Talking about fast food - should we do online chat with MacDonalds' new chap?

[carriemumsnet]

As most of you know Mac D's are on our banned advertiser's list, so we don't currently take any banners/ ads/ competition /sponsorship from them.

They've recently approached us to see if we would do a live online chat with their new head of food development, Mike Faers, who has apparently worked previously at Le Gavroche restaurant in London and also M&S and Sainsburys.

We're sure Mumsnetters could think of quite a few things they'd like to ask McDonald's, and we think it would be quite interesting to hear what they have to say, not just in terms of happy meals/menus but in terms of the whole MacDonald's brand/global strategy etc., but wanted to check with you all before confirming it, that you'd be happy for this to go ahead.

As always it would be live, with the chance to ask questions in advance, and no holds barred. We've warned him that you're a feisty bunch but he's still keen.

So what say you - shall we give Mike a go?

Do you think she is being held hostage Marina??

Maybe we should all say yes so they release her...

my stand on MacDonalds will remain unchanged. My stand being that "everything with the exception of non prescription drugs is fine in moderation"
My two year old still prefers a few slices of mango and some pasta to a MacDonalds, but I never really ate them until I got to my very late teens and would hang out in MacDonalds with my now DH, dragging out the last dregs of coke and a happy meal whilst we saved our wages for a deposit on a house

SlightyMadSweet Free the Mumsnet One before she is encased in strawberry milkshake mix and chucked into the Thames (thereby triggering an environmental catastrophe of Torrey Cannon proportions)

I think it would be great HOWEVER I do think he should actually ANSWER some of the questions IYKWIM
Seriously I would like to see him come on and justify things, to answer lots of teh pre-asked wuestions and then to get deep into a huge row

BTW I am in the we eat McD's camp, but I want to see his thoughts

I have a big problem with the way in which they cynically market their desperately unhealthy processed food to children, in the states even going as far as to be running school canteens, the way that they have been responsible for the destruction of large swates of rainforest in order to graze their cattle, the way that they send food all around the world without the least consideration for the pollution that causes........I could go on and on, but frsnkly they aren't worth it, they are shit, don't give them publicity even if they do have someone who can cook working for them

but that is because they are allowed to get away with their marketing. In the UK, there are now rules on advertising, which includes MacDonalds on the channels they can advertise and when. I'm sure I dont see adverts on the childrens channels anymore.

The States should do something about MacDonalds being able to run school canteens. Jamie Oliver would have something to say if it happened in the UK

I am against it as, although I allow my child the occasional happy bribe meal, I am against the 'normalisation' of fast food chains.
If this chat happens it will be seen as subtle approval of McDonalds by a parenting community and perpetrate the myth that it is ok to feed your dc's salty, sugary, fatty crap on a regular basis.
I am concious of what my dd eats and have the luxury of having the time to balance her diet so I know that the occasional happy meal will not do any harm. But I am concerned for the children who end up eating these nutritionally empty foods as a matter of course. Hosting this man will make mn complicit is the national subconscious acceptance of fast foods as a normal part of our children's diet.

I mean it is not as if he wants to come on here to be convinced that he is in the wrong job, is it?

I just don't want them to appear in every aspect of my life! They are in my childs reading scheme book, on here, everytime I go shopping - why? why are they the norm and why do we accept it? Its all promotion and its acceptable to the majority.

I reserve the right to not be pestered everytime one of my children see the farking golden arches because they want a crappy bit of plastic tat. Of which I have a house full already.

what carmenere says

Carmenere said it so much better than me

But... (Cant you see I'm trying to avoid studying for my tax exam)

IIRC, the vast majority of the well known posters would relish a chance to have their say with somebody from MacDonalds, I can name a fair few anti MacDonalds posters, but I cannot name a few MacDonald supports.

I cannot see how it could be turned into positive spin from MacDonalds - (aren't all posts copyrite to MN?) even if it was picked up by the papers, it would be the usual stuff - people would read the comments and stumble on the site for the full picture. For eg, there were the comments about the MM "film" at Odeon in the papers, which people read, and then searched for the site / thread for more info to get the big picture.

Take your point Carmenere but I think he'll just get an absolute drubbing. And a lot of uncomfortable questions and quite right too. It won't normalise McDs imo, it'll be a bitchfightdebate about what they do and how they do it.

No such thing as bad publicity apparently

I think he has got us confused with another site if he thinks he's coming on for a cuddly chat about Happy Meals.

But he probably won't answer the difficult questions, and if he does he will have the stock answers given by the PR machine.

Now, a live audience with him would be a different thing...

WWW - agree totally. And it will show up nice and prominently in Google forever, thanks to the mighty Tech

He'll be harangued if he doesn't answer them. And these chats are live.

He'll be picked over until he is nothing but scraps of polystyrene drifting in the scorched air

Actually, the more I think about it the more I think it's a great idea and I really don't think McDs have thought this through.

Has the US head office REALLY sanctioned it?

Suppose it depends on how you led the media influence your life.
DH and I rarely read the papers (I will watch the headlines on Breakfast) and most my news updates come from MN .
DD has a short attention span so we tend to tape shows on Sky + so she doesnt see many adverts. Its only if the TV is on in the background that adverts are on - DD is too busy to take real notice.
Its partly the reason why I will go to work and say "wow, did you see that Skoda advert where they make a car out of cake!" and everybody laughs at me as I'm so behind the times!

Oh I know that he will be annihilated but my point is that his appearing on here will get mcD's linked with mn particularly if the press pick up on it and most people won't bother to search. They want to appear on mn because they want the brands connected, they benefit from it, mn and parents won't imo.

At least they sell bottles of milk (organic) and bags of fruit and carrots that actually are quite appetising to small children, and not hugely expensive. I think that's a massive improvement on what there was and I wish all fast food chains did the same.

Mind you, milk and raw fruit/veg is hard to muck up - it would take a lot to convince me that a chef's influence could make their standard cooked fare actually healthy.

I'm not so sure Mike will face blanket critisim here.

I'm curious. Of course they won't let him loose without a PR person looking over his shoulder, and I really don't think even MN could come up with a question / talking point they haven't seen before.

Any researcher worth their salt only have to trawl this site to get a broad range of objections and they'll have their answers all sorted before he's let loose aroudn thse parts.

Ooooh did I mention salt???

But there is such a thing as bad publicity isnt' there? Mumsnet aren't going to cover the site in golden arches (Mmmmumsnet?!) are they?