the out-of-print original factsheet - subject of the libel action

This was a specialist publication written in 1986 and not intended for distribution on the streets.
Please check out, copy and distribute the current, shorter, snappier " What's Wrong with McDonald's " leaflet
(available in 7 languages and as PDF files), of which 2 million have been circulated worldwide in the last 5 years.

What's wrong with McDonald's? Everything they don't want you to know.



McDollars McGreedy McCancer McMurder



  • What's the connection between McDonald's and starvation in the 'Third World'?
  • HUNGRY FOR DOLLARS

    ECONOMIC IMPERIALISM


    A typical image of 'Third World' poverty - the kind often used by charities to get 'compassion money'. This diverts attention from one cause: exploitation by multinationals like McDonald's.

    GROSS MISUSE OF RESOURCES
    GRAIN is fed to cattle in South American countries to produce the meat in McDonald's hamburgers. Cattle consume 10 times the amount of grain and soy that humans do: one calorie of beef demands ten calories of grain. Of the 145 million tons of grain and so fed to livestock, only 21 million tons of meat and by-products are used. The waste is 124 million tons per year at a value of 20 billion US dollars. It has been calculated that this sum would feed, clothe and house the world's entire population fo one year.

    McDisease McProfits McDeadly McHunger McRip-Off McTorture McWasteful McGarbage

    FIFTY ACRES EVERY MINUTE
    EVERY year an area of rainforest the size of Britain is cut down or defoliated, and burnt. Globally, one billion people depend on water flowing from these forests, which soak up rain and release it gradually. The disaster in Ethiopia and Sudan is at leastpartly due to uncontrolled deforestation. In Amazonia - where there are now about 100,000 beef ranches - torrential rains sweep down through the treeless valleys, eroding the land and washing away the soil. The bare earth, baked by the tropical sun, becoms useless for agriculture. It has been estimated that this destruction causes at least one species of animal, plant or insect to become extinct every few hours.

  • Why is it wrong for McDonald's to destroy rainforests?
  • PET FOOD & LITTER

    COLONIAL INVASION

  • What's so unhealthy about McDonald's food?
  • FAST = JUNK

    PAYING FOR THE HABIT

    GETTING THE CHEMISTRY RIGHT
    McDONALD's stripey staff uniforms, flashy lighting, bright plastic decor, "Happy Hats" and muzak, are all part of the gimmicky dressing-up of low-quality food which has been designed down to the last detail to look and feel and taste exactly the sae in any outlet anywhere in the world. To achieve this artificial conformity, McDonald's require that their "fresh lettuce leaf", for example, is treated with twelve different chemicals just to keep it the right colour at the right crispness for th right length of time. It might as well be a bit of plastic.

  • How do McDonald's deliberately exploit children?
  • THE NORMALITY TRAP

    TOY FOOD

    RONALD'S DIRTY SECRET
    ONCE told the grim story about how hamburgers are made, children are far less ready to join in Ronald McDonald's perverse antics. With the right prompting, a child's imagination can easily turn a clown into a bogeyman (a lot of children are very suspiciou of clowns anyway). Children love a secret, and Ronald's is especially disgusting.

  • In what way are McDonald's responsible for torture and murder?
  • MURDERING A BIG MAC

    McDollars McGreedy McCancer McMurder


    WHAT'S YOUR POISON?
    MEAT is responsible for 70% of all food-poisoning incidents, with chicken and minced meat (as used in burgers) being the worst offenders. When animals are slaughtered, meat can be contaminated with gut contents, faeces and urine, leading to bacterial infetion. In an attempt to counteract infection in their animals, farmers routinely inject them with doses of antibiotics. These, in addition to growth-promoting hormone drugs and pesticide residues in their feed, build up in the animals' tissues and can furter damage the health of people on a meat-based diet.

  • What's it like working for McDonald's?
  • NO UNIONS ALLOWED

    TRAINED TO SWEAT

    EVERYTHING MUST GO

    WHAT's wrong with McDonald's is also wrong with all the junk-food chains like Wimpy, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy, etc. All of them hide their ruthless exploitation of resources, animals and people behind a facade of colourful gimmicks and 'family fun. The food itself is much the same everywhere - only the packaging is different. The rise of these firms means less choice, not more. They are one of the worst examples of industries motivated only by profit, and geared to continual expansion.

    This materialist mentality is affecting all areas of our lives, with giant conglomerates dominating the marketplace, allowing little or no room for people to create genuine choices. But alternatives do exist, and many are gathering support every day from eople rejecting big business in favour of small-scale self-organisation and co-operation.

    The point is not to change McDonald's into some sort of vegetarian organisation, but to change the whole system itself. Anything less would still be a rip-off.

    Produced by Greenpeace (London) for Worldwide Anti-McDonald's Protests on United Nations 'World Food Day', October 16

    WHAT CAN BE DONE

    YOUR INFLUENCE COUNTS

    MAKE CONTACT, SHARE IDEAS

    THERE'S A DIFFERENCE YOU'LL ENJOY: NO MORE MEAT!

    LIBERATION BEGINS IN YOUR STOMACH

    WHO MADE THIS LEAFLET?

    THE LONDON GREENPEACE GROUP has existed for many years as an independent group of activists with no involvement in any particular political party. The people - not 'members' - who come to the weekly open meetings share a concern for the oppression in our ives and the destruction of our environment. Many opposition movements are growing in strength - ecological, anti-war, animal liberation, and anarchist-libertarian movements - and continually learning from each other. We encourage people to think and act ndependently, without leaders, to try to understand the causes of oppression and to aim for its abolition through social revolution. This begins in our own lives, now.

    Postal address: Greenpeace (London), 5 Caledonian Road, London N1.