Sotw #1
Rules:
Theme: Make A Poster Of A WWE Brand
Size: Any, just don't go nuts.
From 18th March to 25th March
Rules:
Theme: Make A Poster Of A WWE Brand
Size: Any, just don't go nuts.
From 18th March to 25th March
McDonald's: Ronald isn't going anywhere
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The national debate on corporate responsibility played out at McDonald's annual meeting Thursday, when votes on shareholder proposals became a referendum on the pursuit of profits versus the question of what constitutes public good.
Critics hammered McDonald's executives not only for offering unhealthful menu items but also for marketing fast food to kids with its Ronald McDonald character and Happy Meal toys, all while the company boasts of eight straight years of sales growth despite a deep economic recession.
McDonald's response was powerful, too, tapping into the fundamental notion of American freedom.
"This is all really about choice," McDonald's Corp. CEO Jim Skinner said at the meeting. He said that although shareholders have the right to communicate concerns, the company should also have the right to advertise its menu offerings. "It's about protecting people's rights in this democratic society that we live in."
As for Ronald McDonald?
"Ronald McDonald is an ambassador to McDonald's, and he is an ambassador for good," Skinner said. "Ronald McDonald isn't going anywhere."
Critics' main beef with McDonald's is its marketing to children, thus side-stepping the thorny retort, "If you don't like McDonald's, don't eat there." Some 17 percent of children and adolescents are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Children are susceptible to the advertising that McDonald's spends hundreds of millions of dollars on each year, said Juliana Shulman, national campaign organizer for Corporate Accountability International.
"For adults, that's one thing, but children aren't just little adults. Their brains are just forming," Shulman said. "McDonald's marketing is really designed to get around parents and get to kids directly. For nearly 50 years, McDonald's has been working to hook kids on unhealthy foods. … Parents are exercising parental responsibility. That alone won't stop the problem."
That marketing, including the Ronald McDonald mascot, is why Dr. Steven Rothschild, director of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, signed an open letter published in several newspaper advertisements this week.
"You don't put a clown in front of an adult face because it's a happy association. It's aimed at children," Rothschild said. "Parents do have to say no to their children. This is not the nanny state issue. This is one of creating conditions that make it a fair fight. So parents can make good choices, so they have McDonald's working with them, not against them."
Critics say they target McDonald's and its annual meetings and not those of, say, Wendy's or Taco Bell's parent corporations because McDonald's is the industry leader, and others will follow suit.
McDonald's executives say the company is working to be part of the solution. The company already allows parents to request milk or juice instead of soda in Happy Meals and offers sliced apples with caramel sauce and chicken nuggets instead of french fries and hamburgers.
"We now provide more choice and variety than anyone else in the industry," a spokeswoman said. "Fruit and walnut oatmeal is the latest example, and that complements our premium salads, apple dippers and 1 percent low-fat milk."
However, critics call such offerings "gimmicks" and "nutri-washing" of its menu.
"This year, the corporation debuted oatmeal with the nutritional value of a Snicker's bar, strawberry lemonade that has more sugar than Coca-Cola, and smoothies that rival a medium fries for calories, — focusing its promotions for such items on their supposed healthfulness," says Corporate Accountability International.
At the meeting on Thursday, a proposal from the Sisters of St. Francis, with assistance from Corporate Accountability International, asked the company to assess its impact on the childhood obesity epidemic and disclose its investments to lobby against governmental regulation.
McDonald's investors rejected the proposal, but it received 6 percent of the vote, which proponents said exceeded their expectations.
However, McDonald's made an announcement Thursday along the lines of addressing corporate responsibility.
The company said that each month it will purchase 1 million cage-free eggs and 1 million eggs raised by enriched-housing methods that allows hens more freedom of movement. McDonald's President Don Thompson noted that only 5 percent of the eggs available in the U.S. are cage-free, and there are not enough cage-free eggs to fulfill McDonald's needs. A company representative said the egg buying, which begins this summer, is part of a three-year test. The purchasing will start mid-2011 and be 24 million for the full 2012.
Another shareholder proposal, asking McDonald's to phase out its use of polystyrene coffee cups, was rejected but received a relatively large 26 percent of the vote.
