# McDonald's? Yay or Nay



## SageRibbon (Dec 30, 2003)

I will not get fully into why I disdain Mickey D's...but I was wondering what everyone else thought.
Do you eat at McD's?
Do you allow your children, etc?


----------



## Astrid (Aug 9, 2002)

Do I eat at McDonald's? No way!! I have been MD-free for over 12 years









Do I allow my child? I will say no. However, if when he is older and earning his own money and chooses to go, there isn't much I can do. I would love it if he chose to never eat there though...


----------



## mountain mom (Nov 6, 2003)

I have never eaten at MD or Raunchy Ronnies, and I will not let my child. If she chooses to later in life I will be sad. I am trying to raise dd to ask where her food comes from, what farm, what animal. We really advocate local farmers and producers and avoid cooperate growers intirely and MD is very much cooperate. The value of the small local independant farmer is being lost due to companies such as MDs. Off my soapbox I climb.:LOL


----------



## QueeTheBean (Aug 6, 2002)

I won't eat there--it offends me on many levels.

I get upset when travelling and it is the only place to stop and eat (I-95 in CT, for example). I've taken to packing food instead.

Reading "Fast Food Nation" is an eye-opener about all the chain restaraunts. Ick.

DH still eats fast food once a week on his "boys night out", and occasionally will take the boys there.


----------



## SageRibbon (Dec 30, 2003)

I am so glad to hear all of these responses.

My newest rant (although not my first) is MD's marketing to children on PBS! Is there no safe place on TV? Even one? I thought PBS was it. *snarf*

I know when dd is old enough she will make her own choices. I am just sad that her choices will be influenced so much by advertising.


----------



## EFmom (Mar 16, 2002)

We try very hard to avoid it. I can't say that we are totally successful. Dd will occasionally get invited to a bd party that involves McDs, and I don't forbid her to forego attending. Blech. And we also will occasionally make a thru-way stop where McD's is the only or gasp, even the best, option. My kids do love it though and whine for it fairly often.


----------



## Fianna (Sep 4, 2003)

I remember in college oh-so-many years ago being told by a professor that McDonalds was partially responsible for the rain forests being depleted because they were being cut down to put in pasture to raise cows that were then sold (much more cheaply than US cattle farmers) to fast food companies. Don't know if it was/is true but if it is...double yuck!

And I think Ronald McDonald looks like something from a Steven King novel!:LOL


----------



## Wildcrafter (Mar 11, 2003)

We are fast food free. My 20 old doesn't yet know what Mickey D's is. But most kids his age around here have already had happy meals. We rarely go out to any restaurants because we always get rot gut.

Too bad there wasn't an organic cafe with a playground in this STATE! COUNTRY? WORLD? does it exist? Would be fun to once in a while have a place like that to go.


----------



## Leonor (Dec 25, 2001)

Wildcrafter,

Maybe you could start a business like that?


----------



## daylily (Dec 1, 2001)

Actually, there is an all-organic, mostly-local food restaurant in Barre, Vermont and investers are talking about how to turn it into a chain. I'm sorry I don't have a link to share, but the story was in the _New York Times Magazine_ two weeks ago.

But in answer to the OP: We avoid fast-food. Although, back in September, I drove two of my children to a museum only to discover it was closed. We'd been in the car for an hour, and desperate to provide a consolation prize, I stopped at a McD's and bought them each a small french fries (actually they don't even have a "small" fries--you have to get a medium). Both of my children felt sick to their stomachs soon after eating the fries. They're just not used to eating all that grease.


----------



## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Back when DH was working late Wednesday nights, I would occasionally (I think twice? maybe three times?) take the kids to McDonalds *after* dinner. There is one with a great indoor playground nearby. DD got an ice cream cone, DS a baby cone (free) and would play on the toys for about an hour. We have eaten there before (generally with family--- DD's and DS's cousins actually choose to go there for their birthdays, they think DD is *crazy* for her birthday choices--- Red Robin & Sweet Tomatoes) but the kids share one order of nuggets and then get a milk. Ds will eat some fries, but DD looks at the kids meal toys and says, "Those are lame"--- I'm so proud.

Fast food is convenient, but luckly we have an excellent locally owned fast food mexican restaurant where DD & DS can get rice & beans with chips or tortillas and DH & I actually enjoy the food, too!

Kay


----------



## MamaSoleil (Apr 24, 2002)

DD has had Mcd's 4 times in her 41/2 yrs. Too much in my opinion!!!


----------



## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

Well, we eat there. It was always a huge treat for me when I was kid and my kids really enjoy going there occaisionally. I do consider it junk food though and keep it to a minimum.


