# Venezuela’s McDonald's has stopped selling Big Macs  **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2016, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635 "2016-07-22T23:26:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/21 "2016-07-23T15:15:21Z")
No Big Macs? Let them eat cake! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/22 "2016-07-23T23:41:58Z")
The thing that surprised me is that they wouldn’t just use two bottom buns. Maybe scrape off the crust a bit. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/23 "2016-07-24T00:50:54Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The thing that surprised me is that they wouldn’t just use two bottom buns. Maybe scrape off the crust a bit. Then what are you going to do with the bun tops that are left over? It would be wasteful to just throw them out. Are you going to make regular burgers with two tops? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/24 "2016-07-24T01:26:32Z")
They still ship the ice for the drinks from the US, though, right? I mean, what if there’s a power cut and they can’t make their own? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/25 "2016-07-24T01:32:17Z")
_shrug_ At the start Big Macs used one and a half regular buns. Tops or bottoms in the middle. Knowing this is what came from living two burbs over from Mac’s HQ. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/26 "2016-07-24T01:35:09Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You got that right. If your economy shifts from a net exporter of food to a net importer of same, you got trouble. Could be a little, could be a lot. But definitely trouble. Only if you can’t sustain being able to buy it on the market, or extraordinary circumstances interrupt trade. Singapore for instance HAS to be a net importer of food but as long as their money is good for buying and the sea lanes are open, they’re good. Venezuela as mentioned suffers an oil-based single-commodity dependency, complicated recently by stupendously incompetent state management of the economy, where the policy seemed to be to deliberately ruin the private capital sector. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/27 "2016-07-24T01:59:57Z")
Yes, but Singapore has always been a net importer of food. My statement was about the change from one to another. Very few countries have managed that very well. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/28 "2016-07-24T02:29:54Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Then what are you going to do with the bun tops that are left over? It would be wasteful to just throw them out. Give them to the homeless. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/29 "2016-07-24T02:43:23Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Then what are you going to do with the bun tops that are left over? It would be wasteful to just throw them out. Are you going to make regular burgers with two tops? Air ship them to Denmark for the special open-face smorgasbord burgers. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/30 "2016-07-24T02:44:25Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Then what are you going to do with the bun tops that are left over? It would be wasteful to just throw them out. Are you going to make regular burgers with two tops? Sure. I always combine the 2 cheeseburger EVM into one double cheeseburger by throwing away both bottoms and slapping the patties together. All the condiments are on top, so all you lose is some unnecessary carbs. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/31 "2016-07-24T03:08:03Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Sure. I always combine the 2 cheeseburger EVM into one double cheeseburger by throwing away both bottoms and slapping the patties together. All the condiments are on top, so all you lose is some unnecessary carbs. What you do with the meal once you purchased it is your own business. Even if they (the restaurant) wasted bun parts, in a country where there’s a _food shortage_ going on, I doubt McDonald’s corporate practices would allow that on a routine basis. Franchisees who go against corporate policy usually find themselves being non-franchisees come contract renewal time and the corporation awarding the franchise to someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/32 "2016-07-24T13:22:31Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Air ship them to Denmark for the special open-face smorgasbord burgers. You mean “smorgasburgers” ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/33 "2016-07-24T15:19:53Z")
You don’t even have to become a net importer, **silenus** , sometimes it happens that a country is a net exporter of commodity crops while no longer actually feeding itself. > [@cochrane](#): > > Even if they (the restaurant) wasted bun parts, in a country where there’s a _food shortage_ going on, I doubt McDonald’s corporate practices would allow that on a routine basis. Franchisees who go against corporate policy usually find themselves being non-franchisees come contract renewal time and the corporation awarding the franchise to someone else. Or in the case of Venezuela I get the feeling the current government would not mind if McDonald’s just pulled out altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/34 "2016-07-25T01:08:19Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Of course they source ingredients locally. You’re selling burgers for a dollar, why the hell would you ship pre-baked buns halfway around the world? Because it’s cheaper. Dunno why, but there are bulk wholesale suppliers of both unbaked and partly-baked buns that ship from NZ to India, and that’s close to halfway around the world. The partly-baked bun is pre-cooked, but browned locally. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2016, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/35 "2016-07-25T11:48:28Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The reason you see semi trailers unloading stuff at McD’s is more due to the fact that there are likely a gazillion franchises in that area as opposed to the food was trucked in from Winnetka. Winnetka? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2016, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/36 "2016-07-25T13:21:28Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Winnetka? [Winnetka,Los\_Angeles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnetka,_Los_Angeles) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/37 "2016-07-27T00:25:32Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Give them to the homeless. Why don’t you just drop off some chicken skins and lobster shells? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/38 "2016-07-27T02:30:47Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Then what are you going to do with the bun tops that are left over? It would be wasteful to just throw them out. Are you going to make regular burgers with two tops? Nothing. There’s no reason that a bun couldn’t just be two bottoms. Heck, the only reason I specified bottoms is to avoid the sesame seeds–just make regular buns without them, and split 'em in half. Or, if you must use one bun, just start with a smaller bun, and each slice is smaller. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/39 "2016-07-27T04:45:14Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Nothing. There’s no reason that a bun couldn’t just be two bottoms. Heck, the only reason I specified bottoms is to avoid the sesame seeds–just make regular buns without them, and split 'em in half. > > Or, if you must use one bun, just start with a smaller bun, and each slice is smaller. So, McDonald’s in Venezuela is going to order special buns when they can’t even get buns for their Big Macs? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635/40 "2016-07-27T05:57:47Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Winnetka,Los\_Angeles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnetka,_Los_Angeles) Is there any evidence, whatsoever, that McDonald’s trucks in food from Winnetka? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/venezuela-s-mcdonalds-has-stopped-selling-big-macs/760635.md?page=3)