Mcdonalds started off as McDonald’s Bar-B-Q in 1940 in San Bernardino, California. Ran by Dick and Mac Mcdonald it was your typical drive-in with a large menu and car hop. In 1948 they altered their restaurant to a self-service drive-in. The menu reduced to 9 items including burgers, soda, milk, chips, pie and coffee. In 1958 Mcdonald’s sells their 100 millionth hamburger and in 1959 they opened their 100th restaurant In 1962 they became the first restaurant with indoor seating. Toledo, Ohio opens the 500th restaurant in 1963.  Ronald Mcdonald made his first appearance on Tv in 1966 with a one minute “flying hamburger” commercial on NBC and CBS networks. IN 1971 Hamburglar, Grimace, Mayor McCheese, Captain Crook and the Big Mac joined Ronald in McDonaldland. Philadelphia Eagles’ football player Fred Hill led to the first Ronald McDonald House when his child was being treated for Leukemia in 1973. in 1978 the 5,000th restaurant opens in Kangawa, Japan. In 1983 McDonalds was now located in 32 countries around the world.  November 20, 2002, McDonalds claimed to be World Children’s Day aka McHappy Day.  McDonalds has raised more $170 million during the McHappy day events. As of 2011 McDonald’s now operates in 119 countries. (Our History)

McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson recently suggested the company would support President Obama raising the federal minimum wage from 7.25 to 10.10 an hour. But such an increase in wage still wouldn’t satisfy some of their workers such as the ones found in Oak Brook Ill. who swarmed their headquarters demanding $15 an hour. Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), says “It’s time for the McDonald’s Corporation … to stop pretending that it can’t boost pay for the people who make and serve their food” (Baertlein). Thompson who made 9.5 million in 2013 while the $9 an hour worker only made $19,000. A worker would have to work two month just to make what Thompson makes in one hour ($3,200). Thompson sees the effect of poorer customers not having enough money to buy stuff and national minimum-wage spike could put more money in the pockets of low-wage workers across the country. This will indicate more money for people to spend at McDonald’s. The conversation side complains though. They think raising minimum wage would cause companies to lay off workers and jack up menu item prices which would initially hurt the economy. According to the McPoverty Calculator created by The Daily Beast the Big Mac would have to increase by 22 cents for a worker to make $15.23 an hour ( $31,671.83 a year)  (Gongloff).

Between the years 2004-2011 McDonald’s used Lean Finely Textured Beef also known as “pink slime” to numerous customers. This beef was treated with ammonia which gave it that pink slime look.  Today all of the beef is USDA inspected and meets or even exceeds USDA standards. It is 100% ground beef which is formed into patties and then flash frozen. Although the beef does come from cattle who are treated with added hormones to promote growth. This is a common practice for farmers.  None of their burgers are made until you order it. They grill their patties as needed throughout the day, seasoned with salt and pepper, which then are placed in a warming cabinet for up to 15 minutes (Burgers & Sandwiches).

Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for CKE Restaurants states “We don’t make what we want to sell.” He then continues “There’s a reason there are so many successful hamburger chains in this country and so few successful salad chains” (qtd. in Ferdman “Why It’s Not Enough”). Companies like McDonald’s , Burger King and Wendy’s are amongst the top of the burger chain. Customers don’t go to a fast food burger chain and order salads which makes it not as easy for chains to sell healthier food. After customers begged Burger King for their chicken fries back, the company recently began selling the fries since discontinuing them in 2012. But even so, Chipotle has shown customers will go to a restaurant that has certain values like high standards for their meat suppliers (Ferdman “Why It’s Not Enough”).  Marion Nestle, a professor at N.Y.U. says “Food companies aren’t inherently bad,” then continues “But they respond to demand, and people don’t always want what they should”. (qtd in Ferdman “Why It’s Not Enough”).

