- McJobs and Workers -

Re: McDonald's is just another corporation trying to sell a product.

Posted by: Dionne ( Taren Point, Australia ) on October 27, 1999 at 14:05:20:

In Reply to: McDonald's is just another corporation trying to sell a product. posted by Dionne on October 27, 1999 at 10:41:13:

Perhaps those degrading things you mentioned go on in the uk or us, but Mcdonald's Australia is by no means involved in cruelty to animals and openly supports charities against animal cruelty. Australia also has strict wage standards that make it illegal for any company to pay workers below minimum requirements. It would particularly be impossible for Mcdonald's to go under such structuring levels because of their size and regular check ups by the government on all corporations recording profits in excess of $5 million a year. Personally, I am more than happy with my wage as not only have we all undergone a pay rise, but my store pays all employees above the minimum requirements. Furthermore, Australia has strict advertising laws that prohibit false advertising and Mcdonald's Australia has certainly not been found guilty of breaching any these laws. Unlike in the uk, known for its dodgy meat, or the us, famous for its grease-laden hamburgers, Australians are very conscious of what they eat and Mcdonald's here provides only 100% beef, fresh tomatoes and lettuce, reduced fat fries, 4% fat cheese, and fat-free vegetable oil, to name a few products. Furthermore, if someone wants to eat a chocolate sundae, that is their right - not everyone wants to live on a diet of celery and carrots a la Calista Flockhart. Your propaganda may be backed by facts, but they are only the worst case scenarios, and certainly limited to whatever backwards country you come from. You may not be aware that McDonald's is a FRANCHISE, and therefore not centrally owned, and so whatever 'findings' came about from that one lawsuit you keep harping back to are relevant only to the store/s accused.

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McSpotlight: Do Australian slaughterhouses use the "stun-kill" method, as is the norm in the US and UK? If so, then McD's Australia is guilty of culpable cruelty to animals.

Is all Australian beef organic? If not, it will contain pesticides, antibiotics, organophosphates and sundry pathogens, quite apart from being comparatively high in fat.

Again, to quote the Lord Justices Pill, May and Keane "it was fair comment to say that McDonald's employees worldwide 'do badly in terms of pay and conditions' [Appeal Judgment p247], and true that 'if one eats enough McDonald's food, one's diet may well become high in fat etc., with the very real risk of heart disease".

They specifically state "worldwide" in their findings.

Can you cite nutritional analyses that prove that McDonald's food in Australia is different from McDonald's food in the rest of the world? If so, do share them.

And we certainly wouldn't stop people eating a chocolate sundae if they wanted to; provided we were allowed to point out that chocolate sundaes aren't actually very good for you; especially not as a main food. The McLibel case happened because McDonald's tried to silence people for fair criticism of their trading practices and advertising.

If McDonald's had just shrugged, said "so what, people still buy our food" and ignored the leaflet, then McLibel and McSpotlight would never have existed; it's only because McDonald's tried to bully small people into silence that you are reading these words now.


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