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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that the McDonalds protest is a bloody stupid idea that will not get anyone onside?

301 replies

PyongyangKipperbang · 22/05/2021 15:09

Protester are blockading Maccies distribution centres to try and get them to commit to be fully plant based by 2025.

Now I cansee the argument about meat production affecting the environment but.......McDonalds sell what people want to eat! They are a business and are not going to agree to do something that could decimate their customer base!

And this kind of protest just pisses people off, if you want to take the kids for a maccies on the way home from shopping because you cba to cook then finding out that they have no food in then you are hardly going to feel very well disposed to the people who have caused it are you?

OP posts:
derxa · 23/05/2021 11:39

@QuestionableMouse

They're protesting the wrong company too. All of McDonalds UK's ingredients are from the UK/Ireland. Not a rainforest destroyed.
Yup
CuriousaboutSamphire · 23/05/2021 11:52

And there is a perfect example of what I mean!

All indignation, a sprinkle if misinformation and an emotional finger pointing to end with!

ivykaty44 · 23/05/2021 11:52

for those of you saying there isn't a market for plant based products, have you noticed the large space taken over by plant based milk in the supermarket?

Plant based foods where not in mainstream supermarkets 10 years ago (or what was there was small display) and slowly they have crept in and are expanding and taking up more and more prime shelf space. The market is still smaller in comparison to others, but it has grown significantly and will continue to do so.

January each year is now Vegan month, Starbucks not only have one alternative milk but about 3 or 4 alternatives, as do other main chains - not just niche coffee shops and health food stores.

This isn't though just about not eating meat, its about a lot of other issues that are interwoven with Macdonalds and their practices in business

ivykaty44 · 23/05/2021 11:56

@derxa prove it, that the Chicken nuggests you eat in UK aren't feed on feed from Brazil and this has caused deforestation. Show the information that this is incorrect

Doomsdayisstillcoming · 23/05/2021 12:01

If people want to eat that shit, then it’s their choice.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 23/05/2021 12:01

@ivykaty44

for those of you saying there isn't a market for plant based products, have you noticed the large space taken over by plant based milk in the supermarket?

Plant based foods where not in mainstream supermarkets 10 years ago (or what was there was small display) and slowly they have crept in and are expanding and taking up more and more prime shelf space. The market is still smaller in comparison to others, but it has grown significantly and will continue to do so.

January each year is now Vegan month, Starbucks not only have one alternative milk but about 3 or 4 alternatives, as do other main chains - not just niche coffee shops and health food stores.

This isn't though just about not eating meat, its about a lot of other issues that are interwoven with Macdonalds and their practices in business

All of that is what should be happening. It not only repsonds to a change in cutomer requirements it helps drive it.

Quite different from the loud, demanding, no solution offered stuff!

CuriousaboutSamphire · 23/05/2021 12:03

I can only find 2015 data

Looking at the regional distribution of feed produced for the broiler in 2015, it is seen that the Asia Pacific region occupied the first place with 98,10 million tons. The Asia Pacific region is followed by North America with 63.12 million tons, Latin America with 61.07 million tons, Europe with 53.33 million tons, Africa with 12.52 million tons and the Middle East with 6.47 million tons.

QuestionableMouse · 23/05/2021 12:11

@WomenAreBornNotWorn

Scrowy Meat production requires a much higher amount of water than vegetables. IME state that to produce 1kg of meat requires between 5,000 and 20,000 litres of water. This includes the agricultural farming needed to produce the food for them. Not just what they drink from a trough daily.
Please tell me what vegetables you could grow somewhere like the Yorkshire Dales? Sheep and cattle grazing make use of land that would otherwise be unusable for farming.

Hell, I live a few miles down the road from a salt Marsh. No chance of growing crops on there but the cattle grazing it do very well.

ivykaty44 · 23/05/2021 12:25

CuriousaboutSamphire nor sure what your post is trying to say?

roaringmouse · 23/05/2021 12:25

But McDonalds is a global business, and brand, and the UK division benefits and profits from that. And surely, destruction of the Rainforest is a global concern and responsibility.

