McDonald's Shuts Down Employee Website Advising Workers to Avoid Fast Food...
January 08, 2014 | 32,070 views
By Dr. Mercola
McDonald's is the poster child for the modern Western diet and all the health problems that it engenders. As a general rule, "food" was designed to supply your body with all the nutrients it needs.
Processing destroys many of the nutrients and is the primary contribution to most of the chronic degenerative diseases many experience today. I would also argue that food processed to the point of not decomposing after more than a decade is not actually real food and shouldn't be consumed...
Ironically, the fast food giant recently ended up with a PR nightmare after suggesting its own employees forgo fast food fare for healthier options like salad and water. As reported by Business Insider:1
"Several excerpts from the posts, which were created from a third-party vendor, warned against the negative effects of fast food, even going so far as labeling a cheeseburger and fries, core items on its menu, as an 'unhealthy choice.'"
The site also warned employees that fast-food meals are "almost always high" in calories, fat, sugar, and salt—and rightfully so, I might add. Warning employees of the health hazards of the very food they produce and serve, however, does not make for good PR.
In response to the controversy, McDonald's shut down the website in question, which was aimed at providing "work and life advice" to employees. According to a company spokesman,2 the information was "taken out of context," thereby generating "unwarranted scrutiny and inappropriate commentary." Employees will still be able to receive work and life advice over the phone.
Is Fast Food Giant Skirting Social Responsibilities?
McDonald's has received a variety of unflattering attention lately. Last month, fast food workers around the US rallied in protest of low wages, demanding the hourly wage to be raised to $15 per hour.
At present, the average fast food worker makes less than $9 per hour, and according to a recent study by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, more than 50 percent of US fast food workers are enrolled in some form of public assistance program,3 costing US tax payers an estimated at $7 billion annually.
You might be asking yourself why you're being forced to subsidize fast food profits, especially when you consider that such foods are at the heart of our current health crisis...
Contrary to popular belief, nearly 70 percent of fast food workers are actually adults, and the main wage earners in their family. Gone are the days when fast food joints were staffed primarily with high school students. This too, I believe, is a sign of how the food culture has changed in this country.
Fast food restaurants are a primary source of food for a lot of people these days. British chef Jamie Oliver is but one vocal "real food" advocate who addresses this issue head-on, pointing out that our food culture has changed so drastically over the last 30 years that a majority of today's youth do not even know what fresh, whole food is.
Fast food restaurant work is also full-time employment—if not a career, albeit a poor-paying one—for many. Case in point: Nancy Salgado, a single mother, claims she still makes $8.25 after working for McDonald's for a decade! The following video went viral last October, when Salgado was threatened with arrest for shouting out a protest during a talk given by McDonald's president Jeff Stratton.
"It's really hard for me to feed my two kids and struggle day to day. Do you think this is fair, that I have to be making $8.25 when I have worked for McDonald's for 10 years?" she shouts.
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Poster Comment:
I've always thought McDonalds was no good for you. Now, this is confirmation right from the horse's mouth. ;)