Why do people love to sneer at McDonalds so much

[FinnyStory]

And blame them for obesity?

A Big Mac has 508 calories, a lot but not excessive if that's your lunch once in a while. A Costa Brie and Bacon panini has 517 calories, a no more satisfying or nutritionally valid choice surely?

In Prezzo, their hummus starter has over 600 calories! They have mains at over 1000 calories and their menu is similar to many other restaurants more acceptable to MNetters, which is why I looked them up, not because I have anything against Prezzo.

At least in McDonalds you can choose a salad or a lighter wrap if you want it, very many coffee shops and cafes don't even offer those things.

IMO McDonalds have made far more effort on these things than most and yet as soon as people talk about obesity, it won't be long before families who frequent McDonalds are vilified, although a gastropup or more upmarket restaurant chain seems to be considered OK?

lazylinguist what makes you say the restaurants themselves aren't pleasant places to eat? It depends where you are. I often use the one at Victoria Station in London. Very busy but on a lunchtime work day it's quieter. I sit down the back. Eat my food, drink my drink, people watch or whatever.
I don't really enjoy 'proper' restaurants. They are usually noisy, bustling with the waiters and what not. Tables are usually cramped together. You can't really just chill and relax and eat.

We've always liked macd's, kids are teens now and one still loves it, the other will not eat anything from there whatsoever. I assume its something she's read or viewed online that's put her off.

In RL it tends to be the food snobs who will not cross its doors.

Maizeyflowers I can confirm that it definitely does go moldy if left under car seats

I was never of a fan. Concerned about processed food, environment, empty calories and so on. Then I had children with severe allergies. I'm now in this strange predicament where I trust the chains more than many independents. There is no messing about with allergens in the chains, that all comes from above. We still don't go regularly but if we're late back from a day trip I'll look for a chain - & McDonalds usually both nearby & cheaper.

We've all been to McDonald's today for lunch .
I eat 1700 calories a day and my lunch was 650 cals approx ( cappucino , med fries , plain fillet fish ).
I have stayed within my 1700 cals.

People sneer because of their own snobbery.
I absolutely detest going to gastropubs and the like , huge portions with huge calories .

and by the time I opened the bag at home it contained a Big Tasty, two double cheese burgers and one fries. I am inferring from one fries that it was intended for one person

It might not be for one person though, on the odd occasion we go to McDonald's (no snobbery, i just like burger king more) we always share fries. And then you have picky eaters like my brother who refuses to eat fries but will happily eat two burgers.

It’s pretty grim inside. When I’ve been in, there’s smudged food on the tables & floor. Kids screaming and just a generally unpleasant atmosphere. Not somewhere I’d go for a relaxing meal. The food is cheap crap too.

blue25 if there is food on the table/floor just get a member of staff to clean it. There are always plenty of floor staff whose job it is to do this.

[quote MaybeDoctor]@bookmum08

I do know that Wimpy's were around then, as I remember driving past one once (Oh we were living the high life back then!) but there wasn't one near me.

I am just reporting the conversations that I remembered hearing when mums were chatting at the school gate or at parties. It may not have been logical and may have been tied up in anti-Americanism, or something else, but some people just didn't like the concept.

McDonalds were also conspicuously a source of litter - there was always more litter outside the McDonalds when you walked along the high street. I think the whole 'Keep Britain Tidy' campaign came along around the same time.[/quote]
"McDonalds were also conspicuously a source of litter - there was always more litter outside the McDonalds when you walked along the high street. I think the whole 'Keep Britain Tidy' campaign came along around the same time."

FYI, the 'Keep Britain Tidy' campaign was instigated by the WI in 1955!

It's because McDonalds started the whole problem of high calorie, fast food. I was a child in the 1970s and early 1980s, living in a suburb of London. There was a good sized local high street. However, if you wanted to eat something

Same age as you. Growing up in north. McDonald’s came when I was about 10. Had a wimpy before then. Cheap, convenience foods were booming by the 80s, it’s more Macdonald’s slotted Into that (and fish and chips were the National fast food for de ages). But we walked to school, often had SAHMs, could still safely play in the streets until that mid to late 80s, had no video games you could seriously play for ages, not everyone had central heating etc etc

But I will give you they caused a huge thing in the 1990s with environmental impacts

lazylinguist what makes you say the restaurants themselves aren't pleasant places to eat?