McDonald's shares have gained nearly 12 percent in the last four months and rallied to a record high of $82.63 Thursday before closing at $82.51
Critics hammered McDonald's executives not only for offering unhealthful menu items but also for marketing fast food to kids with its Ronald McDonald character and Happy Meal toys, all while the company boasts of eight straight years of sales growth despite a deep economic recession.
McDonald's response was powerful, too, tapping into the fundamental notion of American freedom.
"This is all really about choice," McDonald's Corp. CEO Jim Skinner said at the meeting. He said that although shareholders have the right to communicate concerns, the company should also have the right to advertise its menu offerings. "It's about protecting people's rights in this democratic society that we live in."
As for Ronald McDonald?
"Ronald McDonald is an ambassador to McDonald's, and he is an ambassador for good," Skinner said. "Ronald McDonald isn't going anywhere."
Critics' main beef with McDonald's is its marketing to children, thus side-stepping the thorny retort, "If you don't like McDonald's, don't eat there." Some 17 percent of children and adolescents are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Children are susceptible to the advertising that McDonald's spends hundreds of millions of dollars on each year, said Juliana Shulman, national campaign organizer for Corporate Accountability International.
"For adults, that's one thing, but children aren't just little adults. Their brains are just forming," Shulman said. "McDonald's marketing is really designed to get around parents and get to kids directly. For nearly 50 years, McDonald's has been working to hook kids on unhealthy foods. … Parents are exercising parental responsibility. That alone won't stop the problem."
That marketing, including the Ronald McDonald mascot, is why Dr. Steven Rothschild, director of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, signed an open letter published in several newspaper advertisements this week.
"You don't put a clown in front of an adult face because it's a happy association. It's aimed at children," Rothschild said. "Parents do have to say no to their children. This is not the nanny state issue. This is one of creating conditions that make it a fair fight. So parents can make good choices, so they have McDonald's working with them, not against them."
Critics say they target McDonald's and its annual meetings and not those of, say, Wendy's or Taco Bell's parent corporations because McDonald's is the industry leader, and others will follow suit.
McDonald's executives say the company is working to be part of the solution. The company already allows parents to request milk or juice instead of soda in Happy Meals and offers sliced apples with caramel sauce and chicken nuggets instead of french fries and hamburgers.
"We now provide more choice and variety than anyone else in the industry," a spokeswoman said. "Fruit and walnut oatmeal is the latest example, and that complements our premium salads, apple dippers and 1 percent low-fat milk."
However, critics call such offerings "gimmicks" and "nutri-washing" of its menu.
"This year, the corporation debuted oatmeal with the nutritional value of a Snicker's bar, strawberry lemonade that has more sugar than Coca-Cola, and smoothies that rival a medium fries for calories, — focusing its promotions for such items on their supposed healthfulness," says Corporate Accountability International.
At the meeting on Thursday, a proposal from the Sisters of St. Francis, with assistance from Corporate Accountability International, asked the company to assess its impact on the childhood obesity epidemic and disclose its investments to lobby against governmental regulation.
McDonald's investors rejected the proposal, but it received 6 percent of the vote, which proponents said exceeded their expectations.
However, McDonald's made an announcement Thursday along the lines of addressing corporate responsibility.
The company said that each month it will purchase 1 million cage-free eggs and 1 million eggs raised by enriched-housing methods that allows hens more freedom of movement. McDonald's President Don Thompson noted that only 5 percent of the eggs available in the U.S. are cage-free, and there are not enough cage-free eggs to fulfill McDonald's needs. A company representative said the egg buying, which begins this summer, is part of a three-year test. The purchasing will start mid-2011 and be 24 million for the full 2012.
Another shareholder proposal, asking McDonald's to phase out its use of polystyrene coffee cups, was rejected but received a relatively large 26 percent of the vote.
McDonald's shares have gained nearly 12 percent in the last four months and rallied to a record high of $82.63 Thursday before closing at $82.51
McDonald's upgrades — cashiers out, computers in
7,000 European restaurants to use touch screens instead of people — and no cash
McDonald's restaurants in Europe will soon be swapping the chain's legendary "service with a smile" with "service with a beep." European McDonald's restaurants are preparing to replace cashiers with touch screen computers at terminals where customers will be able to order up their hamburgers and fries and pay with credit cards.
About 7,000 of the fast food franchise's locations in the United Kingdom will be fitted with the touch screen technology, which aims to make the McDonald's experience more convenient and accommodating.
