McDonald's truth movement

[Geggy]

Haha, I'm loving it..another film based on the book Fast Food Nation, which exposes the dark side of McDonald's, is coming up and supposedly to inflict bigger wounds on the company than Supersize Me did...

McDonald's accused of 'acting like the Taliban'

Oliver Burkeman in New York
Saturday April 15, 2006
The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1754350,00.html

The author of the best-selling expose Fast Food Nation has accused McDonald's of behaving "like the Taliban" in its pre-emptive efforts to discredit his new book and a film on the subject.

Internal McDonald's documents reportedly show that the company is shifting into "crisis management" mode in advance of Chew On This, a young people's version of Eric Schlosser's book along with a forthcoming film adaptation of Fast Food Nation. The plans speak of mobilising a "truth squad" to attack both works, and of initiatives to "discredit the message and the messenger".

Plans sent to McDonald's franchisees, originally obtained by the Wall Street Journal, seek to reassure restaurant managers that "a lot of work is going on behind the scenes ... from a crisis management standpoint" - part of a "full-scale media campaign" to tell "the real story" about the world's largest restaurant chain.

"The book is not out yet, and they clearly haven't read it," Schlosser told the Guardian.

"And they have not seen this film. And yet their instinctive reaction is to attack. You know what they did to the McLibel duo." He was referring to McDonald's seven-year court battle with two London-based environmental activists, which was a major public relations embarrassment for the firm.

"A truth squad? That sounds like the Taliban or something. Aside from it bothering my free-speech instincts, I don't think those tactics serve McDonald's very well. They work hard to cultivate this image of a friendly company - and then they get out the brass knuckles if you disagree with them."

Co-written with Charles Wilson, Chew On This promises to tell younger readers the "sometimes frightening truth about what lurks behind those sesame-seed buns", including "the grisly conditions in a chicken slaughterhouse" and "how those delicious fast-food smells are manufactured off a highway in New Jersey".

Meanwhile, McDonald's seems panicked that the movie - expected to be released in the US in the autumn - could unleash bad publicity unlike anything it has seen. Directed by Richard Linklater, it stars Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke and the singer Avril Lavigne. According to the leaked documents, Lavigne stars as a worker for a chain called Mickey's who "'sees the light' and then works to reverse the ills of fast food".

Walter Riker, McDonald's vice-president for communications, denied any plans to discredit the author, saying in a statement that "the McDonald's family" would "vigorously communicate the facts about McDonald's".

Next Saturday the Guardian will be giving away a DVD of Supersize Me with each copy of the paper. Plus, Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser speaks about McDonald's, his new book Chew On This and how corporations target children.

[El Blanco]

Fast food is unhealthy? Really? Damn. I should write this down.


And of course McCraphole is wrong for trying to defend their public image. "Free speeach instincts" my ass.

[Johnny Couth]

Preach about how evil McDonalds is all you want, the food is to cheap and convenient for the chain to ever die.

[Dr. Boogie]

When I saw that the article was called McDonald's accused of 'acting like the Taliban,' I thought it was going to be about how McDonald's had banned dancing and kite-flying.

[El Blanco]

Schossler is given to lots of hyperbole. Like how on the Supersize me DVD, he has an interview with Spurlok in which he implies McD's are Nazis because they promote uniformity throughout their stores.

[mburbank]

Didn't they?

I agree that McD's will never go away, but I love the fact that they have to add chemical meat flovor to the meat so that it will attse like something besides paste. On the other hand, I do on occasion eat their paste.

But I think keeping the pressure on them as far as PR goes is a good thing. When they feel they need to look better, they sometimes do good things and the reasons don't matter. Not tat they counter some of the evil shit they do, but for instance. When Mccdonalds swicthed to newmans Own cofffee as their house brand. newmans purchaes fair trade coffee. (Coffee at a prcie certfied to generate a living wage for local famers) That is one FUCK of a lot of fair trade coffee that wasn't being purhcased the day before.

So it's not as if pressure will make them go away. But continued pressure is a good thing in and of itself.

[Rez]

i went to mcdonalds yesterday and got all nostalgic because i hadnt been in awhile. i remembered from when i was 8 and i would eat that glued mess with those distinctive porous, smooth-surface buns. i enjoyed those burgers... i could never get tired of them, even if i did eat healthy. that whole "it doesnt taste good once you take care of yourself" is one of the more smug, idiotic things to declare just to show how wondefully enlightened you are. it makes me sad. because fast food tastes fucking awesome.

i then spent the rest of the night periodically taking bathroom trips as my body tried to dispose of it as quick as possible

damn.

[ziggytrix]

you know what else tastes awesome? antifreeze.

[Rez]

lool same thing right

[El Blanco]

Originally Posted by mburbank

Didn't they?

Yes, but don't all bussinesses? I'll bet your museum has a dress code, especially amongst the employees that deal with the patrons.

