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McDonald's Corporation) is the world's largest fast food chain , selling primarily hamburgers, chicken, french fries and carbonated drinks and more recently salads, fruit and carrot sticks. McDonalds sells many products that are high in fat and calories, as does most in the fast food industry.
The business was founded in 1940 with a restaurant opened by siblings Dick and Mac McDonald. It was their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 that established the principles of the fast-food restaurant. However, the company today dates its "founding" to the opening of CEO Ray Kroc's first franchised restaurant, the company's ninth, in 1955. He opened his first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois in April 1955.
As the first and largest international fast food franchise, McDonald's has become a focal point in public debate about rising obesity rates, corporate ethics and consumer responsibility. This is discussed in detail under Criticisms.
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Corporate overview
McDonald's restaurants are found in 120 countries and territories around the world and serve nearly 54 million customers each day. The company also operates other restaurant brands, such as Aroma Café and Boston Market, and has a minority stake in Pret a Manger. The company owned a majority stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill through the spring of 2006, when it was in the process of selling its stake. Until December 2003, it also owned Donatos Pizza. It also has a subsidiary, Redbox, which started in 2003 as 18-foot (5.5 m) wide automated convenience stores, but as of 2005, has focused on DVD rental machines.
Most standalone McDonald's restaurants offer both counter and drive-through service, with indoor and sometimes outdoor seating. Drive-Thru, Auto-Mac, Pay and Drive or McDrive as it is known in many countries, often has separate stations for placing, paying for, and picking up orders, though the latter two steps are frequently combined. In some countries "McDrive" locations near highways offer no counter service or seating. In contrast, locations in high-density city neighborhoods often omit drive-through service. There are also a few locations, located mostly in downtown districts, that offer Walk-Thru service in place of Drive-Thru.
Specially themed restaurants also exist, such as "Rock-and-Roll McDonald's" 1950s themed restaurants. Some McDonald's in suburban areas and certain cities feature large indoor or outdoor playgrounds, called "McDonald's PlayPlace" (if indoors) or "Playland" (outdoors). The first PlayPlace with the familiar crawl-tube design with ball pits and slides was introduced in 1987 in the USA, with many more being constructed soon after. Some PlayPlace playgrounds have been renovated into "R Gym" areas, which emphasize physical activity. *
The McDonald's Corporation's business model is slightly different from that of most other fast-food chains. In addition to ordinary franchise fees, supplies, and percentage of sales, McDonald's also collects rent, partially linked to sales. As a condition of the franchise agreement, the Corporation owns the properties on which most McDonald's franchises are located. The UK business model is different, in that fewer than 30% of restaurants are franchised, with the majority under the ownership of the company. McDonald's trains its franchisees and others at Hamburger University in Oak Brook, Illinois.
According to Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (2001), nearly one in eight workers in the U.S. have at some time been employed by McDonald's. The book also states that McDonald's is the largest private operator of playgrounds in the U.S., as well as the single largest purchaser of beef, pork, potatoes, and apples. The meatfoods McDonald's uses vary with the culture of the host country.
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Criticisms
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Because McDonald's multi-national, multi-billion dollar business and standardized products and procedures have come to symbolize globalization and the American way of life, the company has often found itself a target of activism and a focal point of public debate. In particular, it has generated much discussion about corporate ethics, consumer responsibility, obesity, the environment, intellectual property and animal rights.
Since the mid-1990s, a backlash against globalization has been well-documented in the media, on the internet and in books like Naomi Klein's No Logo. McDonald's restaurants have been the targets of protests, peaceful and otherwise, by environmental, anti-globalization and animal rights activists. The company's litigious approach to protecting its business interests has not helped its image in the minds of its opponents.
This conflict, and the company's approach to resolving it, was epitomized in the early 1990s by what came to be known as the McLibel case. Two English activists, David Morris and Helen Steel, distributed leaflets entitled What's wrong with McDonald's? on the streets of London. McDonald's wrote to Steel and Morris demanding they desist and apologise, and, when they refused, sued them for libel.