As for the poster suggesting that people who care about animals don't seem to care as much about humans, I think this is a divisive way to view it. I think many people care about the welfare of other sentient creatures, be they fellow humans or other species. It doesn't have to be one or the other.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 23/05/2021 12:25

IME most alternative protein sources take as much - almonds for example. And they aren't always grown in areas that can naturally sustain them either!

CuriousaboutSamphire · 23/05/2021 12:26

@ivykaty44

CuriousaboutSamphire nor sure what your post is trying to say?
That I can show that the probability of a UK chicken McNugget being fed on rainforest grown feed is less than 25%!
CuriousaboutSamphire · 23/05/2021 12:28

@ivykaty44

CuriousaboutSamphire nor sure what your post is trying to say?
Sorry, I'll add to that. I was trying to show that statements such as the one you made about wanting 'proof' are part of the problem.

It can be 'proved' to be just about anything! Unless you in McDs procurement department.

It detracts from the argument you want to and should be making!

ivykaty44 · 23/05/2021 12:33

That I can show that the probability of a UK chicken McNugget being fed on rainforest grown feed is less than 25%!

yet I gave a report showing it was 50%

thegcatsmother · 23/05/2021 12:35

Had I wanted a burger yesterday, I'd have found an alternative at Waitrose, M&S Food, Tesco or Lidl. Yes, it wouldn have been cooked for me, and it would have been with salad and home made wedges and not fries, but meat would still have been eaten.

Pointless protest as there were alternatives available, or I could have gone to Burger King.

WomenAreBornNotWorn · 23/05/2021 12:36

Do we have to farm the Yorkshire Dales for wheat? Surely this can be sourced elsewhere. If the land needs livestock to be maintained, then do so. But don't send them to slaughter. Let them live out their natural lives under the care of a vet. Euthanize them as we would a pet.

ivykaty44 · 23/05/2021 12:37

sorry up to 50%

ElephantsNest · 23/05/2021 12:40

Macdonald’s chicken is linked to rainforest deforestation

www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/25/revealed-uk-supermarket-and-fast-food-chicken-linked-to-brazil-deforestation-soy-soya

ElephantsNest · 23/05/2021 12:41

The chance of Macdonald’s becoming completely plant based by 2025 is negligible, but the protest has got us all talking and thinking about it hasn’t it?

CuriousaboutSamphire · 23/05/2021 12:42

@WomenAreBornNotWorn

Do we have to farm the Yorkshire Dales for wheat? Surely this can be sourced elsewhere. If the land needs livestock to be maintained, then do so. But don't send them to slaughter. Let them live out their natural lives under the care of a vet. Euthanize them as we would a pet.
And hen they have all met their natural end what about the people whose lliving they were? Who will feed them to their natural end? Pay for the vet fees?

They aren't pets. There has to be a viable commercial plan to replace the existing husbandry, it's somebody's life and livelihood you are dismissing!

CuriousaboutSamphire · 23/05/2021 12:44

@ElephantsNest

The chance of Macdonald’s becoming completely plant based by 2025 is negligible, but the protest has got us all talking and thinking about it hasn’t it?
Yes. But some need to be talking about it differently if there is to be a real life change. Less finger pointing and emotive twaddle and more realistic action plans.
ElephantsNest · 23/05/2021 12:46

I agree and I’m seeing some good discussion on this thread amongst the batshittery

ChubbyMsSunshine · 23/05/2021 12:47

I had a McDonald's breakfast this morning and the only items affected were hash browns and coffees. I got a sausage McMuffin no problem...so the only disruption was to the plant-based foods.

They're leaping on a cause with no attention to what the market wants. They'd be better off trying to (pleasantly) educate people about the positive of plant-based food, not just piss us off by trying to force change in this juvenile, thoughtless way.

Ylvamoon · 23/05/2021 12:52

Do we have to farm the Yorkshire Dales for wheat? Surely this can be sourced elsewhere

Yep, just destroy someone else's back garden to feed everyone on a plant based diet. And add to the carbon footprint by shipping even more stuff around the planet.

Food Production & nutrition is very complex. We have x amounts of hectares land that is suitable for crops.

Then we have x amounts that is suitable for livestock.

Each individual needs x amounts of carbs, protein, vitamins & minerals to substain themselves.

Sustainability is the key word...

Wearywithteens · 23/05/2021 12:54

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn at the poster's request.