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I am doing a paper for my Masters in Communication and this in short is what it is going to be about: McDonalds & THE GOLDEN ARCHES-a sign that is a joy to millions. Or is it? : McDonalds is one of the leading fast food restaurant chains around the globe;one might wonder at its success and how far the success has helped it in improving its service and quality of product Or is it the other way round ? Have Ur say in how u feel:the quality of service and products and how far u can trust this giant of the fast food industry!So plsz feel free to write about ur experiences and opinions on McDonalds.Thankkk You!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Fast food - how much it influences Life?

As the days get shorter and the work pile bigger, there isnt much time left dfor ppl to relax. Then it doesnt seem such a big deal where u hav ur dinner from and whether its ahrmful for u aslong as its tasty and fiils u. Moreover u get to spend some quality time with ur frnds/ family. But very few ppl are aware of the effects of fast food and how much it influences or has a say in our health.Lets take the case of McDonalds:

In September 2002, McDonald's issued a statement announcing a significant reduction of trans fats(Trans fats are formed when liquid vegetable oils go through a chemical process called hydrogenation. Common in a range of food products — biscuits, chips, doughnuts, crackers — the hydrogenated vegetable fat is used by food processors because it is solid at room temperature and has a longer shelf life.
The Harvard School of Public Health think that 30,000 or more premature heart disease deaths are caused each year by trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils in food supplies.
) in its fried menu items — french fries, chicken McNuggets, Filet-O-Fish, Hash Browns and crispy chicken sandwiches — with the introduction of improved cooking oil in all of its 13,000 restaurants.
The change was supposed to be completed by February 2003. However, McDonald’s encountered operational issues and the oil was not changed.
An anti-trans fat group claims that McDonald's deliberately allowed the public to be misled.
"Based on a document that we have received, McDonald's has spent a grand total of $457.50 to get the word out to the public that it has not changed the oil. Meanwhile, it has been reaping millions of dollars in additional profits from customers who believe that they are getting the new healthier oil."
Legal action has forced McDonald’s to give effective notice to the public that the oil was not changed. In fact, McDonald’s is required to spend up to $1.5 million on publishing notices to ensure that the public knows the status of its trans fat initiative. If the cost of publishing the notices is less than $1.5 million, the difference will be donated to the American Heart Association. McDonald’s will also donate $7 million to the American Heart Association.

But when all is said and done , do u think that misleading the ppl and being caught in the act has lead them to donate the money ? Otherwise if nobody had pointed it out wouldn they hav continued with pretence of providing food prepared in healthier food?

1 comment:

Sigil said...

Well i'm not sure whether this has such a huge impact on people from India considering the standard of food u get most in most fast food joints here. And there is the other point that we Indians hardly have food from such places maybe once or twice a week, whereas in the west they might have it more regularly. Well I admit things are changing in India, but most of us cant live without our rice or roti [:P]. But one thing i do agree with is that they never should have advertised that they were changing the oil if they had no intention to do so, and they never bothered to clarify later that they were not doing so. they should have paid out a more bigger sum than they eventually did.