McDonald’s has partnered with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to increase customer’s ability to choose fruits and veggies.  Along with that they have provided customers the choice when choosing a meal to have a side salad, fruit or vegetable substituted for the fires. Their Happy Meals are only promoted with water, milk and juice. They use in-store and external advertising that ensures 100 percent fun nutrition or a children’s well-being message that produces excitement for fruits, veggies and low-fat dairy within the Happy Meal. They’re also limiting the amount of calories shipped to schools. President Bill Clinton says “We’ve seen voluntary agreements with industry have profound impact — including our work with the beverage industry to limit the amount of calories shipped to schools. Those agreements resulted in a 90 percent reduction in total beverage calories shipped to schools between 2004 and 2010” (qtd in McDonald’s – Official Global Corporate Website).  McDonald’s will continue to take these actions in 20 of their major markets representing more than 85 percent of their global sales. ( McDonald’s – Official Global Corporate Website)

There is one thing McDonald’s offers that people tend to lack to think about, what goes in their fries? McDonald’s has 19 ingredients in their fries, these include, citric acid, tert-Butylhydroquinone   also known as TBHQ, potatoes, canola oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor, hydrolyzed wheat and milk, dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate, salt, canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrohenated soybean oil, and dimethylpolysiloxane (Ferdman, “There Are 19 Ingredients”).  Former “MythBuster” co-host Grant Imahara says “Dimethylpolysiloxane: it’s a long word. It’s the longest word on this list. And I know it sounds scary, but it’s actually an anti foaming agent” (qtd in Ferdman “There Are 19 Ingrediants”). Their potatoes travel on a conveyor belt and then are shot through a high-pressure water tube at 60 to 70 miles per hour. After they are shot through the water tube they are then dipped (Little). Koko Neher, a production planner at Simplot states “This is the ingredient dip, where we control the color, and we’re adding dextrose – all natural sugar – to make sure that we get a consistent color no matter what time of the year it is,” he then adds that it also puts in sodium acid pyrophosphate to control “graying after freezing” (qtd in Little). In just a kids’ French fry there is 101 calories. If you were a 35 year old female who is 5’7” and 144 lbs, you would have to walk just for 26 minutes to burn those calories off (How Many Calories in McDonald’s French Fries).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited

Baertlein, Lisa. “UPDATE 3-McDonald’s Workers Protest Low Wages, More than 100 Arrested.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 21 May 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

“Burgers & Sandwiches :: McDonalds.com.” Burgers & Sandwiches :: McDonalds.com. McDonald’s, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

Ferdman, Roberto A. “There Are 19 Ingredients in McDonald’s French Fries.”Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.

Ferdman, Roberto A. “Why It’s Not Enough for Fast Food Companies to “give Consumers What They Want”.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

Gongloff, Mark. “McDonald’s CEO: ‘We Will Support’ A Minimum Wage Hike.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 4 June 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

“History of McDonald’s Restaurants :: AboutMcDonalds.com.” History of McDonald’s Restaurants :: AboutMcDonalds.com. McDonald’s, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

“How Many Calories in McDonald’s French Fries.” Calorie King. CalorieKing Wellness Solutions, Inc, 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.

Little, Katie. “What Are McDonald’s Fries Really Made Of?” CNBC. CNBC, 20 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.

“McDonald’s – Official Global Corporate Website :: AboutMcDonalds.com.” McDonalds. McDonald’s, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

“Our History.” :: McDonalds.com. McDonald’s, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mcdonalds started off as McDonald’s Bar-B-Q in 1940 in San Bernardino, California. Ran by Dick and Mac Mcdonald it was your typical drive-in with a large menu and car hop. In 1948  they altered their restaurant to a self-service drive-in. The menu reduced to 9 items including burgers, soda, milk, chips, pie and coffee. In 1958 Mcdonald’s sells their 100 millionth hamburger and in 1959 they opened their 100th restaurant In 1962 they became the first resturant with indoor seating.Toledo, Ohio opens the 500th restaurant in 1963.  Ronald Mcdonald made his first appearance on Tv in 1966 with a one minute “flying hamburger” commercial on NBC and CBS networks. IN 1971 Hamburglar, Grimace, Mayor McCheese, Captain Crook and the Big Mac joined Ronald in McDonaldland. Philadelphia Eagles’ football player Fred Hill led to the first Ronald McDonald House when his child was being treated for Leukemia in 1973. in 1978 the 5,000th resturant opens in Kangawa, Japan. In 1983 McDonalds was now located in 32 countries around the world.  November 20,2002, McDonalds claimed to be World Children’s Day aka McHappy Day.  McDonalds has raised more $170 million during the McHappy day events. As of 2011 McDonald’s now operates in 119 countries.

McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson recently suggested the company would support President Obama raising the federal minimum wage from 7,25 to 10.10 an hour. But such an increase in wage still wouldn’t satisfy some of it’s workers such as the ones found in Oak Brook Ill. who swarmed their headquarters demanding $15 an hour. Thompson who made 9.5 million in 2013 while the $9 an hour worker only made $19,000. A worker would have to work two month just to make what Thompson makes in one hour ($3,200). Thompson sees the affect of poorer customers not having enough money to buy stuff and national minimum-wage spike could put more money in the pockets of low-wage workers across the country. This will indicate more money for people to spend at McDonald’s  The conversation side complains though. They think raising minimum wage would cause companies to lay off workers and jack up menu item prices which would initially hurt the economy. According to the McPoverty Calculator created by The Daily Beast the Big Mac would have to increase by 22 cents for a worker to make $15.23 an hour ( $31,671.83 a year)

Between the years 2004-2011 McDonald’s used Lean Finely Textured Beef also known as “pink slime” to numerous customers. This beef was treated with ammonia which gave it that pink slime look.  Today all of the beef is USDA inspected and meets or even exceeds USDA standards. It is 100% ground beef which is formed into patties and then flash frozen. Although the beef does come from cattle who are treated with added hormones to promote growth. This is a common practice for farmers.  None of their burgers are made until you order it. They grill their patties as needed throughout the day, seasoned with salt and pepper, which then are placed in a warming cabinet for up to 15 minutes.

Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for CKE Restaurants states “We don’t make what we want to sell.” He then continues “There’s a reason there are so many successful hamburger chains in this country and so few successful salad chains.”(qtd in Ferdman) Companies like McDonald’s , Burger King and Wendy’s are amongst the top of the burger chain. Customers don’t go to a fast food burger chain and order salads which makes it not as easy for chains to sell healthier food. After customers begged Burger King for their chicken fries back, the company recently began selling the fries since discontinuing them in 2012. But even so, Chipotle has shown customers will go to a restaurant that has certain values ( like high standards for their meat suppliers). Marion Nestle, a professor at N.Y.U. says “Food companies aren’t inherently bad,” then continues “But they respond to demand, and people don’t always want what they should.”(qtd in Ferdman)

McDonald’s has partnered with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to increase customer’s ability to choose fruits and veggies.  Along with that they have provided customers the choice when choosing a meal to have a side salad, fruit or vegetable substituted for the fires. Their Happy Meals are only promoted with water, milk and juice. They use in-store and external advertising that ensures 100 percent fun nutrition or a children’s well-being message that produces excitement for fruits, veggies and low-fat dairy within the Happy Meal. They’re also limiting the amount of calories shipped to schools. President Bill Clinton says “We’ve seen voluntary agreements with industry have profound impact — including our work with the beverage industry to limit the amount of calories shipped to schools. Those agreements resulted in a 90 percent reduction in total beverage calories shipped to schools between 2004 and 2010.”( McDonald’s – Official Global Corporate Website) McDonald’s will continue to take these actions in 20 of their major markets representing more than 85 percent of their global sales.