----------



## TingTing (Jan 12, 2004)

I haven't really eaten there since I was a kid - don't care for the taste and it always made me feel like I'd swallowed a bowling ball or something. Even if I wanted to eat there I don't think I could anymore because I eat a vegan diet now.

Aside from their use of factory "farm" cattle (contrary to what some of their advertisements might suggest, McDonald's uses the cheapest dairy cows - read: Mad Cow - available) I remember there were indeed some issues around them using cleared rainforest land for their cattle several years ago, but I don't recall the details offhand.

On a more personal note, what really put me off McDonalds (before I went veg) was working in early childhood ed. with preschoolers and seeing the effects of McDonald's aggressive child-centred marketing day after day after day. I'm not a religious woman, but to those kids Ronald McDonald - a clown created for the sole purpose of pursuading children to nag their parents into buying nutritionally bankrupt crap - was Jesus Christ, and that was, excuse my French, pretty f*cked up to me.


----------



## jannan (Oct 30, 2002)

i hate hate hate mickey d's. it is the grossest food ever. i cannot believe people would put it in their bodies. dd knows what it is but she wont' eat it. she was at my sisters once and that is what they bought her for dinner and she wouldn't eat it!
yay! she is my child!

she asked them for a garden burger!

if you want a burger why not just go in in and out?uke uke uke

that is all i will say


----------



## Rebecca (Dec 4, 2002)

Wildcrafter,

There IS an organic restaurant that is 'fast food style' with a small play area (wooden train and dollhouses) in Portsmouth, NH with more to open in the New England area before going nation wide... The owners of Stonyfield Farm Yogurt are venturing out into new territory... It's called O'Naturale's and serves good food fast (noodles, sandwiches, soups, kids meals, etc).

If you're ever down this way (where I live), I can tell you the location in downtown portsmouth (across from the parking garage in the new building that has Banana Republic)...

And I try my best to avoid McD's, though I'm not perfect... and a bit ashamed to admit it...


----------



## Annoia (Nov 16, 2003)

Yuck Yuck and Double Yuck! I actively boycott MD's, for health and other reasons. Plus I can't stand the way they ooze into other countries and suck all the culture out. Blech!


----------



## SageRibbon (Dec 30, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by UmmIlyas_
*Yuck Yuck and Double Yuck! I actively boycott MD's, for health and other reasons. Plus I can't stand the way the ooze into other countries and suck all the culture out. Blech!*
I used to live in London. They hate us for a lot of reasons (americans) but one of the main ones are the following:

McD's
KFC
Pizza Hut

Europeans had very few fat (clinically obese) people before we infultrated.

On the flip side, if there wasn't a market then they wouldn't be there. I encourage the: if you hate it, then don't eat it! The only way they can stay in business is our money.


----------



## Nikki Christina (Mar 27, 2003)

yup.. we do eat MC'd ocassionally.. maybe 1 time a month.. maybe less
my daughter is fed many Veggies & fruits.. a few MC'd fries every now & then isint going to hurt

MC' Donalds does have its good points too.. allmost every major hospital has a Ronald MC Donald House, where you can stay for $5-$10 a night & they provide food..

weve had to stay in one when our son was airlifted to The Medical University of SC.. we where there 2 1/2 weeks.. but the first week of that he was in PICU.. so without the ronald MCDonald House DH & I would have had no place to sleep, bath, or wash clothes.. we couldnt afford a hotel room

while there I also met a single mom whos son was going thru cancer treatment .. they had been there 4 months & she'd lost her job & been evicted .. they where letting her stay free









so its not all bad


----------



## MaryKate (Dec 6, 2003)

I have too say i love MC'd! I eat there way too much! I try not to eat there to much but I am a junk food addict!


----------



## darkpear (Jul 22, 2003)

I worked at McD's for a couple of years when I was in college. While I was employed there, I ate a lot of the food because it was half price for employees (yes, the franchise owners were too cheap to give us free meals - but police officers ate for free) and it was easier than packing a lunch, and frankly I was young and stupid







After a while I noticed that I felt sick to my stomach after eating it.

I also saw many flagrant food safety violations while working there, and it was just a miserable place to work in general; they treated the employees like crap because they knew there'd always be someone else to hire. The oil the fries are cooked in only got changed a couple of times a year; they would run it through a filtering machine to extend its life. The use-by dates on lettuce, buns, etc. were routinely ignored. We had numbered metal tabs to place behind the sandwiches in the warming bin, to indicate when they were no longer fresh and should be disposed of - common practice was to change the tab instead of throwing away the burgers and making fresh ones. Ditto for the timers on the meat cabinets. More than once I saw employees injured by ancient, poorly maintained equipment. Highly toxic chemicals were used to clean the grills.

