Hello earthlings, I decided to start a new series. This series should introduce to the visitors of this site the truth behind various major fast food chains. We see them everywhere! Especially here in Singapore you can find a McDonalds, KFC or BurgerKing in almost every street.
Now, people who know me also know that I boycott all those fast food chains, but most don't really know why. So here I want to explain why I believe it is necessary to do so and what is actually hidden behind the scenes.
I will start with the biggest of the huge fast food players: McDonald's
Here is a short summary of what is really wrong with McDonald's:
McDonaldization of Society
Definition: the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world.
Chickens raised for McDonald’s are crammed into crowded, filthy warehouses with less space per bird than a standard sheet of paper. This overcrowding causes disease, suffocation, and heart attacks.
Some breeding pigs raised for McDonald’s live their entire lives in cement stalls, unable to turn around, lie in a comfortable position, or nuzzle their babies.
U.S. federal standards for slaughter say that all animals should be fully stunned before their throats are slit, but McDonald’s considers it acceptable if slaughterhouses inadequately stun 1 in 20 animals, and refuses to even ask their suppliers to hire extra stunners, an action their own animal welfare experts say would markedly improve stunning efficacy.
McDonald's destroys local cultures and small businesses around the world; Mexico Culturists Want a Break Today from McDonald's. We can also just look at Singapore for example, all these fast food outlets have a tremendous impact on the regular income of the hawker stall owners. These are small businesses which are suffering on the hands of fast food chains. Usually it's even the hawker owners themself selling and preparing the dishes (if we don't look at those big hawker chains), therefore the people doing the hard work will also keep all the profit they make, which is just fair, compared to McDonald's exploiting desperate, old or disabled people and pay them S$3.50/hr.
PETA Declares October "Slam McDonald's Month," Launches Massive Campaign Against Corporate Cruelty
More Than 300 Demonstrations Planned Around the World
Norfolk, Va. - After calling off two years of negotiations with McDonald's over its mistreatment of animals, PETA has now declared October "Slam McDonald's Month" because of the company's failure to make even the smallest improvements for the millions of animals it raises inhumanely and slaughters annually.
More than 300 demonstrations are planned at McDonald's restaurants around the world beginning October 16, as PETA launches a new, massive, international campaign against the company. Graphic in-your-face billboards and newspaper advertisements that read, "Do you want fries with that? McCruelty to go," above a picture of a slaughtered cow's head will be run to inform consumers about McDonald's failure to implement basic reforms in the way that animals are raised and killed for its restaurants.
McDonald's has refused to alleviate horrific conditions for chickens and pigs on its farms, despite a judicial ruling that found McDonald's "culpably responsible" for cruelty in half a dozen ways. To date, McDonald's has not even attempted to require slaughterhouses to meet humane standards of slaughter, as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, and nor has it any mechanism in place to penalize slaughterhouses that consistently skin and dismember conscious animals.
McDonald's laying hens are still raised in cages so small that from four to seven hens share space not much larger than a file drawer and their cages are stacked in warehouses that hold as many as 100,000 hens. Although federal recommendations state that chickens should have at least 2 square feet of space, McDonald's allots just .55 square feet, which isn't even enough space for a chicken to spread even one wing. Breeding pigs raised for McDonald's are confined for their entire lives to cement stalls without straw or bedding, unable to turn around.
"McDonald's has a lot to be ashamed of-animals are treated pitifully and it chooses to look the other way," says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. AND SO DO THE CONSUMERS!
McDonald's spend over $1.8 billion every year worldwide on advertising and promotions, trying to cultivate an image of being a 'caring' and 'green' company that is also a fun place to eat ("i'm loving it!" yeah right!). Children are lured in (dragging their parents behind them) with the promise of toys and other gimmicks. But behind the smiling face of Ronald McDonald lies the reality - McDonald's only interest is money, making profits from whoever and whatever they can, just like all multinational companies. McDonald's Annual Reports talk of 'Global Domination' - they aim to open more and more stores across the globe - but their continual worldwide expansion means more uniformity, less choice and the undermining of local communities.
PROMOTING UNHEALTHY FOOD
McDonald's promote their food as 'nutritious', but the reality is that it is junk food - 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 may cause ill-health, and hyperactivity in children. Don't forget too that meat is the cause of the majority of food poisoning incidents. In 1991 McDonald's were responsible for an outbreak of food poisoning in the UK, in which people suffered serious kidney failure. With modern intensive farming methods, other diseases - linked to chemical residues or unnatural practices - have become a danger to people too (such as BSE).
EXPLOITING WORKERS
Workers in the fast food industry 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. 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, and they're compelled to 'smile' too! 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.
ROBBING THE POOR
Vast areas of land in poor countries are used for cash crops or for cattle ranching, or to grow grain to feed animals to be eaten in the West. This is at the expense of local food needs. McDonald's continually promote meat products, encouraging people to eat meat more often, which wastes more and more food resources. 7 million tons of grain fed to livestock produces only 1 million tons of meat and by-products. On a plant-based diet and with land shared fairly, almost every region could be self-sufficient in food.
DAMAGING THE ENVIRONMENT
Forests throughout the world - vital for all life - 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 its regeneration. 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 are the world's largest user of beef. Methane emitted by cattle reared for the beef industry is a major contributor to the 'global warming' crisis. Modern intensive agriculture is based on the heavy use of chemicals which are damaging to the environment.
Every year McDonald's use thousands of tons of unnecessary packaging, most of which ends up littering our streets or polluting the land buried in landfill sites.
MURDERING ANIMALS
The menus of the burger chains are based on the torture and murder of millions of animals. Most are intensively farmed, with no access to fresh air and sunshine, and no freedom of movement. Their deaths are barbaric - 'humane slaughter' is a myth. We have the choice to eat meat or not, but the billions of animals massacred for food each year have no choice at all.
CENSORSHIP and McLIBEL
Criticism of McDonald's has come from a huge number of people and organisations over a wide range of issues. In the mid-1980's, London Greenpeace drew together many of those strands of criticism and called for an annual World Day of Action against McDonald's. This takes place every year on 16th October, with pickets and demonstrations all over the world. McDonald's, who spend a fortune every year on advertising, are trying to silence world-wide criticism 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. But Helen Steel and Dave Morris, two supporters of London Greenpeace, defended themselves in a major UK High Court libel trial. No legal aid is available so they represented themselves. McDonald's engaged in a huge cover up, refusing to disclose masses of relevant documents. Also, the defendants were denied their right to a jury. Despite all the cards being stacked against them, Helen and Dave turned the tables and exposed the truth by putting McDonald's business practices on trial. Protests against the $30 billion a year fast-food giant continue to grow. It's vital to stand up to intimidation and to defend free speech.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Together we can fight back against the institutions and the people in power who dominate our lives and our planet, and we can create a better society without exploitation. Workers can and do organise together to fight for their rights and dignity. People are increasingly aware of the need to think seriously about the food we and our children eat. People in poor countries are organising themselves to stand up to multinationals and banks which dominate the world's economy. Environmental and animal rights protests and campaigns are growing everywhere. Why not join in the struggle for a better world. Talk to friends and family, neighbours and workmates about these issues.
L E T ' S S T O P T H I S M A D N E S S T O G E T H E R ! !
Additional links:
Why would you like to eat in a restaurant like this...
Boycott campaign thinks bigger (American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt)
Unhappy Meal interview with Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation
A former Ronald McDonald apologizes for selling out
Workers Resistance Against McDonald's
~GlobalPeace&Solidairty~
