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Original poster

Is McDonald's really the worst thing in the world?

123 replies

SoupDragon · 30/04/2005 16:23

Friendly debate I'm not trying to get at anyone who has decided that their family will never cross the threshold of the golden arches

I'm curious. Is McDonald's really the worst fast foot outlet or does it simply set itself up for bad press by being the biggest and most recognisable?

Are their business ethics worse than any other company out there?

As for Supersize Me - if someone ate at, say, Pizza Express for every single meal for 30 days, what would their health be like at the end of it? Or TGIFridays? Or any other "family friendly" restaurant/food outlet? Have McDonald's been unfairly singled out in this aspect or did they cover other food outlets in the film?

I am an intelligent human being (honest, I am!), I know you can't eat fast food for every meal for a month and remain stick thin and as healthy as a healthy horse but I don't see the harm in eating there once or twice a month provided our chldren are taught that it is simply not possible to eat stuff like that all the time. I certainly don't give in every time DSs ask to go to McDonald's. I can't help thinking that outright banning of something makes them want it even more... but that's just me. We all have differnet ways of parenting

Don't get me wrong, I do understand that they're not a squeaky clean, healthy company but are they really as "spawn of the devil" as they are made out to be and how do they compare to other companies?

OP posts:
soapbox · 30/04/2005 20:26

But oh dear! If you really want to get me on my soapbox (ha ha!) then what about the KFC ad where they sing that stupid bl**dy song with their mouths stuffed full of crap food! Well that really is teaching our kids how to behave isn't it

oops · 30/04/2005 20:30

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GeorginaA · 30/04/2005 20:31

baka: our local farmers market is once a month - not a good source for fresh fruit and veg Our local farmers shops I happily bought from once, then got back home and found stickers on the fruit which said they originated from south africa - very local, not!

I use a local butcher (mainly because superior quality, tbh - not about any ethical dilemmas if I'm really honest) - but I wish I could find some decent fruit & veg which doesn't rely on a box scheme (not fussed about organic - just want something fresh and that has something with actual flavour) as I just don't shop like that.

GeorginaA · 30/04/2005 20:34

Yes, I realise that, oops. But I guess I'm trying to say, if you rule out every non-ethical company then there's not a lot of places left to shop from

E.g. Body Shop bills themselves as an ethical fair place to shop. Yet I won't shop there because of some of their business practises. On the flip side, Nestle is seen as the big evil, and yet my experience from working for them is that they treat their staff very well comparitively.

beansprout · 30/04/2005 20:34

Yes, they are bloody vile. But as for the "worst", who's to say? The most depressing aspect is that there is SO much shite food out there and people are just making themselves ill eating it.

baka · 30/04/2005 20:35

TBH oops I just think that if you are going to make a statement about how bad mcd's is then you should theoretically take them all on. Large companies are bastards- the lot of them, global brands are bed for communitites, but realistically they are here to stay. I don't feel good shopping at tesco when it comes to doing the right thing,but convenience wins out in the main.

Realised reading the list of objections from people on here that I haven't really been affected by them. Maybe in a few years time when my younger children are being sucked in by the marketing aimed at kids I'll be cross about it, but its not an issue at the moment for us.

baka · 30/04/2005 20:37

gerogina -we have a box scheme- they said that the reason they ship in some fruit during the winter is because its environmentally more sound than than using heated glasshouses. The other option is that we only eat in season fruit- but most consumers aren't happy with that now.

I was talking to an organic chicken farmer last week and I was surprised how unorganic they;re allowed to be!

oops · 30/04/2005 20:51

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oops · 30/04/2005 20:52

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Caligula · 30/04/2005 21:20

On that point, I think we have made a difference: the reason McD's have introduced salads (even if they are fat bastard salads) is because of profits; they don't do anything out of the goodness of their hearts, they saw a massive gap in the market for "healthy" cheap fast food. They understand that public knowledge of food and the damage companies like them do to workers, the environment and children who eat too much of their product, would eventually lose them profits. So they've introduced ranges they can develop if and when the public fall so much out of love with their core range, that their profits would be threatened if they couldn't offer an alternative.

Caligula · 30/04/2005 21:32

Oh and the other thing is whoever said it's not just the food, it's the eating environment - totally agree. Those garish colours, those bright lights, those uncomfortable, unmovable chairs - all create the atmosphere of gulping down your fodder like animals and then mindlessly continuing shopping. A real undermining of any kind of table manners or food culture. I remember that was the attraction of the Wimpy when we were kids - the fact that we were allowed to be savages at the table and not do normal table manners. But McD's carried it a stage further - the very idea of takeaways, where you are supposed to walk down the street while eating... it is so anti a good food culture, and I think I dislike that aspect of it even more than the crap food.

