 McDonald's spend a fortune on advertisements, trying to cultivate an image of being a "caring" and "green" company that is also a fun place to eat. Children are lured in (dragging their parents behind them) with the promise of "free" toys and other gimmicks. But behind the smiling face of Ronald McDonald lies the reality - McDonald's only interest is the ruthless pursuit of profit from whoever and whatever they can.
Starving The Poor
While millions of people are starving, vast areas of land in poor countries are used for cattle ranching, or to grow grain to feed animals to be eaten in the West. McDonald's continually encourages people to eat meat more often, which wastes more and more food resources. 145 million tons of grain fed to livestock produces only 21 million tons of meat and by-products.
Destroying The Earth
The world's most beautiful forests are being destroyed at an appalling rate by multinational companies. McDonald's have at last been forced to admit to using beef reared on ex-rainforest land, preventing the regeneration of forests. Also, the use of farmland by multinationals and their suppliers forces local people to move on to other areas and cut down further trees. McDonald's is the world's largest user of beef. Every year McDonald's use thousands of tons of unnecessary packaging, much of which ends up littering our streets or polluting the land buried in landfill sites.
Ruining Your Health
McDonald's promote their food as "healthy", but the reality is that it is high in fat, sugar and salt, and low in fibre and vitamins. A diet of this type is linked with a greater risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases. Their food also contains many chemical additives, some of which cause ill health, and hyperactivity in children.
Exploiting Their Staff
Workers in the burger chains are paid low wages. McDonald's do not pay overtime rates even when employees work very long hours. Pressure to keep profits high and wage costs low results in understaffing, so staff have to work harder and faster and as a consequence accidents, particularly burns, are common. The majority of employees are people who have few job options and so are forced to accept this exploitation. Not surprisingly staff turnover at McDonald's is high, making it virtually impossible to unionise and fight for a better deal, which suits McDonald's who have always been opposed to Unions.
Censorship and Mclibel
Criticism of McDonald's has come from a huge number of people and organisations over a wide number of issues. In the mid-eighties London Greenpeace drew together many of those strands of criticism and called for an annual World Day of Action against McDonald's. This still takes place every year on 16th October, with pickets and demonstrations all over the world.
McDonald's, who spend over one billion dollars every year on advertising and promotions, are trying to silence the world-wide campaign by threatening legal action against those who speak out. Many have been forced to back down because they lacked the money to fight a case.
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