The trial, lasting more than two years, was described as 'the worst PR disaster in history' for the firm. The company's advertising techniques and business practices were scrutinized in the High Court of Justice in London and reported extensively in the press, who saw the case as a David and Goliath battle (under UK law, legal aid could not be granted for a defamation suit, so Steel and Morris did most of their own legal casework while McDonald's was represented by an extensive legal team).
In June 1997, the judge ruled in favor of McDonald's, awarding the company £60,000 damages, which was later was reduced to £40,000 by the Court of Appeal. The amount was low because the judge ruled that some of the claims made by Morris and Steel had been proven, including that McDonald's exploited children in its advertising, was anti-trade union and indirectly exploited and caused suffering to animals. Steel and Morris announced they had no intention of ever paying, and the company later confirmed it would not be pursuing the money.
Steel and Morris later successfully challenged UK libel law in the European Court, arguing that it was an infringement of the right to free speech. The Government was forced to re-write the legislation as a result. In 2005, a film was made about the court case.
In 2001, Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation included criticism of McDonald's' business practices. Among the critiques are allegations that McDonald's (along with other companies within the fast-food industry) uses its political influence to increase their own profits at the expense of people's health and the social conditions of its workers. The book also brings into question McDonald's advertisement techniques where it targets children. While the book does mention other fast-food chains, it focuses primarily on McDonald's.
In June 2004, the UK's Private Eye reported that McDonald's was handing out meal vouchers, balloons, and toys to children in pediatric wards. This was especially controversial as the report was made within weeks of a British Government report stating that the present generation may be the first to die before their parents due to spiraling obesity in the British population.
In 2002, vegetarian groups (comprising of some believers of Hinduism), successfully sued and won against McDonald's for suppressing the fact that even after the discontinuation of frying the french fries in beef tallow, the french fries still had beef extract added to them. This went against the company's representation of the french fries being "purely vegetarian". The french fries in sold in America still contain beef and animal flavoring. McDonald's biscuits also contain beef flavoring along with animal flavoring. McDonald's is criticized for not having many options for vegetarians. The veggie-burger is not sold at most McDonald's. The main, purely vegetarian options are salads and certain sweets. After much criticism, McDonald's remains stubborn and unwilling to change their product to accommodate vegetarians (i.e. removing beef flavoring from biscuits).
Also in 2004, Morgan Spurlock's documentary film Super Size Me produced negative publicity for McDonald's, with allegations that McDonald's food was contributing heavily to the epidemic of obesity in American society, and failing to provide nutritional information about its food for its customers. For 30 days Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald's (supersizing whenever asked). He ate everything on the menu at least once and continued to eat after he was full. At the same time he consciously attempted to get little or no exercise. By the end of the month he reported mood swings and sexual dysfunction and had gained 24.5 pounds (11.11 kg).
After the film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, but before its cinematic release, McDonald's phased out its Supersize meal option and began offering several healthier menu items, though no link to the film was cited in this decision. The company also began a practice of putting nutritional information for all menu items in light grey small print on the reverse of their tray liners. It is currently phasing in nutritional labeling in clear black print on the actual packaging of its food items.
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Legal challenge over trans fats
In September 2002, McDonald’s announced it was voluntarily reducing the trans fat content of its cooking oil by February 2003. The oil was not changed. In the ensuing lawsuits, plaintiffs claimed that McDonald’s failed to inform the public that the oil was not changed. Since that time, it has been discovered that the trans fat content of some of their products are higher than they claimed (one McDonald's large fries contains 8 grams of trans fat).
Settlement of the lawsuit brought by BanTransFats.com and one private party requires McDonald’s to inform the public that the oil was not changed. McDonald’s will also donate $7 million to the American Heart Association for public education about the risks of consuming trans fat.
McDonald’s is also 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.
The California Superior Court for Marin County has entered an order preliminarily approving the settlement.