Toothache · 30/04/2005 21:36

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oops · 30/04/2005 21:50

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Tanzie · 30/04/2005 21:55

We don't eat there, have never eaten there (well, once in Craiova as it was the only place with clean toilets ).

And I am still fat .

Toothache · 30/04/2005 22:00

Oops.... I didn't read that bit sorry... In that respect they are bastards!! Just don't agree that they should get all the blame for the fact we eat their food. We don't have to.

But I suppose they are some other terrible companies out there too, like Nestle! ten times worse in comparison. But they own so many products it's hard to avoid it!

crazyandconfused · 30/04/2005 22:22

YES! As is any other 'fastfood' retailer! I would rather go hungry for a cuple of hours till I got home that eat there!

velcrobott · 30/04/2005 22:35

Well (and it won't come as a surprise to anyone) I am totally anti Mc Donald... and for all the reasons mentioned below by oops, soapbox, WWW and others. And to say that you think the toys are great becasue they keep entertained while you await for the food???? well how long do you actually SIT in that fast food place anyway? Eating to me is a social occasion and McD does not cater to that IMO.
How one can compare Pizza Express to Mc D? I don't go to either actually but pizzas (maybe not Pizza Hut as I kn wo for a fact that they are full of E numbers) are a different food to burgers and chips.
Some new Mc D's salads are reportedly containing more calories than a Big Mac

In our family we don't go to mc D and how one views feeding crap as a treat is beyond me but hey ! shoot me
If you must go to Mc D it can be because you are in a hurry... but as a treat ???? surely not !

Original poster
SoupDragon · 30/04/2005 22:52

One plus point in McDs favour is that their website contains the "nutritional" information for their entire menu - not trying to hide anything there! No such luck with Pizza Express on their website unless it's somewhere I didn't look (wanted to find out how their salad compares to McDs)

OP posts:
donnie · 30/04/2005 22:54

I agree with caligula wholeheartedly about the deliberate erosion of manners and a good food culture, and I really feel strongly about the treatment of the animals here. I will only buy organic meat and having read fast food nation I am too aware of how the animals and also the staff at the meat processing plants are treated - horrifically. Around 3/4 of the staff are illegal immigrants and the bosses like it that way as it means thet will a) accept well below the minimum wage and b) not be able to join a union as they are illegal.Many of them have limbs ripped off by machinery , get impaled on hooks,fall into a coma from the industrial strength cleaning chemicals used....you name it . It really is awful. Plus the food is loaded with fat, salt, chemicals and God knows what other shite.
It is strange that going out of one's way to a place where this crap is served is actually regarded as a treat but it's still popular, despite people knowing how bad it is, like people smoking depite being aware of the risks - or drinking too much knowing they will have a stonking hangover next morning. How very bizarre we are at times!
I see Destiny's child are the latest celebs to advertise for McD's on tv - wonder how much they got paid ? like they need the money....

velcrobott · 30/04/2005 22:55

But as Supersize me said more than 50% of the population does NOT have web access... and anyway why can't this be available in the shop? I am sorry soupy but fried and greasy food is unhealthy so there is a need to explain it. A pizza is not on unhealthy... it's flour, yeast, water - cooked in an oven, then the toppings contain vegetables.

misdee · 30/04/2005 22:56

it is available in the 'shop'. its on the back of their tray leaflets.

donnie · 30/04/2005 22:58

and there is their packaging policy as well; have you ever noticed how much litter of a nonrecycleable kind is to be located immediately outside any branch of McDonalds? I just feel eating without so much as a plate is pretty barbaric: why is everything plastic and styrofoam?

velcrobott · 30/04/2005 22:58

What if you drive through or take away
Sorry I don't go there so would not know about their tray.

hunkermunker · 30/04/2005 22:58

I think one of the reasons it's so popular is kind of self-perpetuating - parents take their children there knowing they will eat the food, the parents relax, therefore the children eat the food...

misdee · 30/04/2005 23:00

u can always just ask for the info. they'll give it to you.

i was bored at asda and feeding dd3 in the macdonalds there (now thats one thing i hate, macdonalds in a supermarket!!), and was reading the back of the tray leaflet.