McDonalds Ads - tell us how do you feel about them folks?

I started another thread to ask them directly but can't link it cos I'm on my phone. It's under Site Stuff

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MNHQ

Please come back and give us some comments after all our feedback on this sensitive issue.

MNHQ?

Because its a bit crappy of you.

Having just looked at the advertising section in 'About us' I see that Nestle is mentioned, but the reference to Macdonalds has been withdrawn.

Am I looking in the wrong place or have you amended your policy without coming back and telling us your end decision after we had participated in this debate?

The anti-McDonalds stance initially taken by Mumsnet wasn't just about the impact of fast food on the increase in obesity and obesity related illnesses but the unethical buying practices which presumably include the alleged environmental disasters created by intensively farming and destruction of rainforest. Generally, when people take an anti McDonalds stance, it usually relates to what they consider to be unethical and / or unenvironmental business practices rather than simply objecting to their food, which as has been said many times on here is ultimately down to personal choice.

Justine mentioned earlier in the thread that MNHQ have discussed McD's on several occassions over the years and the response has been negative but on this ocassion the response has been more favourable.

So I guess I'm wondering if MNHQ thinks that McDonalds have wiped the slate clean / made amends or if MNHQ's philosophy has changed and McDonalds now sits well with this and as McDonalds are not currently on the media's "bad boy" radar, this could be a good time to accept advertising revenue without too much backlash.

I'm with what getabloodygrip said at the start
"We are all adults so can choose to click/ignore or whatever

But if MN has taken a moral stance against Nestle, and all the girls can be girls things, why aren't you taking a moral stance against the company which has contributed, for much of its existence, to climate change and damage to indigenous populations by ravaging the rainforests?

Go for it, by all means, line MN's pockets, but I hope you sleep at night, honey!"

I'd hope you had lines you didn't cross when accepting advertising on here. Fast / junk food / cigarettes / Nestles / guns / war games / Porn / inappropriate clothing for girls ... I thought it would be obvious to keep the advertising within the ethos of the site.

And yes this site is for parents but how many of us have been on here with little ones around us peering at the screen? They are not reading the threads but looking at the flashing lights and colours in the banners.

My 3.5 yo DD still says "ee eye ee eye oh" when she hears the word McDonald and I hope it stays like that for as long as possible.

Baroque I'm the same my dc have treats the same as any others,I'm not draconian hence letting them go to Mcd with their grandparents now and again. I'll be doing pancakes tonight the same as everybody else.

I feed my dc a balanced diet but sadly many don't and the fast food culture is a problem. Some kids will have fast food wether it be from outlets or freezers far too often. It's become standard "kiddy" food and I don't believe encouraging it by advertising on a parenting site is helpful.

Just because you feed your kids a balanced diet doesn't mean that feeding kids crappy food isn't a problem in this country.

well my homemade wedges are done in the oven - but dripping in oil........just the way the DS's love them.

I fry food at home sometimes too.

Obviously if they ate it everyday it wouldn't be good for them - but I don't believe in "bad" foods and "good" foods. It's about balance and moderation. I just can't get work up by a "core" dietary requirement being missed out of one meal in an entire week or day.

As for always making yours have milk- that's nice for you - DS1 wouldn't touch cows milk as a drink until he was 5, DS3 still won't drink it unless it's in the form of a warm milky drink.

OF course it's not healthy food, but it's certainly not a forbidden hated one in my house

Also Englebert I think it is as problematic as Nestle, for many kids this is the diet they'll have too much of their entire childhood then adulthood. The impact of fast food has far more dramatic results on health than formula in this country.

I always made mine have milk(they're all milk haters now),now they're older they're allowed fruit shoot(no idea if it's any better than coke).I know I'm in the minority ,you only have to look around you in there.

Re nuggets they're still fried(and salty),the fries are extremely thin,not 100% potato and still waaaaay too salty. The dips are full of fructose,sugar and crap. Don't get me started on the luminous cheese,over use of mayo,floppy white buns,fried burgers,the coke etc. I also object to the complete absence of any fruit/veg(unless you turn down fries) whole grains etc. Obviously I'm not a fan.

I do wedges and chips at home but thick and baked in a teeny amount of olive oil.

This whole fast food crap kids food thing is really baaaad. It's a whole industry and it's becoming more and more acceptable as this thread shows. People just shrug their shoulders. It's a ticking time bomb for many kids it really is and it's so sad.

"Englebert no kid chooses the 2 fishfingers,a bottle of milk and a bag of fruit come o"

Really - DS1 and 2 always have milk. What's wrong iwth the chicken nuggets - they're much nicer now these days you know I think they actually use prper chicken these days .

DS3 always has fruit shoot...............but I buy him then sometimes when we're out and about elsewhere so it's hardly McDonald's fault that he wants it their too (he won't drink the milk as it's cold - he used to ask for it then it dawned on him it was very cold milk and he won't drink cold milk lol)

They do have fries with it though - but then I make chips and potatoe wedges at home sometimes

Oh and DS3 is rather partial finishing off the last of my Dr Pepper

I had rotten teeth when I was a child.........dentist told my mum to stop letting me drink fizzy drinks and to limit my sweets. I HATED fizzy drinks and used to have 5p a week pocket money which was spent on a teeny weeny pack of sweets eat in one go (as there was no point in saving that few sweeets)

Engelbert you need to visit some of the schools I've taught in,they do,their parents do and the obesity and rotten teeth stats prove it.

Some parents don't say no because they think it's ok,which gets us back to the case in point. Should a McD ad be on one of the UK's biggest parenting sites?

No

Englebert no kid chooses the 2 fishfingers,a bottle of milk and a bag of fruit come on . They could have that at home.

Most kids I know at McD are going to choose nuggets,fries and coke.

I don't think Nestle is any different than McD.McD are just as guilty of pushing into countries getting on quite happily with traditional food,pushing their product and causing health problems.Isn't obesity now a problem in China thanks to the western Mcdiet?

But isn't bf/ff one of many,many choices that will have an impact on a child's health.

Also sadly for a lot of kids,burger,sausage,nugget and fries is what they're being fed on. Childhood obesity levels back this up and the groaning freezer section containing all manner of fried goods aimed at kids in every supermarket.

But MacDonalds isn't what children are 'fed on'.

It's one of the many, many, many, vast-and-incalculable choices that parents have to give their children for that particular meal on that particular day.

Lemon it has a relevance because I don't see how debating what babies are fed on is any different than what young kids are fed on. The very babies we care about grow into the kids we don't seem to care so much about.

Also I wonder what "the majority" think about formula advertising.

Given that the vast majority use it at some point,the maj of ff are as you say frequently bullied out of expressing opinions I suspect an outright ban of Nestle and f advertising wouldn't be high on their agenda.However MN has gone ahead and done the right thing regardless.

I don't see why this should be any different.

Also if formula companies wanted to advertise promotions on here with free toys, a reformed image and a cheap product I could just imagine the uproar.It's double standards.

No, I'm saying I need help. Help me understand why my choice of feeding has any relevance to this thread?!

I'm comparing ff threads with this thread Lemon and pointing out a huge amount of hypocrisy not saying you need help,where did I say that exactly?