The touch screen method of ordering will improve efficiency and make the average transaction three to four seconds faster for each customer, Steve Easterbrook, president of the European branch of McDonald's, told the Financial Times.
Easterbrook didn't provide a date for when the touch screens, which were inspired by a trip to Japan, will be introduced to UK McDonald's restaurants.
The new terminals also will phase out cash as an accepted payment method, as the machines will only take credit and debit cards. No word yet on whether McDonald's in the United States will be next in line to replace cashiers with computers, but the addition doesn't seem to be part of the ongoing $1 billion makeover of the company's U.S. restaurants.
7,000 European restaurants to use touch screens instead of people — and no cash
McDonald's restaurants in Europe will soon be swapping the chain's legendary "service with a smile" with "service with a beep." European McDonald's restaurants are preparing to replace cashiers with touch screen computers at terminals where customers will be able to order up their hamburgers and fries and pay with credit cards.
About 7,000 of the fast food franchise's locations in the United Kingdom will be fitted with the touch screen technology, which aims to make the McDonald's experience more convenient and accommodating.
The touch screen method of ordering will improve efficiency and make the average transaction three to four seconds faster for each customer, Steve Easterbrook, president of the European branch of McDonald's, told the Financial Times.
Easterbrook didn't provide a date for when the touch screens, which were inspired by a trip to Japan, will be introduced to UK McDonald's restaurants.
The new terminals also will phase out cash as an accepted payment method, as the machines will only take credit and debit cards. No word yet on whether McDonald's in the United States will be next in line to replace cashiers with computers, but the addition doesn't seem to be part of the ongoing $1 billion makeover of the company's U.S. restaurants.
Man eats 25,000th Big Mac, 39 years after his 1st
FOND DU LAC, Wis. — A retired prison guard ate his 25,000th Big Mac on Tuesday, 39 years to the day after eating his first ... nine.
Don Gorske was honored after reaching the meaty milestone during a ceremony at a McDonald's in his hometown of Fond du Lac. Surely McDonald's most loyal customer, Guinness World Records recognized Gorske's feat three years and 2,000 Big Macs ago, and the 57-year-old says he has no desire to stop.
"I plan on eating Big Macs until I die," he said. "I have no intentions of changing. It's still my favorite food. Nothing has changed in 39 years. I look forward to it every day."
Story: Ronald McDonald is facing a midlife crisis
The sign beneath the golden arches Tuesday read "Congrats Don Gorske 25000 Big Macs."
Before he ate No. 25,000, he showed dozens of onlookers many of the different styles of cartons he has collected over the years and other Big Mac-related stories.
Before biting into the sandwich, he said, "It's been seven years since 20,000. Same thing goes this year folks. You can't have the carton and it probably still takes 16 bites for me to finish a Big Mac."
The crowd erupted into applause.
Gorske, who appeared in the 2004 documentary "Super Size Me," which examined the fast food industry, looks nothing like one might expect of a fast food junkie. He's trim and walks regularly for exercise, and he attributes his build to being "hyperactive." He said he was recently given a clean bill of health and that his cholesterol is low.
Lifelong obsession
Gorske's obsession with the burger — two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun, for those not familiar with the once-ubiquitous ads — started May 17, 1972, when he bought three Big Macs to celebrate the purchase of a new car. He was hooked, and went back to McDonald's twice more that day, eating nine before they closed.
He's only gone eight days since without a Big Mac, and most days he eats two. Among the reasons he skipped a day was to grant his mother a dying wish. His last Big Mac-less day was Thanksgiving 2000, when he forgot to stock up and the store was closed for the holiday.
Gorske said he loves numbers and counting things and was inspired to start counting his burgers because McDonald's noted how many hamburgers were served on their sign.
He said he is probably obsessive compulsive and that he likes repetition and doesn't like change. He said he's kept many of the Big Mac boxes and receipts over the years, and has noted his purchases in calendars he's kept.
McDonald's says there are 540 calories in a Big Mac, which is more than a quarter of the calories a person on a 2,000-calorie diet would consume. The burger also contains 29 grams of fat and 1,040 grams of sodium, which are both more than 40 percent of the Food and Drug Administration's daily recommended value for a 2,000-calorie diet.
