consumer report: icky-Dees

It might seem that I'm picking on McD these days, but that's not true. However, I would like to pass on some information I got today from one of the students who used to work at a McD in New York City. If you think some of the scary stories in Schossler's book is purely anecdoctal, you might want to hear from other people who've worked there before and see if it's a common occurrence.

The student described a few incidents that happened while he was at McD's:

Incident #1: On one occasion, he dropped a pack of chicken nuggets on the floor. Instead of throwing them out, he picked them right off the floor and served them. He said the McD management frowns on wastefulness and so the workers there are more likely to serve you soiled food than throwing them out.

Incident #2: At McD they tell you to cook the patties for a certain number of seconds. One time he accidentally undercooked one of the burgers. He served it anyway.

Incident #3: (You might want to stop eating while reading this) He and his co-workers used their bare hands to pry apart a stack of cheese slices. His co-worker then proceeded to lick a piece of the cheese and put it right back. When a customer ordered a cheeseburger, he used the cheese slice he just licked and served it to the customer.

Incident #4: There were plenty of rats in the McD he worked at. They usually ask the Chinese immigrant adolescents to go into the storage to get rid of the rats.

Still going to McD's? Good luck. Don't worry though. Eating a stranger's spit won't kill you. Not always, anyway.

corporation in the spotlight: mcdonald's

I've boycotted McDonald's for about five years now. Personally, it was because I was finding it expensive. I'm not a cheap person, but I usually throw out the fries and soda, not simply for healht reasons but simply because I can't finish them. But sadly, many people, especially kids and teens, devour those things in a single sitting, and parents don't always know that it's bad. Or, perhaps they know but they don't think it's serious enough.

What I actually wanted to share was the infamous McLibel trial, which is the perfect demonstration of how a few people can go against a global corporation as big as McDonald's. In fact, McD has became the very symbol of corporate imperialism and the spread of its fatty values to the rest of the world.

For those of you who don't know, back in 1990, McD has sued a group of activists in England who were passing out handouts that accused McD of a list of crimes and violations against the environment, children, its workers, its consumers, its cows. Most of the defendants issues a public apology, but two of them, David Morris and Helen Steel decided to go to court. They had no money for attorneys and had to defend themselves. But somehow, they managed to bring in epic volumes of witnesses and evidence that ended up making this into a public relations disaster for McD. In the process, they also found out how the UK government, particular its law enforcement, colluded with the company to spy on these two individuals. Even though the two lost, they continued to appeal the case. Ultimately, McD decided that they won't collect the fines from the two nor will they stop them from passing out pamphlets in the future.

The two have continued campaigning against McD, bringing awareness to the company's practices. They became part of a larger network of activitists and socially aware consumers around the world. For more information on their work, check out their website: McSpotlight.org.

Next corporation to shine on: Starbucks