So no, I don't eat there uke


----------



## BeeandOwlsMum (Jul 11, 2002)

Not unless I can't help it.

The grease that they use coat the roof of my mouth and makes me gag.

The only thing that I have bought there for quite a while was a Coke...I don't eat their food.

The last time I ate their food was when I was babysitting for a friend and he grabbed me dinner when he got dinner for his kids (2 and 5 years old). I think I ate two bites and then found veggies in his fridge.


----------



## mahdokht (Dec 2, 2002)

NAY! for health, ethical, religious and taste issues i keep myself and my family away from that poison!


----------



## mamabeard (Sep 27, 2002)

i worked there when i was 16 for 6 months and second pretty much everything in darkpear's experience. i was the fastest meat-flipper (














), so i was always scheduled on lunch. rather than hire a second person to help me, i had to move at an insanely quick pace. which is obviously very dangerous (there are either 6 or 8 grills with about 10 burgers on each that require flipping and moving into cabinets, putting new ones down immediately to replace them etc).. anyway, one time a huge gob of sizzling hot grease flew into my eye and it took over 20 mins for them to get me a cab to the hospital. (they were more concerned about the luch rush than my eye, and urged me to continue flipping.. nice..) the dr. said i would've gone blind if i'd waited much longer.

there were plenty of other horrible experiences.. they treated employees really crappily. i came in at 5 am and worked for free for an hour (didn't know that was illegal), also trained other employees and didn't recieve trainer's wages. our bosses were jerks too (the head manager, a real creep who weighed at least 350 pounds, would sit in his office stuffing his face with discarded burgers all day, and get angry at us. yup, that was his whole job apparently). the only good thing i have to say about it is that during night shift when there was only one manager on duty, all of us kids would have a blast and fool around all night..

well, this is turning into an essay.







anyway, mcdonald's is just gross, and i can't stand that my 4 year old son is fascinated by it thanks to their lovely new advertisement campaign.


----------



## spatulagirl (Feb 21, 2002)

Growing up McDonald's was a treat for us. We used to eat there all the time. Then I became veggie and stopped. Once I read "Fast Food Nation" I pretty much stopped going to all fast food restaurants/establishments. I do eat Subway every now and then but other than that we live McD-Free.


----------



## Pepper (Jan 25, 2004)

McD's is disgusting! Not only the food but their practices and all that they stand for.

:LOL So, I guess my vote is NAY.


----------



## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Quote:

Once I read "Fast Food Nation" I pretty much stopped going to all fast food restaurants/establishments.
And if that isn't enough, you can read "Nickel & Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America"!

Kay


----------



## Achelois72 (Aug 16, 2003)

My DH just AIMed me this link; he says he's not eating at McDonald's after this:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainm...ection=general

I also worked at McDonalds in high school and right after --for 5 years, 4 of those as a "swing" manager (read: a manager who does all the work and gets lousy hourly wages, no benefits and no set schedule). While the store I worked in was better at following regulations (the grease was changed weekly! heh.) it was still a terrible place to work where employees were just disposable. And I gained SO much weight and felt so sick.

It's disgusting, but some people eat at McD's every single day--and their children eat a happy meal every single day and babies as young as mine (7 months) eat french fries. Sigh.









Susan


----------



## Deirdre (Dec 1, 2001)

In Calif. we are lucky to have In and Out Burger (one of the few fast few chains actually given positive reviews in Fast Food Nation - all fresh food, managers make $80,000 a year, privately owned, employees start at 9$ an hour) so if I really want a burger we go there, usually when we are on the road travelling.

All I can say about McDonald's is YUCK!

~Deirdre


----------



## Wildcrafter (Mar 11, 2003)

Quote "There IS an organic restaurant that is 'fast food style' with a small play area (wooden train and dollhouses) in Portsmouth, NH"

That is AWESOME and I will have to watch for more restaurants in New England. Yeah I'm in New England!! Blue Hill would be a prime spot for one, or Portland. Thanks for letting me know.

Hey, I worked at Mickey D's for 3 years in high school
(ok, 20 years ago). It was a blast, I made friends I have kept all this time. We were treated with respect and rewarded well. It was kept very clean and organized. It never occured to me then about the nutrition - too busy having fun.

Wouldn't touch the stuff now! Nor anyone in my family.

Mary


----------



## Cloverlove (Jan 2, 2003)

Nay.

But... once when we were on the road and it was somewhat of an emergency situation we decided to stop at Burger King (they have veggie burgers). We were pulling in and ds, who was 4 at the time, protested!!! He said, "don't they cut down trees and kill animals?" Dh and I didn't know whether to be horrified or hysterical.







