McDonald's

[[File:Mcdonalds WWII.jpg|thumb|right|165px|The real interest of America: A Big Mac and fries]]
{{Business}}
The '''McDonald's Corporation''' is the world's most notorious supplier of hamburgers, although it actually makes more of its profits from real estate.<ref>[https://www.wallstreetsurvivor.com/mcdonalds-beyond-the-burger/ Mcdonald’s Real Estate: How They Really Make Their Money], ''Wall Street Survivor'' 28 December 2023</ref> It was founded in its modern corporation form by a multimixer salesman named Ray Kroc, who bought the name from the McDonald brothers.<ref>[https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/about-us/our-history.html Our History], ''McDonald's''</ref> The corporation has generated much controversy over charges including providing unhealthy food,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/nov/24/health.healthandwellbeing 'Super-sized' teenagers sue McDonald's], ''The Guardian'', November 24, 2002</ref> cutting down rainforests,<ref>[https://news.mongabay.com/2006/04/greenpeace-accuses-mcdonalds-of-destroying-the-amazon-rainforest/ Greenpeace accuses McDonald’s of destroying the Amazon rainforest], ''Mongabay'', April 7, 2006</ref> serving coffee too hot to be safe,<ref>[https://www.eatthis.com/news-mcdonalds-coffee-really-too-hot-two-new-lawsuits-say-yes/ Is McDonald's Coffee Really Too Hot? Two New Lawsuits Say Yes], ''Eat this, not that!'', October 23, 2021</ref> and the [[McLibel trial|McLibel case]] where several people were caught up in a legal battle with the giant Goliath McDonald's over pamphlets provided by London Greenpeace (at the time it did not have an affiliation with the larger [[Greenpeace]] organization) and only two of them didn't surrender: Helen Steel and David (surprise?) Morris.

==Health concerns==
===Obesity===
Critics claim the fast food giant is the reason why so many Americans are [[obesity|obese]], including [[children]] and adolescents.<ref>[https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/hans-bader/no-mcdonalds-does-not-make-you-obese No, McDonald’s Does Not Make You Obese], ''CNS News'', June 21, 2019</ref> However, the corporation claims they are going in the right directions.<ref>[https://www.inc.com/chris-matyszczyk/mcdonalds-claims-its-only-safe-place-parents-can-take-kids.html McDonald's Just Made an Outrageous Claim About Its Restaurants (But Maybe It's True)Yes, this could really be true, couldn't it?], ''Inc.'', April 25, 2018</ref> This includes putting apples in Happy Meals and not marketing hamburgers and fries directly to children,<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2011/0726/Happy-Meal-change-Apple-slices-in-every-Happy-Meal Happy Meal change: Apple slices in every Happy Meal], ''The Christian Science Monitor'', July 26, 2011</ref> selling [[milk]] and juice as an alternative to soda and milkshakes,<ref>[https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/09/26/226564560/mcdonalds-says-bye-bye-to-sugary-sodas-in-happy-meals McDonald's Says Bye-Bye To Sugary Sodas In Happy Meals], ''NPR'', September 26, 2013</ref> eliminating [[trans fat|''trans'' fats]] from French fries,<ref>[https://www.cargill.com/history-story/en/HIGH-OLEIC.jsp Removing Trans Fats from McDonald’s® Famous Fries], ''Cargill'', January 1, 2015</ref> and selling salads to adults. Despite these new innovations, critics still claim that McDonald's is a greaseball since hamburgers and fries are still the heavyweights. They also push sugary soft drinks and milkshakes to wash their food down with; this only adds to the total calorie load of a typical meal.

Still, it might be the case that McDonalds is getting unfairly picked on here, being targeted simply due to being the most successful fast food chain and thus the face of the industry. Their food is not healthy, sure, but there are far worse fast food restaurants you can eat at. Your typical Five Guys burger is literally ''dripping'' with grease, for example,<ref>[https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g54211-d3360447-r180528716-Five_Guys-Easley_South_Carolina.html “Greasy, Nasty burgers and fries”], ''Tripadvisor'', October 10, 2013</ref> and a lot of American chain sit-down restaurants such as Cheesecake Factory offer much more monstrous dishes.

===Mystery meat?===
Over the years, there have been many urban legends about McDonald's supposedly using horse, dog, human, or whatever other kind of meat.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/archive-fact-checking-9233643423 False claim of human meat in McDonald’s factories stems from old hoax], Ali Swenson, ''AP News'' 2020</ref> You will sometimes see YouTube videos claiming to show that McDonald's meat is made of some kind of pink slime, but these videos are all faked.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/02/06/272112028/oh-so-thats-what-goes-into-a-mcdonalds-chicken-mcnugget Oh, So That's What Goes Into A McDonald's Chicken McNugget], Maria Godoy, ''NPR'' 6 February 2014</ref> While their agricultural practices aren't without controversy, there's no evidence of them using any meat that's not supposed to be there.

