posted by:
McLibel Support Campaign/ London Greenpeace
post: 5 Caledonian Rd, London N1 9DX, UK
tel/fax: +44 (0) 171 713 1269
email: mclibel@globalnet.co.uk
web: www.mcspotlight.org
ANTI-McDONALD'S CAMPAIGN NEWS November 1999
http://www.mcspotlight.org/campaigns/
___World Anti-McDonald's Day, 1999
The 15th annual Worldwide Anti-McDonald's Day was on Saturday October 16th
[UN World Food Day] - a protest against the promotion of junk food, the
unethical targeting of children, exploitation of workers, animal cruelty,
damage to the environment and the global domination of corporations over our
lives. There were hundreds of local protests on or around Oct 16th all over
the world - so far we've heard of 425 protests and pickets in 345 towns in
23 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England,
Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland,
Taiwan, USA.
In the UK London Greenpeace picketed McDonald's in The Strand, Central
London. 40 people participated for 2 hrs, including a blockade/sit-down in
The Strand itself for 25mins. Over 4000 leaflets were handed out. We also
heard about protests outside stores in: Rotherham, Doncaster, Nottingham,
Oxford, Aberdeen, Newport, Rochdale, Depford, St Albans, Waterlooville,
Ilford, Nottingham, Bracknell, Wolverhampton, Southend on Sea, Gloucester,
Burton on Trent, Cambridge, Chichester, Bognor Regis, Matlock, Buxton,
Newcastle upon Tyne, Leeds, Halifax, Hereford, Brighton, Birmingham,
Southampton.
___ French farmers take on globalisation
On Friday 15th Oct there was also a day of action vs McDonald's all over
France called by the farmers of Confederation Paysanne against economic
globalisation. This followed contacts with us in London about the global day
of action. We don't know how many towns saw protests so are unable yet to
add this figure to the totals above. There were certainly protests in East
Europe,
but we've not heard about them yet [except Romania]. There are also some
countries that we've not heard from in which activists regularly protest vs
McDonald's. As part of the global protests, there were also some events on
Oct 12th - an annual day of solidarity with McDonald's workers. This stems
from the death by electrocution at work of crew member Mark Hopkins,
Manchester UK on Oct 12th 1992.
___ Uninvited guests at McDonald's birthday party
Just 2 weeks previously, on Oct 2nd, McDonald's were commemorating the 25th
anniversary of the opening of their first store in the UK, in Woolwich, SE
London. To mark this stupendously historical day about 15 protestors, a jazz
band, a self-confessed 'mayor', Ronald 'I'm a clown, honest' McDonald, and 2
cheer-leader girl troupes [guess who hired them, as if we needed any further
proof of the McExploitation of young kids - the 5-7 yr olds were chanting
McDonald's slogans] all turned out for the 'celebrations' for over 3 hours
in front of the store. Joining in the spirit of the occasion, and
celebrating 25 years of growing opposition to McWorld, activists held up '25
yrs of McJunk', and 'McDonald's Guilty - Exploiting Workers, Destroying The
Environment, Murdering Animals' banners, slap bang in the middle of the
proceedings. They also handed out 4000 leaflets to enthusiastic passers-by.
___ Mushroom
3 million leaflets have now been handed out in the UK alone since 1990 (when
the McDonald's Corporation served libel writs on Helen and Dave aiming to
suppress the London Greenpeace leafletting campaign) and it is now
distributed worldwide - we have copies in 27 languages.
As well as the mass distribution of leaflets by thousands of local
activists, the global campaign against McDonald's has continued to grow this
year - there have been millions of hits to 'McSpotlight', many determined
residents' campaigns against new stores [including currently a 310-day
continuous residents' occupation of a site of a planned new store near
Kingston, South London], mass anti-McDonald's protests by french farmers, a
crew unionisation success in a store in Canada (for the first time in the
North American continent) and general bad publicity for the Corporation as a
result of the McLibel case.
Residents against McDonald's:
http://www.mcspotlight.org/campaigns/current/residents/index.html
___ PETA's McCruelty to Go
In October in the USA, People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA)
launched a nationwide billboard poster campaign attacking Ronald McDonald's
as 'The US No 1 Serial Killer' (in response
they said to the McLibel verdict), with pictures of slaughtered chickens and
cows. When their UK branch publicised their intent to do the same in England
they were told by the regulatory authorities that they would be banned. This
year for the first time PETA joined the international anti-McDonald's
protests on October 16th.
PETA's site:
http://www.meatstinks.com/mcd.html
Ronald McDonald supports Peta's campaign (!):
http://www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/newmexalibi_10oct99.html
___ Advertising to Children
To expose the hypocrisy of the advertising industry,
and in the light of the McLibel ruling that McDonald's exploit children,
the McLibel
Support Campaign is calling on the public to send in letters to the Independent
Television Commission calling for a ban on all McDonald's advertising to
children. A 'standard letter' is available, or do your own. Legal action
against the ITC to achieve this is now being prepared.
http://www.mcspotlight.org/campaigns/current/itcadban_99.html
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