:


----------



## spatulagirl (Feb 21, 2002)

Quote:

And if that isn't enough, you can read "Nickel & Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America"!
Just finished reading it. Made me never want to stay in a hotel, eat at any restaurant, shop at any department store ever again. It's a good read.


----------



## Leonor (Dec 25, 2001)

I've read the article that Susan linked.

So the man forces himself to eat like this and then he blames McDonalds? I find this very odd, not to mention disgusting. Maybe he wants a writing in the Big Mac wrapper "fat kills?"









Many people that go into veganism complain of falling hair. Also I've heard of children with severe nutricion problems.

Maybe all extreme diets are wrong? Too much or too little can kill?

I think that in a world children are forced to eat food they don't like, to sit through meals, to empty their plates, it is only predictable the outcome is people that don't know how to eat.


----------



## Leonor (Dec 25, 2001)

Quote:

_Originally posted by darkpear_
*The use-by dates on lettuce, buns, etc. were routinely ignored. We had numbered metal tabs to place behind the sandwiches in the warming bin, to indicate when they were no longer fresh and should be disposed of - common practice was to change the tab instead of throwing away the burgers and making fresh ones.*
That depends on the managers. They take crap from their big bosses if too much food is wasted. All is counted. So they do that so they don't waste as much food.

It's shocking to see the food that goes to waste. I eat leftovers at home that are more past the date than 10 minutes. Bins full of food are thrown away.

I think that's what shocks me more about ALL restaurants. Supermarkets also waste huge amounts of food. It's the developed world way.


----------



## darkpear (Jul 22, 2003)

Yeah, I know why they did it, but it's still gross.

Also at the McD's I worked at, the 'waste' burgers were not actually thrown out, but were collected in a box and given to the homeless. So that practice resulted in less food (gross disgusting food, yes, but still food) for homeless folks.


----------



## shantimama (Mar 11, 2002)

I have never liked McDonalds, I read Fast Food Nation, etc. - but I wanted my kids to reject it in their own, not be kept away from it by me. We used to live next door to a family that ate their often, so my little ones were always hearing of the wonders of the place.







: They were asking to go, knowing that their Papa and I didn't like it, so I said "Sure we can go. What do you think it will be like?" and they told me about the yummy food and drinks, the great toys, all of the fun stuff to play on. It sounded like heaven to them. We saw a commercial at a friend's house and they got even more excited. I encouraged them along, saying"Look how much fun those kids are having! Don't they look like they are eating the yummiest meal ever?"

It was quite exciting when we went. They each got to order whatever they wanted - rootbeer, milkshakes, fries, burgers, chicken nuggets, cookies. They couldn't believe that their Mama who makes everything at home and criticizes lots of advertised stuff was letting them come to this amazing place and have all this great stuff









Then we started eating.

"Mama this isn't chicken, it's gross. It feels like plastic in my mouth."

"Mama, my toy broke already!"

"Oooooo - these hamburgers don't taste like the ones you make." (We but the little meat we eat from an organic farmer.)

"Hey! Somebody must have put water in my rootbeer!"

"Cool - the milkshake looks like shampoo!"

"These cookies are yucky. Can we go home and make some instead?"

Only the fries were nibbled on - and then I told them a bit of what I had learned from Fast Food Nation about how the land and farmer's are treated and they got mad and refused to eat any more.









So we gave up on the food and toys and moved on to the "games" that were set up. They quickly discovered that they were all flash and no fun - not much they could actually do (thank goodness we don't have a playland in our town!) They were little - 3, 4 and 6 so "doing" matters to them.

When we left, everyone agreed that we didn't like the place and didn't want to go back. I am keeping my copy of FFN around for them to find when they are teenagers. When they were babies and toddlers I kept them away from all of that, but I found that exposing it to them when they are at McD's prime marketing age worked wonders.


----------



## SageRibbon (Dec 30, 2003)

That is exactly the kind of attitude I think mothers should take with their children. We should be "in the world but not of it". We train them up and equip them with the knowledge they need to make decisions for themselves.

Brava!


----------



## dallaschildren (Jun 14, 2003)

No way. What they sell should not even be classified as food.


----------



## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

> "Cool - the milkshake looks like shampoo!"[/lol]
> 
> :LOL
> 
> Maybe you can get McDonalds to use your kids in an ad!


----------



## Leonor (Dec 25, 2001)

Shantimama,

Wow, you must be a great cook! I'm afraid I won't have that weapon to fight McDonalds.







Care to share some recipes, please?

You must have a very good relationship with your kids, too, you sound like a very active family. What kind of games you play together?