===Ball pits of doom!===
McDonald's used to have play areas for the kids in many of their restaurant, and perhaps the most infamous part of them were the ball pits. These had all sorts of rumors about them, allegedly being filled with drug needles,<ref>[https://www.nuketown.com/heroin-needle-hoax-continues-to-haunt-mcdonalds-ball-pits/ Heroin Needle Hoax Continues to Haunt McDonald’s Ball Pits], Ken Newquist, ''Nuketown'' 30 September 2002</ref> venomous snakes,<ref>[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/culprit-in-the-ball-pit/ Snakes in the Ball Pit], Barbara Mikkelson, ''Snopes'' 17 March 2000</ref> and many diseases.<ref name=ballpit>[https://www1.realclearscience.com/blog/2012/02/bacteria%20in%20playlands.html Bacteria! Bacteria in the Ball Pit!], Ross Pomeroy. ''Real Clear Science'' 26 February 2012</ref> Of course, most of these claims are outright [[hoax]]es; the disease thing is real but overblown, as there's no evidence that ballpits are really any more filthy than other things kids regularly come into contact with like bathrooms.<ref name=ballpit /> Still, these claims are widely credited for causing McDonald's, and many other restaurants alongside them, to remove their ball pits.<ref>[https://www.rd.com/article/mcdonalds-playplaces-disappearing/ This Could Be Why You Don’t See PlayPlaces in McDonald’s Anymore], Meghan Jones, ''Reader's Digest'' 28 March 2022</ref>

== How to piss off your employees and make yourself a laughingstock in the media==
In 2013, as their American employees began making noises about wanting a [[poverty|living wage]] and better benefits, the brain trust at McD's corporate offices began issuing missives via their website to their employees telling them how to budget and spend their money.
* In July, they issued hints on how employees should budget their salary.  Included were $600 for rent and $150 for car payments, but nothing for gas for the car or for food.<ref>[http://www.nbcnews.com/business/mcdonalds-finance-guide-insulting-low-wage-workers-6C10653604 "McDonald's finance guide 'insulting' to low-wage workers"]:  NBC News website</ref>
* In November, they issued tips on how to get extra money during the holidays, such as returning gifts for cash refunds and bring sack lunches.<ref>[http://www.nbcnews.com/business/mcfail-mcdonalds-debt-advice-employees-return-purchases-skip-takeout-2D11638179 "McFail: McDonald’s debt advice to employees — return purchases, skip the takeout"]:  NBC News website</ref>
* In December, two weeks after the November message and on the day that McD's employees in 100 cities picketed for higher wages,<ref>[http://www.nbcnews.com/business/fast-food-wage-protests-highlight-shift-economy-2D11702018 "Fast-food wage protests highlight shift in economy"]:  NBC News website</ref> a message to employees was placed on the website telling them the proper way to tip au pairs, personal fitness trainers, dog walkers and pool cleaners.<ref>[http://www.nbcnews.com/business/mcdonalds-gives-workers-advice-tipping-au-pairs-trainers-dog-walkers-2D11702467 "McDonald's gives workers advice on tipping au pairs, trainers, dog-walkers"]:  NBC News website</ref>
* Then on 23 December came the ultimate sin — [[Irony|the website advised employees that junk food is bad for you.]]  <ref>[http://www.nbcnews.com/business/mcdonalds-employee-site-bashes-fast-food-2D11792135 "McDonald's employee site bashes fast food"]:  NBC News website</ref>
* Realizing that they were no longer lovin' it, headquarters pulled the plug on the entire site on [[Christmas]] day. Ho ho ho!<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/25/living/mcdonalds-employee-site/ "McDonald's on employee resources site: Not lovin' it"]:  CNN website</ref>

Many McD's employees in the US are on public assistance, basically meaning that the federal government is subsidizing McDonald's profits.  Many also work two or three jobs to survive.  Others rely on parents or siblings for help.  Some have even stated that they can't afford to eat at McD's on their McD's salary.<ref>[http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-27/mcdonalds-worker-says-she-cant-afford-to-eat-at-mcdonalds "McDonald's Worker Says She Can't Afford to Eat at McDonald's"]: ''Bloomberg-Businessweek'' website</ref>

==Dragging an old lady through the dirt==
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==Geopolitics==
[[File:MacDo.jpg|thumb|right|150px|McDonald's is not universally popular outside the United States.]]
McDonald's is often considered a symbol of [[capitalism]] and [[globalization]] due to how it spread across the world, and it is thus of interest to many [[economics|economicists]] and [[political science|political scientists]]. It has gotten so big to the point that McDonald's has even been involved in a few international conflicts.

===Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention===
In 1996, [[Thomas Friedman]] famously made the claim that "no two countries that both have a McDonald's have ever fought a [[war]] against each other", trying to suggest that a new age of global [[capitalism]] would lead to global peace. Of course, as with similar ideas such as the [[End of History]], this turned out to be pretty naïve, as multiple wars have broken out since between countries with McDonald's, such as the [[NATO]] bombing of [[Serbia]], the 2006 [[Israel]]-[[Lebanon]] War, the 2008 [[Russia]]-[[Georgia]] War, and the 2014 invasion of Crimea and subsequent Russian-[[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] War.<ref>[https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/26/mcdonalds-peace-nagornokarabakh-friedman/ The Beautiful, Dumb Dream of McDonald’s Peace Theory], Paul Musgrave, ''Foreign Policy'' 26 November 2020</ref> Even when he posited it, the claim wasn't true as the U.S. has invaded [[Panama]] in 1989, at which point it had already had a McDonald's.<ref>[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mcdonalds-countries-war/ Have Two McDonald’s-Containing Countries Ever Been at War with Each Other?], Alex Kasprak, ''Snopes'' 1 March 2022</ref>

===Closure in Russia===
[[File:The McDonalds at Guantanamo.jpg|thumb|Is this place to be closed too? It's at [[Guantanamo Bay]].]]
In March 8, 2022, McDonald's announced on [[Twitter]] that they would shut down Russian operations in response to the Russian invasion of [[Ukraine]].<ref>https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/1501271431082135558?s=20&t=45UFu0gTldaAfxiBREMcAQ</ref> This led to their former Russian franchises retooling their stores and offering localised versions of their former franchise holder's menu, namely Uncle Vanya and ''Vkusno i tochka'' (Вкусно — и точка).<ref>Lucas, Amelia. [https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/19/mcdonalds-to-sell-russian-business-to-existing-siberian-licensee.html "McDonald's to sell Russian business to existing Siberian licensee"]. CNBC. Retrieved 23 August 2022.</ref>

===Complicit in Gaza genocide?===
With the outbreak of Israel's 2023 invasion of Gaza, many franchises in Israel have been supportive of Israel's actions, with McDonald's Israel giving out over 100,000 free meals to IDF soldiers according to their social media posts.<ref name=israel>[https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/10/23/business/mcdonalds-israel-middle-east/index.html How McDonald’s Middle East franchises got into a public feud over Israel], Danielle Wiener- Bronner, ''CNN'' 23 October 2023</ref> This, alongside the fact that a [[Malaysia]]n branch of McDonald's (which is actually owned by a [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] company) tried to sue the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for defamation, led to BDS advocating a worldwide boycott of McDonald's.<ref>[https://bdsmovement.net/Boycott-McDonalds McDonald’s Israel supports Gaza genocide while McDonald’s Malaysia bullies Palestine solidarity activists: Boycott McDonald’s], ''BDS'' 3 January 2024</ref> The main issue is that McDonald's runs on a franchise model, and cedes some control to local businesses when it expands into foreign markets. Many [[Middle East]]ern franchises have criticised the Israeli franchise's actions and some have even donated to Gaza aid organizations,<ref name=israel /> but the damage in the eyes of the public has still been done, and McDonald's chief executive Chris Kempczinski has even acknowledged that boycotts (especially in the Middle East) have directly hurt their business,<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67885910 McDonald's hit by Israel-Gaza 'misinformation'], ''BBC'' 4 January 2024</ref> and the backlash led McDonald's to buy all of their Israel restaurants from the previous franchise owner.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/mcdonalds-israel-franchise-owner-sell-operations-fast-food-giant-2024-04-04/ McDonald's to buy Israel franchise from owner Alonyal], ''Reuters'' 4 April 2024</ref> This is not actually the first time such a thing has happened; McDonald's was heavily criticized by [[Armenia]]n groups in 2020 after a franchise in [[Azerbaijan]] posted pro-Azeri propaganda about the Nagorno-Karabakh War.<ref>[https://www.polygraph.info/a/did-mcdonald-s-in-azerbaijan-make-pro-military-posts-on-instagram-/6742646.html Did McDonald’s in Azerbaijan Make Pro-Military Posts on Instagram?], ''Polygraph'' 28 October 2020</ref>

==See also==
*[[Drudge Report]]
*[[Wal-Mart]]
*[[Fast food]]
*[[McLibel trial]]
*[[George Ritzer]] — created the concept of McDonaldization
*''[[Soylent Green]]''
*''[[Super Size Me]]''

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:International relations]]
[[Category:Restaurants]]

Categories: Food, International relations, Restaurants