http://www.foodnotbombs.net

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_not_bombs

The day of action was to highlight a variety of issues concerning the McDonalds corporation. Free veggie-burgers and fruit were served right outside McDonalds to lure people away from buying McDonalds food, and to engage them in conversation about the hot McDonalds issues. The place looked quite empty and we had a lot of support from passers by and some McDonalds employees! To alleviate their poor customer turnout, we thought it would only be fair to lend them support by asking people to enjoy their veggie-burgers in the comfort of their restaurant..

 http://www.mcspotlight.org/


“I feel badly about what I've done with young people. I was the happy face on something that was horrendous.”
-Geoffrey Gulliano, former Ronald McDonald who later embraced vegetarianism.
“For the last eight years I have documented coercion, threats, intimidation and manipulation by McDonald's and Leo Burnett Advertising against me due directly to my work as Ronald McDonald.” —Joe Maggard, former Ronald actor, 2003.

Although McDonalds are not the only culprit when it comes to the following issues, their profligate attitude and shameless advertising to young people has made them stand out from the crowd in the world of corporate misconduct..

Poverty
Water, energy, and land for crops are resources which can be used to alleviate poverty. Unfortunately the production of meat uses up to ten times the amount of these resources as the production of crops for human consumption. McDonalds are now exploiting markets in poorer countries which culturally do not consume large quantities of meat. This expansion is likely to exacerbate global poverty by increasing demand for these already scarce and controlled resources. There is often enough land and resources to feed the population of a poor country but national debt repayment obligations force these countries to grow cash crops (for export to wealthy countries) rather than food for the local people. Ethically, land should be used to feed people in poverty, not animals for people in rich countries.

Employment
Worldwide, McDonalds pay many of their workers a poor wage and are known for their hostility to trade unions. Even in the UK, the phrase ‘McJob’ has recently been coined to describe any boring, repetitive, soul-destroying, and poorly paid job. McDonalds could do much to alleviate poverty worldwide by paying their workers a decent wage.

The environment
The massive and unnecessary amount of (un-biodegradable) packaging used for McDonalds meals is pre-requisite for them to operate serving a high turnaround of customers. Not only is this bad for the environment but it fosters wasteful habits in children, who McDonalds relentlessly target with their advertising campaigns.

 http://www.ronald.com/

Globalisation
The voracious spread of chain stores across the western world (in recent years this activity has been coined ‘globalisation’) has ousted many smaller businesses who cannot compete with mass advertising and the economies of scale which such large multi-national companies can benefit from. Although this is the result of free trade and competition, increasingly people are feeling that they have less consumer choice, and that their local community or city centre lacks character and individuality. We are seeing the bleaching of the human rainbow in our public spaces.

Healthy Eating
McDonalds advertising tries to purvey their food as healthy and ‘nutritious’ (all food is nutritious) and have recently started serving salads which ironically are almost as unhealthy as their burgers. A high fat diet is directly linked with cancer and heart disease. The concern is that consumers are lead to believe that eating McDonalds meals frequently can be ‘healthy’.