----------



## Kinipela79 (Apr 8, 2003)

When my ds was 4, he was invited to go to McDonald's for a play group thing and when I told him where we were going he got SO EXCITED and said "We're really going to Old McDonalds's farm??" Poor kid. He wouldn't eat anything. We never eat fast food. We were going to Dairy Queen for icecream but I am not sure it really even IS ice cream! :LOL So now we do go to Baskin Robbins for a special treat. Ds heard the neighbor girl talking about McDonald's and said "Eeeew they make their food out of cow lips and chicken feet." Ha ha.


----------



## shantimama (Mar 11, 2002)

Leonor,
I think I may have been just lucky to get that response from my kids, I don't know. I do like to cook and make things taste yummy. We play lots of games, lots of imaginative play in our house, dance a lot, we homeschool so they aren't as exposed as they might be to the popular norms and advertising. My kids favourite game right now is Cranium Cadoo - do you know it? Really active, playful, thoughtful. I guess they just don't like too many games where there is only one way to play or it is more flash than substance like what they found at McD's. Later they may go through a phase of loving everything we don't partake in now - but I trust that they will come back to what is good someday. My kids help me cook sometimes, getting stuff out of the garden, tasting and sniffing stuff before it goes into the bowl or pot, so bland and stale aren't too familiar to them. Even if they sometimes stick with scrambled eggs or pita and hummus for supper there is often curry or roasted vegetables or a spicy soup at the table so they are exposed to the smells even if they aren't ready to eat some of these things yet. I say the best way to "arm" my kids against the fast food industry is to raise them eating delicious fresh food - no amout of salt, sugar or food colouring can make up for that. All that said, we have stopped at Tim Horton's for more toasted bagels than I care to admit when we are running around town doing errands! It irks me how I could buy a half dozen bagels at the grocery store for the price of one at the drive through - sometimes I just take the easy way. Still, I don't feel good about taking the easy (and costly) way to feed my family when so many do without enough food, let alone nutritious food. What a crazy world we live in.


----------



## DaryLLL (Aug 12, 2002)

Hey, I ate at an O'Natural's in Littleton Mass. Our LLL set up a benefit there. 10% of all the evening's proceeds went to our group! I guess they do this for non-profits all the time.

We took over the place. The toddlers loved the train table and dollhouse. There were a couple comfy couches too (good for nursing). All the furniture was made of recycled wood materials.

It was cafeteria style. More expensive than McD's, but if I saw one of those on the highway and a McD's and a Burger King next door, I'd choose O'Naturals. The pasta and salads were good. Not great.


----------



## Jeffiner (Jun 7, 2003)

I haven't eaten there for years. No, wait, I lie - I ate there once in 2002, driving from Toronto to Montreal, because we stopped at a service area for gas and decided to eat while we were there, and that's what there was. This was when they started offering healthier choices, so I had a chicken breast sandwich. I think it had 4 g of fat so I figured that it was OK.

But ever since I've started earning my own money and supporting myself, I've decided I am not going to spend my hard-earned dosh on crap.

I used to eat there a lot. It was, as a few posters have mentioned here, a treat when I was a kid. And when I was older, it was practically the only place I'd eat out - I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's true. I used to be super-resistant to trying new food - I was a very finicky eater, and I knew that as long as there was a McD's, I'd be OK because I knew I liked their food.

I remember in first year university, I used to eat there at least once a week - before my Modern Canadian Poetry class usually, although I remember going after my Feminist Literary Criticism class and scarfing down a Big Mac and fries while poring over The Wide Sargasso Sea. Man, I was so out of touch! I was born and raised and living in Montreal - one of the "foodiest" Canadian cities - and I was eating at McDonald's. Cripes.

Worse - on one family vacation, the summer I graduated from high school, we drove across the US. A 5-day car trip. And we ate at McD's every day. Sometimes twice a day. I can't believe it now. It makes me want to uke when I think about it.

Anyway, I grew up, moved to Toronto, got a job, and that's when my real education started. Now I love to eat and I try to eat well. My DBF is a super cook, so it helps! I've tried many new things and now when I eat out, I go to locally-owned places - Indian, Lebanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Ethiopian etc etc etc.

When I have kids, I plan to keep them McD's-free as long as possible. I hope I can feed them so well that they'll just naturally turn their noses up at the processed crap that passes for food at many of the chains.


----------



## pamamidwife (May 7, 2003)

Since the late Joan Kroc, the widow of McDonald's founder Ray Krock has donated $200 million dollars to NPR, I assume that we might see more bending of PBS.....

(although she was an amazing woman that donated much of her money to world-peace efforts and someone told me that she was a vegetarian later in life...not sure if that last part is true...)


