of life, Taco Bell and other places are required, by law, to submit to truth in advertising. In this case, 'specially considering this is a national chain, I doubt that they can post such information without the possibility of a lawsuit if the facts aren’t truth. As for tcburnett’s comparisions to politicians and tobacoo companies, this is hardly a comparsion at all. As for the “freshly-prepared salsa” quote, I think they could get away with this if the salsa is freshly prepared even if it’s frozen and packaged for their stores. The only reason I note this is because if you see fresh on a frozen package, in small print you see something like “fresh then frozen”. ---
**Author:** ![Dystopos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@Dystopos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dystopos)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2000, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/45 "2000-07-19T01:24:04Z")
Does anybody know what they use to make the “Soylent Green Gordita” that’s been on special all week? It’s really addictive… And speaking of Taco Bell addiction - I know several people who have been beset by the Taco Bell craving, usually for exactly the same Taco Bell meal they had just 24 hours prior. Any statistical data on this? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Sheepshead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@Mr.Sheepshead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Sheepshead)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2000, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/46 "2000-07-19T01:41:44Z")
I worked at a Taco Bell affiliate and while we didn’t carry the same products, we did use some of the same ingredients. It is **real** beef. Ohmyfuckinggod! 100% Ground Beef! Ask any employee to see the box that the meat comes in okay? Please stop this nonsense thread. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2000, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/47 "2000-07-19T03:42:46Z")
Hmm, maybe I’ll have to eat at Taco Bell more often… I actually _like_ organ meats (liver, kidneys, etc.). It’s a shame about the bears, though… I’ve only had bear meat once, but it was delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2000, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/48 "2000-07-19T04:20:31Z")
Taco Bell _is_ a national chain in competition with all the other national chains. If any one of 'em could acquire proof of any of the above accusations about a competitor do you think it would be a WHISPER campaign? ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2000, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/49 "2000-07-19T04:24:53Z")
I must say that I am intrigued by the dehydrated beans at Taco Bell. I never knew this! I’m not disgusted by it or anything, I just never realized they were dehydrated! I know that McDonald’s uses dehydrated onions on their hamburgers, cheeseburgers and BigMacs. Anyone know what else is dehydrated at other fast food places? ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2000, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/50 "2000-07-19T07:42:09Z")
Another one of my posts mysteriously disappeared. At first, I thought I was worse off than I had thought. Then I realized that the MODERATOR was responsible! Don’t let anyone tell you you aren’t appreciated, Manny. You do your very best to keep me from looking stupid in spite of myself. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2000, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/51 "2000-07-19T07:44:16Z")
**Flypsyde** said > [@](#): > > I do know that he once found rubber pellets from a ground up boot in a bag of meat. Makes me wonder what happened to the foot that was in that boot. As for Jack in the Box selling kangaroo meat: [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/wormburg.htm) has a disbelieving (but not debunking) article; it is primarily about worms in McDonalds hamburgers. Since I’ve never heard details, and the story is sometimes about rat meat, I am suspicious that this ever happened. Years after I first heard the story, I read that upscale restaurants in California were selling kangaroo steaks at a premium. Go figure. I guess I wouldn’t be too surprised if the updated version has somebody trying to pass off beef as top-quality kangaroo. ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2000, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/52 "2000-07-19T10:58:34Z")
Anyway, the missing post was a reply to techchick that I was in no way making a comparison, I was simply pointing out that the advertising from the highest officials in the land can be total BS, so Caveat Emptor when reading claims about anything. As an aside, I went to Taco Bell tonight and told the manager that my sister was going to cut him off if he didn’t fess up. He produced samples of meat particles that tasted like beef but had at least one bone chip in the mix, and refried beans that tasted OK, but had no bean chunks. He was telling me about the high quality of the ingredients when he slipped in a pool of something and started yelling at a subordinate. I tool the opportunity to slip away quietly. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/53 "2000-07-20T00:08:04Z")
I can’t speak to the quality of beef used by Taco Bell, but I will point out that today they made mincemeat out of their [President and that dog](http://www.msnbc.com/news/434927.asp). ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/54 "2000-07-20T01:20:13Z")
A friend of mine once accidentally discovered how to make imitation Taco Bell meat. Simply take ground beef and freeze it then let it thaw a couple times. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954/55 "2000-07-20T01:28:32Z")
According to today’s news, Taco Bell just fired its advertizing agency. The talking Chihuahua is being blamed for a 6% drop in sales over the past year. Not that I’d care if Toxic Bell lost 100% of its sales, but the ratdog is getting the boot. Better check the taco meat a little more carefully for the next week or two :). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bell-meat/25954.md?page=2)