 

 

Work Cited

Baertlein, Lisa. “UPDATE 3-McDonald’s Workers Protest Low Wages, More than 100 Arrested.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 21 May 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

“Burgers & Sandwiches :: McDonalds.com.” Burgers & Sandwiches :: McDonalds.com. McDonald’s, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

Ferdman, Roberto A. “Why It’s Not Enough for Fast Food Companies to “give Consumers What They Want”.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

Gongloff, Mark. “McDonald’s CEO: ‘We Will Support’ A Minimum Wage Hike.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 4 June 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

“History of McDonald’s Restaurants :: AboutMcDonalds.com.” History of McDonald’s Restaurants :: AboutMcDonalds.com. McDonald’s, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

“McDonald’s – Official Global Corporate Website :: AboutMcDonalds.com.” McDonalds. McDonald’s, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

“Our History.” :: McDonalds.com. McDonald’s, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

what is the history of mcdonalds ?
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story/our_history.html

Mcdonalds started off as McDonald’s Bar-B-Q in 1940 in San Bernardino, California. Ran by Dick and Mac Mcdonald it was your typical drive-in with a large menu and car hop. In 1948  they altered their restaurant to a self-service drive-in. The menu reduced to 9 items including burgers, soda, milk, chips, pie and coffee. In 1958 Mcdonald’s sells their 100 millionth hamburger and in 1959 they opened their 100th restaurant In 1962 they became the first resturant with indoor seating.Toledo, Ohio opens the 500th restaurant in 1963.  Ronald Mcdonald made his first appearance on Tv in 1966 with a one minute “flying hamburger” commercial on NBC and CBS networks. IN 1971 Hamburglar, Grimace, Mayor McCheese, Captain Crook and the Big Mac joined Ronald in McDonaldland. Philadelphia Eagles’ football player Fred Hill led to the first Ronald McDonald House when his child was being treated for Leukemia in 1973. in 1978 the 5,000th resturant opens in Kangawa, Japan. In 1983 McDonalds was now located in 32 countries around the world.  November 20,2002, McDonalds claimed to be World Children’s Day aka McHappy Day.  McDonalds has raised more $170 million during the McHappy day events. As of 2011 McDonald’s now operates in 119 countries.

　

What is the minium wage debate ?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/04/mcdonalds-ceo-minimum-wage-hike_n_5445539.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/21/mcdonalds-protests-idUSL1N0O718220140521

McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson recently suggested the company would support President Obama raising the federal minimum wage from 7,25 to 10.10 an hour. But such an increase in wage still wouldn’t satisfy some of it’s workers such as the ones found in Oak Brook Ill.  who swarmed their headquarters demanding $15 an hour. Thompson who made 9.5 million in 2013 while the $9 an hour worker only made $19,000. A worker would have to work two month just to make what Thompson makes in one hour ($3,200). Thompson sees the affect of poorer customers not having enough money to buy stuff and national minimum-wage spike could put more money in the pockets of low-wage workers across the country. This will indicate more money for people to spend at McDonald’s  The conversation side complains though. They think raising minimum wage would cause companies to lay off workers and jack up menu item prices which would initially hurt the economy. According to the McPoverty Calculator created by The Daily Beast the Big Mac would have to increase by 22 cents for a worker to make $15.23 an hour ( $31,671.83 a year)

Is their meat refined?
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/your_questions/our_food/burgers-and-sandwiches.html

Between the years 2004-2011 McDonald’s used Lean Finely Textured Beef also known as “pink slime” to numerous customers. This beef was treated with ammonia which gave it that pink slime look.  Today all of the beef is USDA inspected and meets or even exceeds USDA standards. It is 100% ground beef which is formed into patties and then flash frozen. Although the beef does come from cattle who are treated with added hormones to promote growth. This is a common practice for farmers.  None of their burgers are made until you order it. They grill their patties as needed through out the day, seasoned with salt and pepper, which then are placed in a warming cabinet for up to 15 minutes.

 

　Why do fast food companies not sell healthier foods ?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/03/27/why-its-not-enough-for-fast-food-companies-to-give-consumers-what-they-want/

Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for CKE Restaurants states ” We don’t make what we want to sell.” He then continues ” There’s a reason there are so many successful hamburger chains in this country and so few successful salad chains.”