----------



## OceanMomma (Nov 28, 2001)

I'm told McDs tastes the same the world over. I've never eaten there. I've been a vege since I had my own money. Dh used to love the stuff. One day he brought too much & left a burger. Instead of throwing it out, I kept it. I left it on the top of the fridge, in Auckland in the summer to see what happened. 18 months later I threw it away. In that time, it had grown absolutely no mould anywhere. It had gotten hard but I reckon if I'd soaked it in water & stuck it in a microwave it would have been good as new!!! Needless to say, dh hasn't eaten there since. We have ongoing battles about KFC but that is another story altogether.

As to the kids. THe in laws used to take dd#1 there. She is now 18 & has been vege all her life. They used to make a big deal about it being a treat & get her the fries. I decided to take the sensible ground & didn't make a big deal of it. She no longer eats there. I hope dds2 &3 never ever want to go there.


----------



## mamabeard (Sep 27, 2002)

ever since my post on this thread i have been feeling kind of bad, and hoping i didn't come across too insensitively when i mentioned that our manager weighed over 350 lbs. i really hope i did not offend anyone. i probably should not have included that. in doing so, i was trying to illustrate how very unhealthy not only the food is, but also (in some cases.. trying not to step on toes!) the mindsets of some folks that are drawn to perpetuate these kinds of places. he was obese because all he seemed to do all day was stuff his face full of the stuff.

anyway.. i am truely sorry if i offended anyone.


----------



## AnnMarie (May 21, 2002)

Once in a great while we will go there. The kids usually get a grilled cheese happy meal, and I usually get a salad. We don't eat out anywhere very often at all.


----------



## burritomama (Aug 26, 2002)

After all the effort I put into getting pregnant (it wasn't easy), sustaining the pregnancy and producing a healthy kid, the idea of putting anything from McDonald's (or the like) in him, well, no way.

Truly healthy diet choices are up there with breastfeeding, gentle discipline, family bed, slinging, etc.

Me, last time I ate at McDonald's I was in high school and suffice to say that I've already attended my 20th high school reunion.

My 2 cents.


----------



## mamaroni (Sep 12, 2003)

I don't eat fast food, but dh likes it and occasionally gets it for lunch. Dd has probalby been to McD's 2 or 3 times in her life, ds maybe once. We stopped last summer on a long car ride. they don't eat much, though. I know they don't really like it. I got one of the fruit and yogurt parfaits, and a salad, and it wasn't awful. the kids helped eat the fruit, so that was good. Niether of them will touch soda, either. yeah!!


----------



## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Quote:

Since the late Joan Kroc, the widow of McDonald's founder Ray Krock has donated $200 million dollars to NPR, I assume that we might see more bending of PBS.....
uke I already hate how commercialized PBS has become!


----------



## OakFaerie (Jan 23, 2004)

Hey There,

i must say, i ate there once in a while as a kid and as a young adult. Since changing my life and becomming Veg. i have learned so much about the food and cleanliness issues. Not to mention shelf life/storage and handling issues. i stay away.

Sadly now McD's, BK and others are trying to lure us all back in by offering some borderline "Health/Veg" foods. It makes me so mad. Cause then the uninformed Veg/ health conscious get caught up in the cycle again. i don't even want to give 'em my money.


----------



## burritomama (Aug 26, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by OakFaerie_
*i don't even want to give 'em my money.*
another good point!

IF I fork over my $$, I'd much rather support a differnt kind of business altogether.


----------



## napless (Mar 20, 2003)

I loved McDs as a child. I stopped eating there as an adult for lots of reasons. A couple of years ago I had a fit of nostalgia and stopped in for a Filet O' Fish (my favorite!). Yuck!! Yuck!! Yuck!! I guess that once you start eating real/healthy food, your body won't stand for anything else! Never again!


----------



## NotQuiteJuneCleaver (Mar 23, 2003)

Some really great responses. O'Naturale's will never make this far South! Wouldn't have enough customers!

We don't eat out anywhere. We used to go places like OutBack, Olive Garden etc but were always disappointed. The kids would go "Mom, this doesn't taste like your..." And with My husband, myself and six kids it costs too much for us not to be just taken aback with the food.

So now if we are going to be gone during meal time we take something. Of course everyone wants something different so everyone has their on little insulated bag. And with only three left at home it is a little easier. Although--when all six were at home all three of the older ones had a
"partner" that they helped dress, gather trip paraphernalia, keep up with... etc. and that took a tremendous load off me...and kinda spoiled me actually.

Where we live our choices are Mickey D's BK, PHut and that is IT!!! Seriously. So we have no place to eat out if we wanted to unless we drive at least 30 miles.