Nutritional info
Tara Gidus, a registered dietitian in Orlando, Fla., said she wouldn't recommend Gorske's Big Mac diet, and that he's likely stayed relatively healthy because of good genetics and because he doesn't order a lot of extras, such as fries and sodas.
She said the Big Mac provides protein and grains, which the body needs, and that she would be "less concerned about the bad stuff in the Big Mac and more concerned about the good stuff he's missing," such as fruits and vegetables.
Gorske said he normally buys six on Monday and eight on Thursday and freezes or refrigerates them and warms them when he wants to eat them, so he doesn't have to run to the restaurant all the time.
Gorske said he likes other foods, including bratwurst and lobsters, but that he loves Big Macs and his wife Mary, a nurse, never has to worry about making him a meal.
"I really do enjoy every Big Mac," he said.
He said his wife jokes about ending his streak.
"She says ... when she has to put them in a blender, it's over," he said.
FOND DU LAC, Wis. — A retired prison guard ate his 25,000th Big Mac on Tuesday, 39 years to the day after eating his first ... nine.
Don Gorske was honored after reaching the meaty milestone during a ceremony at a McDonald's in his hometown of Fond du Lac. Surely McDonald's most loyal customer, Guinness World Records recognized Gorske's feat three years and 2,000 Big Macs ago, and the 57-year-old says he has no desire to stop.
"I plan on eating Big Macs until I die," he said. "I have no intentions of changing. It's still my favorite food. Nothing has changed in 39 years. I look forward to it every day."
Story: Ronald McDonald is facing a midlife crisis
The sign beneath the golden arches Tuesday read "Congrats Don Gorske 25000 Big Macs."
Before he ate No. 25,000, he showed dozens of onlookers many of the different styles of cartons he has collected over the years and other Big Mac-related stories.
Before biting into the sandwich, he said, "It's been seven years since 20,000. Same thing goes this year folks. You can't have the carton and it probably still takes 16 bites for me to finish a Big Mac."
The crowd erupted into applause.
Gorske, who appeared in the 2004 documentary "Super Size Me," which examined the fast food industry, looks nothing like one might expect of a fast food junkie. He's trim and walks regularly for exercise, and he attributes his build to being "hyperactive." He said he was recently given a clean bill of health and that his cholesterol is low.
Lifelong obsession
Gorske's obsession with the burger — two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun, for those not familiar with the once-ubiquitous ads — started May 17, 1972, when he bought three Big Macs to celebrate the purchase of a new car. He was hooked, and went back to McDonald's twice more that day, eating nine before they closed.
He's only gone eight days since without a Big Mac, and most days he eats two. Among the reasons he skipped a day was to grant his mother a dying wish. His last Big Mac-less day was Thanksgiving 2000, when he forgot to stock up and the store was closed for the holiday.
Gorske said he loves numbers and counting things and was inspired to start counting his burgers because McDonald's noted how many hamburgers were served on their sign.
He said he is probably obsessive compulsive and that he likes repetition and doesn't like change. He said he's kept many of the Big Mac boxes and receipts over the years, and has noted his purchases in calendars he's kept.
McDonald's says there are 540 calories in a Big Mac, which is more than a quarter of the calories a person on a 2,000-calorie diet would consume. The burger also contains 29 grams of fat and 1,040 grams of sodium, which are both more than 40 percent of the Food and Drug Administration's daily recommended value for a 2,000-calorie diet.
Nutritional info
Tara Gidus, a registered dietitian in Orlando, Fla., said she wouldn't recommend Gorske's Big Mac diet, and that he's likely stayed relatively healthy because of good genetics and because he doesn't order a lot of extras, such as fries and sodas.
She said the Big Mac provides protein and grains, which the body needs, and that she would be "less concerned about the bad stuff in the Big Mac and more concerned about the good stuff he's missing," such as fruits and vegetables.
Gorske said he normally buys six on Monday and eight on Thursday and freezes or refrigerates them and warms them when he wants to eat them, so he doesn't have to run to the restaurant all the time.
Gorske said he likes other foods, including bratwurst and lobsters, but that he loves Big Macs and his wife Mary, a nurse, never has to worry about making him a meal.
"I really do enjoy every Big Mac," he said.
He said his wife jokes about ending his streak.
"She says ... when she has to put them in a blender, it's over," he said.
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