 

This issue has also come up for Burger King, which recently began selling chicken fries after an extended hiatus from the offering. In response to a question about why the chain hasn’t moved to antibiotic free poultry as rival McDonald’s has done, Eric Hirschhorn, Burger King’s chief marketing officer for North America, told Bloomberg that “it’s not something that we see customers demanding.”

But it’s not as easy as blaming consumers these days for leading companies to sell bad food. A massive change is afoot in American consumers’ taste in food, and many other companies are responding—with great success. Chipotle has shown that consumers flock to food that abides by certain values, even if setting high standards for the company’s meat suppliers, for instance, disrupts service sometimes. Whole Foods and Wal-Mart are making huge profits selling people organic food.

. Campbell’s lowered the amount of sodium in its soup, and smaller organic brands like Amy’s are thriving while larger ones like Kraft are struggling (and merging with other large struggling brands like Heinz). Rather incredibly, the 25 largest food brands have lost almost 5 percent market share over the past five years.

It’s not easy for fast food chains to adjust. As McDonald’s has discovered, people don’t go to places they associate with burgers and order salads and wraps instead. They’re under pressure though, because it turns out that even if they’re trying to “give consumers what they want,” what people want is changing.

what are they doing to provide healthier food?
http://news.mcdonalds.com/press-releases/alliance-for-a-healthier-generation-and-mcdonald-s-nyse-mcd-1054519

McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) is partnering with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to increase customers’ access to fruit and vegetables and help families and children to make informed choices in keeping with balanced lifestyles

Provide customers a choice of a side salad, fruit or vegetable as a substitute for French fries in value meals. (Salad, fruit or vegetable option will vary per participating market.)

Promote and market only water, milk, and juice as the beverage in Happy Meals on menu boards and in-store and external advertising Utilize Happy Meal and other packaging innovations and designs to generate excitement for fruit, vegetable, low/reduced-fat dairy, or water options for kids Dedicate Happy Meal box or bag panels to communicate a fun nutrition or children’s well-being message Ensure 100 percent of all advertising directed to children to include a fun nutrition or children’s well-being message

“We’ve seen voluntary agreements with industry have profound impact — including our work with the beverage industry to limit the amount of calories shipped to schools. Those agreements resulted in a 90 percent reduction in total beverage calories shipped to schools between 2004 and 2010,” said President Clinton.

McDonald’s will take these actions in 20 major markets representing more than 85 percent of global sales. The markets are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China (includes Hong Kong market), France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States.

How do ads target younger audiences?
In 2012 the fast food industry spent $4.6 billion to advertise mostly unhealthy products, and children and teens remained key audiences for that advertising, according to a new report by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The report highlights a few positive developments, such as healthier sides and beverages in most restaurants’ kids’ meals, but also shows that restaurants still have a long way to go to promote only healthier fast-food options to kids.
Ads viewed by kids 6-11 declined by 10% from 2009-2012

Mcdonalds accounted for more than a third of fast food ads viewed by kids

Ads for healthier kids meals represented a fourth of the ads viewed by young children

ads on third-party websites decreased by almost half

fast food websites visited by teens increased over 90%

mcdonalds was the 2nd most popular fast food on facebook (behind starbucks)

19% of fast food advertisements were found on facebook

Mcdonalds had 73 million ads/month for just the filet-o-fish on facebook

 

 

 

still trying to figure how to put the last couple questions together in paragraph form.

 

Why do fast food companies not sell healthier foods?

Why its not enough for fast food companies to give customers what they want

What are they doing to provide healthier foods?

Alliance for a healthier generation and Mcdonald’s

 

What is the minimum wage debate?

Mcdonald’s CEO minimum wage hike

How do their ads target younger audiences?

Is their meat refined?

What’s inside the nuggets?

What’s really inside those Mcdonald’s chicken nuggets