I agree that McD's will never go away, but I love the fact that they have to add chemical meat flovor to the meat so that it will attse like something besides paste. On the other hand, I do on occasion eat their paste.

But, that is your desiscion, right?

But I think keeping the pressure on them as far as PR goes is a good thing. When they feel they need to look better, they sometimes do good things and the reasons don't matter.

Of course. I have no issue with keeping them honest. But can we apply the same standards to the supposed watch dogs?

So it's not as if pressure will make them go away. But continued pressure is a good thing in and of itself.

No doubt, but again, are images of Hitler neccissary?

[Miss Modular]

I realize it's not McDonald's, but a bunch of Burger Kings have been closing down in my area. Maybe not everyone is taking to Fast Food anymore. :/

[El Blanco]

Maybe if BK started putting their deep fried chicken into salds, they'd be doing better.

[kahljorn]

Being healthy is starting to become, "Cool". I hate mainstream culture.

[El Blanco]

Hey, I don't care what the hell they call it. There is no chance in hell I'm considering anything MacDonalds puts out as "healthy".

[mburbank]

My didn't they was a refernce to Dr. B's comment about Mcd's banning Kite flying. You posted so quickly it looked like I was respodnng to you. And I always asumed their uniformity was so a burger bought anywhere on earth at Mcd's taste exactly the ame as a burger bought at any other Mcds. Not, you know, uniforms.

Yes. When I eat their paste I am making a choice. I don't dislike thier paste, although I find the meat flavoring in Burger Kings pate is more meaty. But there isn't a Burger King at my train station, and their knew terrifying add campaign gives me nightmares.

"No doubt, but again, are images of Hitler neccissary?"

Absolutely. The NPR hippie mentality I embrace runs like this. Everything good at all is like Jazz. Anything bad at all is like the holocaust.

Mcds French fries are like Jazz.

Mcds corporate policies are like the Holocaust.

A cool breeze? Jazz.

Me stubbing my toe? Holocaust.

Here's where it gets difficut for me, personally. I don't much care for Jazz.

[El Blanco]

So jazz is like the Holocaust?

[mburbank]

Now you understand my essential zen.

[kahljorn]

And don't forget, MCds secret business practices that made them rich lie within the fry.

[Geggy]

Blanco...

cows=jews
slaughterhouse=concentration camp
ronald mcdonald=adolf hitler

see the similiarities?

I agree Mcdonald's is never going to go away but it never hurts to try and push them into serving healthier food such as what supersize me has done which forced mcdonald's into slashing supersize off the menu and creating fruit salad and frozen yogurt containing fake strawberries thats consistent of 50 different chemicals. yummy.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

McDonalds should be free to serve whatever garbage they want. The point in Super Size Me (at least partially) was that they weren't honest about just how shitty their food is, and they didn't disclose data prominently on calories, sugar, fat, etc.

Consumers will ultimately change a company like McDonalds, and as you alluded to, they already have in a way (who wouldv'e thought 10 years ago that they'd be serving a veggie burger and changing where they purchase their beef from???).

[El Blanco]

Originally Posted by KevinTheOmnivore

McDonalds should be free to serve whatever garbage they want. The point in Super Size Me (at least partially) was that they weren't honest about just how shitty their food is, and they didn't disclose data prominently on calories, sugar, fat, etc.

Technically, that wasn't McD's fault. Each store is independantly owned and operated. All the stores by me( and there are way too many) have displayed that info for as long as I can remember. People around here bitch and moan.

Its one thing to say the corporate offices should take a greater role in making this info available. Its something completly different to say they are hiding the info.

Consumers will ultimately change a company like McDonalds, and as you alluded to, they already have in a way (who wouldv'e thought 10 years ago that they'd be serving a veggie burger and changing where they purchase their beef from???).

10 years ago, who would have cared?

[AChimp]

I ate at McDonalds today for lunch. My meal was super-sized (it ain't on the menu, but you can still get it done). It was damn tasty, cheap and I got it without standing in line for a long time.

[kahljorn]

I don't know why people think fast food is "Cheap". It's not. Paying five or six dollars for a meal is, contrary to popular belief, very expensive. My girlfriend and I have survived off of 20 dollars a week(three or four meals at a mcdonalds) before, and we were eatting pretty good, even if it was all fruits and vegetables. If you're making meals from scratch, you can generally make a meal big enough to serve at least two people for five dollars.

[ziggytrix]

99 cent double-cheeseburger? i'd hit it!

[El Blanco]

Originally Posted by kahljorn

I don't know why people think fast food is "Cheap". It's not. Paying five or six dollars for a meal is, contrary to popular belief, very expensive. My girlfriend and I have survived off of 20 dollars a week(three or four meals at a mcdonalds) before, and we were eatting pretty good, even if it was all fruits and vegetables. If you're making meals from scratch, you can generally make a meal big enough to serve at least two people for five dollars.

Ya, but from scratch requires a time investment. With fast food, you pay for added convenience.