McDonald's has also been sued by vegetarian groups for failing to notify customers that their cooking oil used for fries has meat products in it.
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Arguments in defense of McDonalds
In response to the backlash against McDonald's, the firm has sought to include some healthy choices in its menu and has introduced a reactionary slogan to its recruitment posters: "Not bad for a McJob". (The word McJob, which was first coined by Douglas Coupland in his novel Generation X, has become a buzz word for low paid, unskilled work with few prospects or benefits and little security). People have also referred to someone that works at McDonald's, as a "McSlave".
It has also begun working with organizations like Friends of the Earth about ways to reduce its negative impact on the environment and has engaged in some (albeit highly self-publicized) work with charities and local communities.
Throughout the McLibel trial, senior representatives of the firm said they were merely trying to protect its image from undue and unfounded attack. With regard to its numerous and often controversial copyright and trademark actions, McDonald's lawyers say they are simply protecting the company's intellectual property. This argument loses some credibility in light of the Viz Top Tips case, in which McDonald's copied the some of the tips from the UK adult comic's popular feature almost verbatim (see the McDonald's advertising campaigns and slogans section). The case was settled out of court after McDonald's donated an undisclosed sum to the charity Comic Relief.
Following the release of the film Super Size Me, some people reported they had experienced no weight gain and suffered no ill effect by eating only at McDonald's for a month, but choosing menu items more judiciously and exercising frequently *. Merab Morgan, a North Carolina woman, was even able to lose weight *. She claimed that the transparency of nutritional information made it easy to control her daily caloric intake.
Advocates of McDonald's also argue that it is the ultimate realization of the American dream, provides employment and boosts economies around the world and has raised customer expectations in some less developed nations.
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Legal cases
Main article: McDonald's legal cases
McDonald's has been involved in a number of lawsuits and other legal cases, most of which involved trademark disputes. The company has threatened many food businesses with legal action unless they drop the Mc or Mac from their trading name. In one noteworthy case, McDonald's sued a Scottish café owner called McDonald, even though the business in question dated back over a century.
It has also filed numerous defamation suits. The McLibel case, mentioned above, is probably the best known of these.
McDonald's has had to defend itself in several cases involving workers' rights. In 2001 the company was fined £12,400 by British magistrates for illegally employing and over-working child labor in one of its London restaurants. This is thought to be one of the largest fines imposed on a company for breaking laws relating to child working conditions.
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McDonalds advertising campaigns and slogans
To date, McDonald's has used a total of twenty-three different slogans in United States advertising, as well as a few other slogans for select countries and regions. At times, it has run into trouble with its campaigns.
In 1996, the British adult comic magazine Viz accused McDonald's of plagiarizing the name and format of its longstanding Top Tips feature, in which readers offer sarcastic tips. McDonald's had created an advertising campaign of the same name, which suggested the Top Tips (and then the alternative - save money by going to McDonald's). Some of the similarities were almost word-for-word:
"Save a fortune on laundry bills. Give your dirty shirts to Oxfam. They will wash and iron them, and then you can buy them back for 50p." – Viz Top Tip, published May 1989.
"Save a fortune on laundry bills. Give your dirty shirts to a second-hand shop. They will wash and iron them, and then you can buy them back for 50p." – McDonald's advert, 1996.
The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, which was donated to the charity Comic Relief. However, many Viz readers believed that the comic had given permission for their use, leading to Top Tips submissions such as: "Geordie magazine editors. Continue paying your mortgage and buying expensive train sets ... by simply licensing the Top Tips concept to a multinational burger corporation."
In 2003, a ruling by the UK Advertising Standards Authority determined that the corporation had acted in breach of the codes of practice in describing how its French fries were prepared *. A McDonald's print ad stated that "after selecting certain potatoes" "we peel them, slice them, fry them and that's it." It showed a picture of a potato in a McDonald's fries box. In fact the product was sliced, pre-fried, sometimes had dextrose added, was then frozen, shipped, and re-fried and then had salt added.
