catapult magazine

enjoying any opportunity to challenge my tendency toward liberal bias, i was glad to find this article expressing how McD.’s clout in the food service industry has actually helped pave the way for some serious unofficial reforms in the fast food business:

http://www.uoregon.edu/~recycle/events_topics_McDonalds_text.htm

while they’re doing great things in the area of packaging and waste, one of the remaining frontiers is the actual production of the food they serve. McD.‘s maintains (rightfully so, i think) that their customers choose burgers because they want burgers, in spite of the environmental impact of red meat production and other menu options like chicken and fish. i think it would be great if McD.’s would lead the way with a great line of veggie burgers (not the soy beef-imitation patties, but real hearty, tasty burgers that taste like the things they’re made of—beans, rice, mushrooms, herbs, peppers, etc.). or if they could lead the market for free-range, organic beef.

does anyone know of any existing organized efforts to promote such changes? it seems like a pertinent time for this type of effort, given the bad publicity they’re receiving as a result of [i:2d0b3f9616]Supersize Me[/i:2d0b3f9616] (which they’ve already responded to by eliminating the Supersize and introducing the “Adult Happy Meal”).

The fries aside, McDonald’s food alone doesn’t keep people coming back … it’s the cheap prices. I don’t think McDonald’s would find it economically feasible to offer free-range beef burgers because of the markup they would need in order for the corporation to benefit. The majority of McDonald’s customers aren’t going to pay for free-range beef burgers. The majority of their customers probably have no idea what that means.

Bottom line, the majority of McDonald’s customers are people looking to save money for whatever reasons who, when they’re hungry, don’t care about animal living conditions over their own pocketbook.

I think it’s more realistic to educate the public and create more of a demand, rather than start with McDonald’s. That’s basic economics.

a majority of McDonald’s customers don’t care about smaller, less wasteful napkins or more environmentally friendly packaging for Big Macs either, but McDonald’s went ahead and made the changes anyway.

i’m trying to give the corporation the benefit of the doubt and figure out how to work with it instead of against it to create positive sustainble change. if they’re willing to give up the Supersize in response to a movie, maybe they’d be willing to indulge a small, yet persistent minority that wanted alternatives to factory-farmed beef. from a business perspective, factory farmed meat is not indefinitely sustainable and making visionary changes now will have long-term benefits.

you’re right that public education needs to be an integral part of the process (be sure to direct all your friends and family to http://www.themeatrix.com), but there’s no reason we can’t work from both sides.

as i haven’t been to a mcdonalds in the u.s. for quite awhile, so i don’t know about the veggie burger selection here, but in the u.k. it has a veggie burger that is actually pretty tasty- i think it was a patty of corn, peas, and something to keep it all together.