Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good. A fascinating article about what we all unkowingly put in our bodies (whether we eat at McDonald's or not) excerted from the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. On the difference between "natural flavors" and "artificial flavors," which you see in virtually every ingredients list:

When almond flavor -- benzaldehyde -- is derived from natural sources, such as peach and apricot pits, it contains traces of hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison. Benzaldehyde derived by mixing oil of clove and amyl acetate does not contain any cyanide. Nevertheless, it is legally considered an artificial flavor and sells at a much lower price.

This excerpt is also interesting:

One of the most widely used color additives -- whose presence is often hidden by the phrase "color added" -- violates a number of religious dietary restrictions, may cause allergic reactions in susceptible people, and comes from an unusual source.

<via camworld>