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Facts and Figures
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The first Hamburger University, a school for future executive managers of regional franchises, is in Oak Brook, Illinois, where the company headquarters is located. Similar "Hamburger U" training schools have been set up around the world.
The first McCafe store in the world was opened in Melbourne in 1993.
Only 2 McDonald's Restaurants in Australia so far have a double lane drive thru. One is McDonald's North Mackay, in North Queensland and one soon to be completed in North Sydney, New South Wales. Mackay North has also got the longest Drive-thru in Australia fitting a total of 22 cars from start to finish.
McDonald's is well known for its sponsorship in American sports. It is the official fast food of the U.S. Olympic Team, and has former NBA superstar Michael Jordan as a spokesperson. McDonald's is also famous for its longtime sponsorship of Bill Elliott's NASCAR team. Kasey Kahne now carries the Golden arches on his 9 car. Additionally, McDonald's sponsors Sebastien Bourdais' 1 car in CART Champ Car competition.
In 1986, Guantánamo became host to Cuba's first and only McDonald's restaurant, as well as a Subway.• These fast food restaurants are on base, and not accessible to Cubans. It has been reported that detainees showing good behavior have been rewarded not only with dates, pita bread and Twinkies, but also 'Happy Meals', hamburgers or Filet-O-Fish sandwiches from the McDonald's near the Navy Exchange.•
McDonald's Australia has cooked up a world first - The New Pasta Zoo Happy Meal. The meal includes 10 Pasta pieces with Zoo Goo (Cheese), Italian sauce, a milk drink with a Sipaah flavoured straw. The meal also includes ripper grippers (a very simple version of chop sticks) and one of three paper masks, either an elephant, turtle or lion. It was expected to be released in August/September 2006, but has since been postponed to January 2007 due to incomplete items in production.
McDonald's Australia is also trialling a new promotion called "My Dinner Now™" in selected restaurants within the Newcastle area in New South Wales. The menu consists of over 30 different home style based dishes including steak, vegetables and fish.
The volume of food used annually by UK McDonald's Restaurants according to the McDonald's Area Management Guide:
Potato products: 86,000 tons
Milk shake and sundae: 10.5 million gallons
McDonald's Canada incorporates a maple leaf into the Golden Arches logo, a move copied by other fast-food chains. When McDonald's expanded to the Soviet Union, the operation was carried out by McDonald's of Canada, and the Golden Arches there initially included a Soviet flag in the location of the maple leaf.
McDonald's Philippines offers some items on the menu that are not found in other worldwide branches. The Burger McDo is a sweeter version of the standard hamburger. McSpaghetti is exactly what it sounds like: spaghetti. The longganiza meal is McDonald's take on a traditional Filipino breakfast dish. The McRice Burger is a standard beef or chicken patty served on "buns" or hardened rice.
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Documentaries about McDonalds Corporation
McLibel - 2005, a remake of McLibel: Two Worlds Collide (1997), from Spanner Films *
Maxime, McDuff & McDo - 2002 - is the title of a French language (w/English subtitles) documentary film that shows the attempt of unionizing a McDonald's restaurant in Montreal, Canada. The restaurant becomes unionized only to be shut down shortly afterwards by its owner.
"Fast Food Women" - examines the working conditions in fast food chains such as Mcdonald's, Pizza Hut and so on. It shows the exploitation of workers mainly women due to their acceptance of a relatively cheap labour.
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Parodies
In the 1973 film Sleeper, Miles Monroe (Woody Allen) stops at a McDonald's from the year 2173. A sign on the restaurant shows the number of customers served to date as a '1' followed by fifty-three 0's.
In one Calvin and Hobbes strip, Calvin refers to "McZargalds, over 75 Million Earthlingburgers served."