----------



## OakFaerie (Jan 23, 2004)

*TheSoapMaven* :
i totally git ya on the only a few choices when going out deal. We live in a community where there is a local "Greasy Spoon" a doughnut shop, a mexican place that uses LARD in everything it seems, a pizza place, J in the B, and Mc D's. Yuck! since my daughter and i eat no fast food like you said we bring our food when ever we are out here in town. getting something Actually fresh takes a 30-40min drive also. i love it when i have to go shopping at Whole foods, i know that we'll be able to choose from a great salad bar and other prepared foods as well as being able to choose anything from the shelves that suites our dietary needs.
My husband is really good about finding new places to try where they are Veg friendly and even might have organic ingredients. He's not Veg and not necessarily into "Health food" so we work it out. He is supportive of the choices i've made for the kids and myself tho. Thank God!


----------



## NotQuiteJuneCleaver (Mar 23, 2003)

Well...just rub in in!!! Whole Foods!!!!









My oldest son had to go to Austin on business once and he called me to say "Guess where I am Mom!" I thought...jail, brothel, bar...nope WHOLE FOODS!!! He called just to make me drool!!! If i drive 30 miles I can shop at WalMart Super Center or Brookshires. If I drive seventy miles you can add Sam's Club to that and Kroger...


----------



## OakFaerie (Jan 23, 2004)

TheSoapMaven....

i feel for You.... Yah, it feels like a long drive for us, it's an hour to Whole Foods.... We are getting one opened up in about a month which will be about 35 mins away. YAY~~~~
Maybe You should writeWhole Foods, Wild Oats or another large Natural foods chain and see if You can get something closer to You?
Best Wishes.....


----------



## NotQuiteJuneCleaver (Mar 23, 2003)

yep...its a bummer but it really been good for us...we grow so much more of what we eat now and I KNOW what is and isn't on it when it is picked. In fact dh just went out to the garden to pick salad for supper tonight. That is very convenient.

I do order from our co-op - they have plenty of organic items...it is just produce I wish I could get hold of - especially fruit. There is a couple of small health food stores 70 miles north of here. Some fresh stuff - just not Wholefoods.

I really don't know of 10 other families that would drive to shop at these stores. People around here seem to be more into how fast is it and how cheap is it. Of course I don't know EVERYONE...but it does seem to be a novelty to most moms I meet that food is such an issue with us.


----------



## dfoy (Nov 20, 2001)

My 2 1/2 year old has never had McDs or any other fast food (unless you consider a pizza from a REAL neighborhood Italian restaurant or carry out chinese "fast food"). We do, however, eat at a place called Fuddruckers, which serves burgers & such because it's family friendly. But my dd & I always share a Garden Burger.

What disgusts me most is that even though she has never seen the inside of McD's she knows what it is, and thinks it "be fun". The relentless marketing to children is criminal.


----------



## NotQuiteJuneCleaver (Mar 23, 2003)

I know, I know...like the crap the put at the checkouts ---even in the "good" grocery stores...or our semi-local healthfood stores...stuff kids will ask for - even if it is "organic" candy, I have to say no.


----------



## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

> I know, I know...like the crap the put at the checkouts ---even in the "good" grocery stores...or our semi-local healthfood stores...stuff kids will ask for - even if it is "organic" candy, I have to say no.[/qoute]
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## NotQuiteJuneCleaver (Mar 23, 2003)

oooweeee yikes! I have made my own yogurt for ---whew...25 years??? I don't do it often anymore because my last three are just not a fan of any dairy type things...even alternatives...like soy milk, almond milk, rice milk. They think if you can't see thru it you shouldn't drink it!!!


----------



## Kinipela79 (Apr 8, 2003)

Quote:

What disgusts me most is that even though she has never seen the inside of McD's she knows what it is, and thinks it "be fun". The relentless marketing to children is criminal.
no doubt!


----------



## Trini girl (Feb 3, 2004)

i don't eat McD's, i did a few times but i don't ne more cuz it's crap. i'm from trinidad so when i was growing up there was no mcD's in our country, we ate mostly fruits and veggies. there was a mcD's in trinidad as of last year i think but they recently had to close it down because no one bought the crap! i was so glad. there's KFC and Pizza Hut there but it's a lot better than here. plus it's too damn expensive for anyone to be able to afford it on a regular basis. as for shopping, we have a farmer's market here that has food from all over the world...so yay for me! we shop at the farmers market for fruits, veggies, meat and things that we can't compromise on. it's expensive. we go to the regular supermarket for other things and sam's for bulk stuff like pampers and toilet tissue and such....for the ones who are looking for yogurt for your kids, i give my daughter yo baby, idon't have it in my fridge right now since my daughter eats it up! but it's organic and good...i eat it too.


