McDonalds Infiltration

[veronica]

Like a lot of this stuff if the kids are given a good enough grounding at home it shouldn't have much of an impact. And like all things in moderation the occasional junk meal isn't going to harm kids., any more than the occasional drink isn't going to harm an adult. Its excess thats the problem.
Stopping the kids from having a mac Ds is more than likely to make them want them more, in the big scheme of things an occasional MacDs amongst a couple of months worth of good food is going to make no difference to an active healthy child. Whether the benefits of the school sponsership outweigh the negatives I will leave to others who have the figures in front of them to debate.

[K&CS]

In general, I agree with most things in moderation. I just tend to draw that line at McDonalds. I really don't want to teach my kids that a trip to McDonalds to eat nasty food in a horrible environment is a 'treat'. I really also believe that most kids don't even particularly like the food anyway - it's the 'free' toys they want.

My kids aren't allowed to go to McDonalds (or BK or KFC) and they simply don't ask to go there. I don't think that by denying our kids McD's, then we're going to have kids who will become McDonalds addicts in the future because their parents didn't allow them this indulgence as children. We take our kids out to eat quite a lot to non fast food cafes in and around Christchurch where they eat good food and they look on this as a treat.

I agree that the occasional McDonalds is highly unlikely to kill us or have any particular detrimental effect on our health - I just think this whole thing with McDonalds goes far deeper than that.

[StevieD]

I don't think the "food" is the issue here, it is the cynical infiltration of global companies on the grounds of "aid" to schools that is wrong.

[willowshouse]

Indeed! We live in a different age now where our kids are exposed to all sorts of influences which are beyond our control .. a while ago in the UK I discovered that McDonalds sponsor a version of MSN Messenger, free to download with games and stuff ... it made me very uncomfortable.

Just look at the sponsors for this thread!!!!!!!!

McDonalds marketing IMO is VERY agressive, more so than other companies, and they only stop when they are TOLD to.

I don't worry about my kids - they know what is in a McNugget and a 'Shake' and they have no desire to eat there, toys or not .. the point is, unless you want an obesity problem like that in the USA you have to stop them marketing their filth at kids whose parents don't ensure that their kids know a healthy meal from a pile full of c**p.

I think my approach will be to ask a few more parents (NZ ones) and see what the consensus is .. that way I'll know if I'm on my own or in good company and I can take it from there.

Great to read all your comments .. let me know if you find any influences in your school.

Dawn

[Tia Maria]

Willowshouse wrote:

I think my approach will be to ask a few more parents (NZ ones) and see what the consensus is .. that way I'll know if I'm on my own or in good company and I can take it from there.

This is the kind of approach I would take at our school. We then chat to the class teacher in a:

"So what do you think about all this McDonald's sponsorship ...?" kind of a way, rather than "I think this is awful".

Often we have found the class teacher to be in agreement and they tend to take our concerns further up.

If she says its fine, ask her in what way it is fine? If she points out the money side, ask if there are any adult product sponsers that could be brought on board instead - although you may find yourself volunteered for that!

(and before any of you start, I meant places like banks/insurance etc not x-rated 'adult products'! )

Good luck it will be interesting to see how you get on.

Cheers

Tia

[westi]

" PS I don't go to McD's either - rather save my pennies! and if I do treat Jason its a Burger King "

Why is it better to go to Burger King than McDonald's ?
At the end of the day they are giving money where it's needed. The money doesn't seem to be available from anywhere else so why shouldn't children benefit ?

Re comments of the food being bad quality, it's all sourced locally in NZ, the burgers ARE 100% beef - not sure how many other fast food companies can say that & the thing about the ingredients of a shake is just an old wives tale that's been going around for years. Also the oil the chips are cooked in doesn't contain any trans fats so the occasional treat there isn't going to do much harm, probably a lot less than your local chippy / cafe that isn't as strictly monitored.
Sorry if this sounds like an ad for the place, I just think a lot of people jump on the old " I hate " band wagon without actually knowing a lot of the facts..

[Jenny & Mark]

Re comments of the food being bad quality, it's all sourced locally in NZ, the burgers ARE 100% beef - not sure how many other fast food companies can say that & the thing about the ingredients of a shake is just an old wives tale that's been going around for years. Also the oil the chips are cooked in doesn't contain any trans fats so the occasional treat there isn't going to do much harm, probably a lot less than your local chippy / cafe that isn't as strictly monitored.

The food is of poor quality made in poor working conditions by marginised members of society. In the book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser uncovers very sad truths about McDonalds, such as the meat on one burger patty could contain over a hundred different cows. He also devotes a section the topic of this thread - the purposeful targeting of school program sponsorship to convert more addicts.
(http://archive.salon.com/books/featu...ser/index.html)

The McDonald's fry is the cigarette of the future.

Mark.

P.S. No cooking oil can be considered trans-fat free once it is repeatively raised to high temperatures (http://www.tfx.org.uk/page13.html)

P.P.S. Even more scary are those McDonald's fries that are found under the car seat over a year later without a hint of mould or decomposition - yuck!

[barryp]

Why is sourcing a patty from a hundred different cows a bad thing? (Assuming you accept the idea of eating cow meat in the first place, of course.)

And why is this particular type of industrial-process food better than its analogues from non-chain-outlet sources? Is the 'hamburger' I get at the local chippy any less toxic for me or the planet than the one at McD?

Not a simple issue, IMO.

[Toto]

Wikipedia has the following definition for beef: -

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle.

So if something is 100% beef, presumably this means it is 100% bovine and could contain any part of the animal at all?

[westi]

" the food is of poor quality made in poor working conditions by marginised members of society. In the book, Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser uncovers very sad truths about McDonalds, such as the meat on one burger patty could contain over a hundred different cows. He also devotes a section the topic of this thread - the purposeful targeting of school program sponsorship to convert more addicts.
(http://archive.salon.com/books/featu...ser/index.html)"

These are the words of one person, who doesn't even live in NZ or the UK so possibly doesn't know how the business is run in these places. Different countires have different standards and guidelines but as an international company you can be be more confidant of their food hygiene and suitability for consumption than a smaller outlet.
The ingredients of McD's burgers in NZ are not of poor quallity, they are all locally sourced and strictly quality checked. I don't know what he means by "marginalised members of society" either. Most of us need to earn a dollar or 2 and they are better employers than a lot I could mention. As for converting more addicts, although I know a few people who do like the occasional burger and fries I've yet to meet an " Addict ". It's not like they grab you as you're incocently walking by and force feed you untill you pop !!
I's all down to personal choice and having accurate information
I guess McDonald's get a worse rap than some other companies because they do have a higher profile. Is this due to the money and recources they give back to the community ?