I don't mean that there is anything actively horrible about it, it's just that it's not an attractive place with an enjoyable atmosphere compared with, for example, my local independent café where I can get a bowl of beautiful homemade soup and a big chunk of artisan bread or a selection of salads etc for about the price of a Big Mac meal. Obviously there's no point in comparing McDonald's to a proper, expensive restaurant where you'd go out for dinner, but I'd rather go to a good café any day!

@blue25

It’s pretty grim inside. When I’ve been in, there’s smudged food on the tables & floor. Kids screaming and just a generally unpleasant atmosphere. Not somewhere I’d go for a relaxing meal. The food is cheap crap too.

Depends on the restaurant really. We've found the city centre ones are often pretty grim, but they're usually where the dross hang out. The out of town drive-throughs are usually a lot nicer. We have a relatively new one near us which is a real pleasure to use - modern airy interior and always kept spotlessly clean. Never suffered a sticky table or litter etc in it.

I love maccies here tbh, everything in moderation

I'd rather go to a good café any day!

Trouble is when you're in a new place and you don't know which cafes are the "good" ones. You could end up waiting forever, or get given crap food, etc. Then you have the lottery as to whether they even have what you want - small cafes are usually notorious for running out of things, even basics, and they never tell you until you've got settled, ordered drinks, etc.

At least with McD's you have consistency and standardisation, and they very rarely run out of anything.

It is processed and the lurid signage is just a bit naff, I've never been to one apart from to the loo

I find the smell nauseating. I'd happily eat Burger King though.

As a treat there is nothing wrong with it. There are people who eat it too frequently because its so cheap and readily available but that's hardly a problem unique to McDonald's. It's also frowned upon because they have marketed themselves to children for years with their happy meal toys.

I think some of the snobbery is down to it being cheap and deemed 'poor people's food'.

I eat Macdonalds but the problem with it is not the meal itself. It’s the fact that it’s so cheap and easily available that it becomes tempting to eat it too often. There’s a correlation between having fast food outlets nearby and weight.

If these restaurants simply weren’t as accessible I’d definitely eat it less often and others would too

Almost all restaurant food is high in fat and salt. That's why it tastes nice. MacDonald's is no worse than many other places.

At least with McD's you have consistency and standardisation, and they very rarely run out of anything

Tbh that wouldn't even occur to me as a reason. I'm not after standardisation. Surely you'd have to be a pretty fussy eater for it to be a real problem if a café or a restaurant ran out of something? I'd still choose an unknown café in an unfamiliar place over a McDonald's every single time.

That's the great baffling question. Why does McDonald's attract a disproportionate amount of criticism when there's all manner of other outlets serving food with similar provenance and nutritional content that in comparison barely get a mention.

It’s primarily due to the stereotype of the customer base. Poor, working -class, uneducated. Same as whenever overseas sweatshops are mentioned, the brand associated is Primark. I remember the reports after the Rana Plaza collapse they stated the factory had been used by “Primark and others” The others included Prada, Gucci, Benetton, Versace. The headline is never “Gucci factory collapse”

I enjoyed a bloody lovely breakfast in there this morning. Bagel, coffee, peace and quiet. It was bliss after a long week/month/summer/you get the drift.

My youngest is partial to a crunchy chicken wrap, and is just as happy to have one at home. Sometimes being able to snag a quick meal is handy though. In term time he is at band one evening a week. He leaves school, snags a meal on the run, goes to band, and comes home to go straight to bed. Sometimes his meal is a Maccies’ wrap to go, sometimes it’s a sandwich made at home and shoved in his bag. There’s not much difference nutritionally.

However, the obsession my children all have with the fabled share boxes of cheese sticks and nuggets? Oh my word! :o

I never sneer at McDonalds, I bloody love it.

I also HATE the 'jokes' about people working at McDonalds. I could never look down on anyone with a job. Plus they work damn hard from what I see.

JustGettingStarted 500 calories of hummus is definitely healthier for you than 500 calories of McDonalds food.

Hummus is typically made with cooked chickpeas, sesame seed paste (tahini), lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and spices.

It is made with natural, simple ingredients and is full of plant protein and fibre; basically it is a food packed with nutrients.

You could look up benefits of eating hummus for more information.

We go to McDonalds maybe once a year if away from home and passing one, and enjoy it (still feel hungry very soon after though!). But I think the snobbery is about the kind of people who are in there all the time rather than cooking meals for their family. God knows how they afford it, much cheaper to buy proper food and make meals, but ...

[quote haba]@Alwaysinpain I think you've misunderstood- no organic produce is used in McDonald's UK.
The meat is from intensively farmed animals. The chicken is 100% breast meat, all of it, but it ain't from organically farmed sources![/quote]
Incorrect. Do your research