In the movie Coming to America Prince Akeem of Zamunda and his servent, Semmi, go to work at a franchise called McDowell's, which is so similar to McDonald's that the owner is constantly shooing off people taking pictures of the place and accusing him of copyright infringement. Apparently his "differences" were the "golden arcs" rather then "arches" and his signature hamburger was the "Big Mic (or Mc)" which distinguishes itself from the Big Mac only by not having sesame seeds on its bun.
In the anime series InuYasha, Kagome, a main character sometimes is seen eating at a fast-food restaurant called WcDonald's. Its logo is a "W" which is identical to the golden arches of McDonald's, except it is upside-down. In another anime, Please Save My Earth, a restaurant with a similar logo appears. In the video game Prehistorik Man, food items such as coke and fries bear the same logo.
In the video game series Space Quest, a recurring location is the fictitious fast-food restaurant called Monolith Burger which has a more pointy version of the golden arches as its sign. A restaurant of the same name also appeared in the game Jones in the Fastlane; this was the lowest paying place to work in the game.
On an episode of Robot Chicken, Mayor McCheese is a real mayor.
In the cartoon Invader Zim, there is a fast food chain called McMeaties
In Kevin Smith's "Jersey Trilogy" movies (mainly Dogma, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II), there is a fictional fast food chain named "Mooby's". While it could be a parody of any burger chain, its heavy level of advertising to children parodies McDonald's, as does its "I'm Eatin' It" slogan (seen sporadically in Clerks II).
In the anime series SuperGALS, the McDonald's Arch Logo can be seen, however it's flipped upside down.
In the animated series , the Mayor and Chief of Police are stuck respectively in Mayor McCheese and Big Mac costumes with faulty zippers. Later, when asked if anything can kill the Grimace, the Chief of Police replies scornfully, "Nothing can kill the Grimace."
There is a flash movie called McDoobies ( http://mcdoobies.funnypart.com/ ) about weed, and one calledMc Diddies( http://mcdiddys-2.funnypart.com/ ) about terrorisim.
In the anime Ah My Goddess, Keiichi and Belldandy are seen eating at a fast-food restaurant called NcDonald's, which is identical to McDonald's except there is one arch in the logo instead of two.
In the anime Zeta Gundam, an AEUG meeting prior to their invasion of the Titan's Jaburo base takes place at a fast-food restaurant called McDaniel's.
In the movie The Flintstones, McDonald's is called "RocDonalds" and was marketed as such during a campaign promoting the movie at real McDonald's restaurants.
In the "Myth" series by Robert Asprin, the Bazaar at Deva has a restaurant called 'the Yellow Cresent Inn' and serves 'pink goop the consistancy of swamp muck' (Strawberry Milkshakes)
John Byner did a "McSex" sketch on his Bizarre (TV series) where he pulls up to a McSex drive-thru to order various sexual items.
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Gallery
Image:McMoab.JPG|Typical McDonald's + Drive Thru in Moab (Utah)
Image:SGMcD.JPG|A McDonald's restaurant in Singapore.
Image:McAmsterdam.JPG|McDonald's in Amsterdam
Image:1470035-Slavija McDonalds-Belgrade.jpg|McDonald's in Belgrade, Serbia
Image:McD Bloomington MN.JPG|Retro McDonald's in Bloomington, Minnesota
Image: Mcdonalds_Dortmund.jpg|McDonald's store in Dortmund, Germany
Image:Mac Japan.jpg|McDonald's Sekime national route store Osaka, Japan
Image:McDonald's Tampa 1979 05 02.JPG|Retro McDonald's in Tampa, Florida
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See also
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Food
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Marketing
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Related companies
Wendy's - McDonald's biggest rival in US
Burger King - McDonald's 2nd biggest rival in the US, biggest rival in UK
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Criticism
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Miscellaneous
Don Gorske, a McDonald's enthusiast who has eaten over 20,000 Big Mac hamburgers
PCPOS is the point of sale system used in most McDonald's Restaurants in the US.
WcDonald's is a trans-canonical fictional restaurant that spoofs an upside-down Golden Arches logo.
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