Fast Food

McDonald’s Canada has been thinking really really hard about adding nutrition labels to their packaging lately, mostly due to pressure from the government and consumers. Their big decision? Yeah, now’s not a good time… While critics of the company claim that they’re stalling because making the information more public than “go to our website” might hurt sales, McD’s claims that they’re still trying to work out a new formula for their fries which would reduce trans fats. You might remember that lofty goal from four years ago, which they admitted to sucking at two years ago. Of course, as soon as that battle’s won, they’ll get right on that labelling thing. You know, if consumers are still interested. Link.

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Accordion Guy: It would appear that McDonald’s is giving out toy Hummers with its Happy Meals this month. You know, “McDonald’s gives kids a hummer” could easily be misinterpreted, but really, haven’t we all wondered about Ronald at one point or another? I could comment on the campaign, but that’s what the interweb’s for: making counter-campaigns: “That’s right: The fast-food chain that helped make our kids the fattest on Earth is now selling future car buyers on the fun of driving a supersized, smog-spewing, gas-guzzling SUV originally built for the military.” The very same site that said that has made a handy-dandy sign-o-matic: Link.

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As AimeeLeigh79 reports, Steven Turnage spends his days in Arkansas in 105 degree heat wearing a giant chicken suit to promote a local fast food restaurant, and it’s certainly not easy. In the past two weeks, people have thrown things at him ranging from smokeless tobacco cans to frozen drinks to bottle rocket fireworks. Interestingly, the article doesn’t try to pin the attack on animal rights terrorists. Frankly, I doubt it’s even possible – I don’t know how many vegans are in Arkansas, but speaking for myself, if it’s 105 degrees and I’ve got a frozen drink, I’m not going to use it on a guy in a chicken suit. Maybe that just shows that I’m not hardcore, but I suspect that omnivores terrorize fast food mascots a lot more than we do. Link.

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Dave Noisy reports that Kellogg’s is getting really, really serious about the negative health implications of eating sugary cereal every morning. No, they’re not cutting the sugar content in their foods – what are you, nuts? – but they are shipping out free cyclometers to encourage kids to get off of their butts and exercise. The cyclometers can tell kids how far they’ve biked, and are decorated with colourful mascot characters like Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, Snap, Crackle, and Pop, and, oddly, Moo Moo, a mascot been provided by the Dairy Farmers of Canada. As Dave notes, it’d be nice to see Painpain Suffermuch, the Veal Calf mascot. On the other hand, since the Kellogg’s mascots are effectively performing community service for crimes against health, this campaign almost suggests that dairy is part of the problem. Link.

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Dave Noisy reports that Disney is getting out of their promotional deal with McDonald’s. After this summer, the company will no longer be providing toys for Happy Meals, and sources indicate that the decision is related to growing concerns about obesity in children. McDonald’s is disputing this connection, but Steve Jobs has been quoted on a recent conference call as saying “There is value… But there are also some concerns, as our society becomes more conscious of some of the implications of fast food.” (Jobs is the largest shareholder in Disney, and is apparently a, uh, pescaterian.) This is a good overall sign, but if Disney wanted to get serious about the image it projects, I’d recommend taking a look at those turkey legs that they’re selling in the parks. In my experience, companies who are serious about obesity don’t sell food that larger than the customer’s head. Link.

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abbienorml sends word of an Iowa family who were banned from an all you can eat buffet for wasting too much food. Some would argue that a buffet is inherently wasteful (just… one… more… plate), and I suppose the rest of you are pining away for a vegan version. For the record, we had one in Toronto once, and oh crap it was awesome, but it was definitely more food than we could possibly have needed. Anyway, the group was nonetheless surprised when told by the Dragon House restaurant that if they were going to keep loading up plates, taking a few bites, and then going back for fresh plates, they weren’t welcome back. Now, if Wendy Dershem thought that was embarrassing, how do you suppose she thought going to the press and ending up on the national newswire would be any better? Link.

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fringedweller sent in some more news on the film adaptation of Fast Food Nation – Avril Lavigne has joined the cast. While I’m usually not a fan of celebrity links to vegetarianism (and it’s not clear to me if Avril is veg), I’m reminded of the time she sang on Saturday Night Live wearing a shirt from her hometown hardware store, and the next day the store got hundreds of calls asking for replicas. On a related note, Super Size Me has garnered another convert to the anti-fast food side – Jack Black has switched from drive throughs to a gourmet food delivery service, which might not be veg, but if enough celebrities speak out against fast food, well, it’s a start. Avril Link, Jack Link.

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Eric Schlosser

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It’s like a bad episode of the Apprentice: behold the doughnut burger, as sent in by TheRealPamela. As with yesterday’s vegan gonads story, this is also exactly what you think it is: a bacon cheeseburger with a Krispy Kreme doughnut for the bun. It’s being served at an Illinois minor league baseball team’s home games starting this May. With 1000 calories and 45 grams of fat, this is one of the few times I’m glad that most doughnuts aren’t vegan. Link.

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