Do You Want Lies With That?: McDonalds vs. FFN.

The stuff in bold is taken from the McD's website. The rest is my opinion. I don't know how objective I can be as a vegetarian, a coeliac, and a person who doesn't buy things at large corporation owned fast food establishments. The book upon which the movie is based changed my eating and buying habits.

Our understanding is that the movie Fast Food Nation is a fictionalised thriller and features a storyline based around a fast food restaurant in the US.

Fiction? Read the book on which it is based; it is one of the better sociological impact studies written up in a manner that is easy to read and presents the information in such a way that it opens your eyes to the deeper damage done by corporations like McDonald's. It's only fictionalised in that it does not name corporations directly in the film (to my understanding; I am hoping to see it soon.)

Whilst this movie isn't about McDonald's, as so often is the case, by virtue of our size, we are the centre of debate.

Once again: READ THE BOOK! The book does not only attack McFecal Matter in Burgers but any of the corporations that actively campaign against OH&S laws in the US, primarily employ migrants with poor English and pay below poverty line wages. It is the size of McDonald's that makes it an easy target; but it's hypocrisy that makes it such an attractive one. ($1 from one product sold on one day to help the families of sick children? How much revenue does the RMCH make you each year?)

At McDonald's Australia we welcome an objective and fair discussion about issues important to our customers.

Issues important to our customers? It's important to me that if I buy a strawberry milkshake I get real strawberries and not an artificial strawberry flavour that includes nail polish remover. It's important to me that my fries aren't cooked in animal fat or coated in beef tallow so that they taste the same as they did in the 1950's. It's important that the people who serve me get a decent wage and have the right to join a union to protect their rights. AND not just in Australia but in other countries too.

We are proud of the journey we have been on over the past few years and while we don't have all the answers; we are committed to continual improvement.

Suggestions for continual improvement: Don't put meat in all your salads; especially that reconstituted kabana crap. Make gluten free products readily available beyond sundaes, shakes and chips for your main menu; and have gluten free vegetarian friendly stuff at the cafe that is not just cake or friands. Don't put adds on TV during kids programs that pay lip service to kids getting active. How about biodegradable packaging? Put back in to the community what you take out. Stop having one day a year to "Support charities" you own or better still have your one day but ALL MONEY MADE ON THAT DAY GOES TO CHARITY; and I mean Open Family or the Bronte Foundation.

We have received much praise with the changes we have made but with praise comes criticism. We invite you to explore our website, check out the facts and make up your own mind.

I have explored your websites. I have read other material. I have made my mind up. It didn't take "Supersize Me" to make me stop eating McDonald's. It took Fast Food Nation; because I don't care too much what I do to my own body but I do care what my choices mean in relation to the welfare of others. Nope; I haven't seen the film. I've read the book. I researched the information in the book as best I could to verify it.

The reality is that these movies are aimed at awakening awareness in the US market not the Australian one; but some of the practices discussed in the book upon which the film is based occur here. Sadly, people will see the film or read the book, and they'll forget it all unless an image sticks with them (mad cow disease from cows, herbivores, being fed beef; fecal matter in food products; disfigurement of workers in plants that supply the large corporations.)

Ok, I'm off to bed with hot water bottle and honey lemon drinks. (Laryngitis is now head cold that is impacting upon tempreture.) Good luck and good weather to all those marching to raise consciousness about G20. Once again Miss Politic's Australia has the information you need and has put it so well that I won't bore you with repitions.