----------



## Alvenchrst (Feb 3, 2003)

I eat there on occasion. I at least try to have a slad when I go. I't hard b/c dh loves food that's bad for you and I hate it. We just try to compromise.


----------



## Len (Nov 19, 2001)

: no,no,no
We never eat there. Since DS was able to sit up, I've been educating him about M'D.... every time we drove by one of the golden arches I told him nasty things about them.... and everytime we walk by one, we remark how bad it stinks! Now he is 4.5 and he's never set a foot there, and he tells everyone about how yucky it is (which is not always the most polite thing to say!) but I strongly believe I'm fighting a war against them (and some others) because they are capable to use whatever weapons to influence my child, I will use mine to influence him AGAINST them... hopefully when he's big enough to make his own eating decisions he will not want to go there...


----------



## *Erin* (Mar 18, 2002)

Quote:

My newest rant (although not my first) is MD's marketing to children on PBS! Is there no safe place on TV? Even one? I thought PBS was it. *snarf*
oh this burns me too. they say its not marketing because they dont show the actual product, but duh, you show a child the golden arches right after their favorite show, they're gonna associate it with that and want it. its sad that PBS needs the money that bad. like the situation with public schools allowing themselves to be "sponsered" by coke and pepsi and other crap brands.

i didnt read the whole thread so i dont know if this got mentioned but this movie has got me turned off of mcnasty's

its not tasty, their politics suck, i hate em, i dont eat there much. my dd's had a fry or two, but thats it. i took her to play in the enclosed playground the other week, and there was a little baby, prob. about 10 months old eating a CHEESEBURGER AND FRIES there. i couldve cried. ugh.

i dont think i'll make it a "forbidden fruit", but i won't encourage mcdonalds trips either.


----------



## cyberpriya (Jan 9, 2004)

Here my 2$ on the subject (tried to find the cents mark but could not on my keyboard--highly doubtful my opinion actually worth 2 bucks--but here goes).....Read Fast Food Nation which impressed me greatly on the evils and of course grossness of fast food industry. Have slowly weaned myself from mcfood since then. 3 yo dd has never been inside a mcD but.....alas! recognizes the #%$ golden arches from ,yes, that's right. PBS!!!! Dang! I'll have to look in activism board to see if anything can be done about that. I am starting to teach her what I know about proper nutrition. I used to hear other parents talk to their small children about their food choices, like how whole grains are better and sugar hurts their bodies and thought it rather extreme. But guess what --the fast food machine has already infiltrated my little girls world and the only tv she ever watches is Sesame street. I'm going to "market" healthy food choices to her, while she still believes I actually know a thingor 2.....Well, this turned into a rant. Didn't mean it to.
Patti


----------



## majazama (Aug 2, 2003)

I am proud to say that i haven't eaten any-thing at McD's for 6 years. The last time was 1 fry that my cousin gave me from hers.


----------



## CaliMommie (Feb 11, 2004)

Quote:

_Originally posted by Pepper_
*McD's is disgusting! Not only their food but their practices and all that they stand for.

*
I was reading through this thread & had to speak up. Please don't forget about the Ronald McDonald Houses and all that they do for children with life-threatening illnesses. My son is seriously ill, and we stayed at the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford for a total of 2 weeks. It was affordable, close to the hospital & the staff was awesome. Much of their funding comes from McDonalds. So not *all* of tMcDonald's practices & what they stand for are bad. That said, we rarely eat at McDonalds- we just donate $$ directly to the House.

AmiBeth


----------



## Ms.Doula (Apr 3, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by lilyka_
*Well, we eat there. It was always a huge treat for me when I was kid and my kids really enjoy going there occaisionally. I do consider it junk food though and keep it to a minimum.*
Thats us too. I try to limit it. And am for the most part successfull. When we are running around though & there is a couple dollars, Sorry. They gotta eat somethin.... yanno? :LOL

OTHERWIZE. here at home we eat alot of organic & whole foods. (so it evens out huh?)







:LOL


----------



## CaliMommie (Feb 11, 2004)

Quote:

_Originally posted by Stonehenge_
*But I feel there's more negatives about McD's than positives.

Stonehenge =]*
I agree, I just wanted to point out that not *all* that McD's represents is bad









AmiBeth


----------



## GoodWillHunter (Mar 14, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by EFmom_
*We try very hard to avoid it. I can't say that we are totally successful. Dd will occasionally get invited to a bd party that involves McDs, and I don't forbid her to forego attending. Blech. And we also will occasionally make a thru-way stop where McD's is the only or gasp, even the best, option. My kids do love it though and whine for it fairly often.*
ditto here.

Seldom, but it does occur. I just can't stand the thought of it. Makes my pregnant belly do flip flops.


----------

