Fwd: worldwide anti-mcdonald's day october 16th

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McLibel Support Campaign / London Greenpeace 5 Caledonian Rd,

London, N19DX, UK. Tel/Fax +44-(020) 7713 1269

Email: mclibel Internet info:www.mcspotlight.org

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visit: www.mcspotlight.org/campaigns/current/mailing.html

 

September 2001

 

 

CALL FOR ACTION ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 16th - WORLDWIDE ANTI-McDONALD'S

DAY

 

The 17th annual Worldwide Anti-McDonald's Day will be on Tues

October 16th [uN World Food Day] - a protest against the promotion of

junk food, the unethical targeting of children, exploitation of

workers, animal cruelty, damage to the environment and the global

domination of corporations over ourlives. Last year, as always there

were local protests all around the globe,involving most of the

countries where there have been regular events in the past - of

particular note were the widespread and large protests throughout

Italy (eg at one store in Rome 300 demonstrators succeeded in

getting it closed for the day). But last year also included

demonstrations in Hawaii, Hong Kong, Phillipines and Colombia. As

part of the global protests, there were also some events on Oct 12th

- an annual day of solidarity with McDonald's workers.

 

[in 1999 we monitored where the protests took place - we heard of

425 protests and pickets in 345 towns in 23 countries: Argentina,

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, Finland, France,

Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand,

Portugal, Romania, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland,

Taiwan, USA]. Over 3 million leaflets have now been handed out in the

UK alone since 1990 (when the McDonald's Corporation served libel

writs aiming to suppress the London Greenpeace leafletting campaign)

and it is now distributed worldwide.

 

WHY NOT ORGANISE PICKETS IN YOUR TOWN ANY TIME?

Please copy the 'What's Wrong With McDonald's?' leaflet at:

www.mcspotlight.org/campaigns/current/resources.html [see below]

 

Despite its strenuous efforts, McDonald's is widely despised, and

its 'reputation' - along with that of the food industry in general -

continues to sink ever further.

 

As well as the mass distribution of leaflets by thousands of local

activists around the world the global campaign against McDonald's has

continued to grow over the last couple of years:

 

- many determined residents' campaigns against new stores,

including a successful 552-day occupation of a proposed McDonald's >

site by residents of Hinchley Wood, S.E. England

 

- mass anti-McDonald's protests by french farmers, including a

30,000-strong demo

 

- new efforts by McDonald's workers to organise together to stand

up to their bosses (eg. in the UK, France, Russia and Canada)

 

- protests at the Sydney 2000 Olympics against McDonald's mass use

of refrigeration chemicals linked to global warming

 

- an international scandal over extreme labour exploitation in

China for the production of McDonald's 'happy meal' toys

 

- a wave of complaints calling for a ban on their advertising to

children

 

- protests throughout the US and elsewhere focusing on the cruelty

suffered by chickens raised for McDonald's products

 

- growing concern throughout Europe and the US about the threat to

human health posed by beef-related diseases (such as BSE) and

genetically-modified animal feed

 

- McDonald's increasingly identified by a wide range of protestors

worldwide as a symbol of modern capitalism

 

- recent fall in their global profits and corporate plans to close

250 stores

 

And there's been continuing bad publicity for the Corporation as a

result of the McLibel case, the longest in english history -

including the collapse of McDonald's censorship attempts and some

damning legal rulings against the company: exploiting children with

their advertising strategy, deceiving consumers by claiming their

food is nutritious, promoting food linked to a greater risk of heart

disease, paying low wages and being responsible for animal cruelty.

 

The McLibel defendants, Helen Steel and Dave Morris are currently

taking the British Government to the European Court of Human Rights

over oppressive and unfair UK libel laws.

 

 

>>- McLibel Support Campaign

> > Feel free to amend/ add own details etc --

> > WHAT'S WRONG WITH McDONALD'S?

> >

> >McDonald's spend well over $2 billion every year worldwide on

> >advertising and

> >promotions, trying to cultivate an image of being a 'caring' and

> 'green'

> >company that is also a fun place to eat. Children are lured in

> (dragging

> >their parents behind them) with the promise of toys and other

> gimmicks. But

> >behind the smiling face of Ronald McDonald lies the reality -

> McDonald's

> >only interest is money, making profits from whoever and whatever

> they can,

> >just like all multinational companies. McDonald's Annual Reports

> talk of

> >'Global Domination' - they aim to open more and more stores across

> the globe

> >- but their continual worldwide expansion means more uniformity,

> less choice

> >and the undermining of local communities.

> >

> >PROMOTING UNHEALTHY FOOD

> >McDonald's promote their food as 'nutritious', but the reality is

> that

> >it is

> >junk food - high in fat, sugar and salt, and low in fibre and

> vitamins. A

> >diet of this type is linked with a greater risk of heart disease,

> cancer,

> >diabetes and other diseases. Their food also contains many

> chemical

> >additives, some of which may cause ill-health, and hyperactivity

> in

> >children. Don't forget too that meat is the cause of the majority

> of food

> >poisoning incidents. In 1991 McDonald's were responsible for an

> >outbreak of

> >food poisoning in the UK, in which people suffered serious kidney

> failure.

> >With modern intensive farming methods, other diseases - linked to

> chemical

> >residues or unnatural practices - have become a danger to people

> too (such

> >as BSE).

> >

> >EXPLOITING WORKERS

> >Workers in the fast food industry are paid low wages. McDonald's

> do not pay

> >overtime rates even when employees work very long hours. Pressure

> to keep

> >profits high and wage costs low results in understaffing, so staff

> have to

> >work harder and faster. As a consequence, accidents (particularly

> burns)

> >are common. The majority of employees are people who have few job

> options

> >and so are forced to accept this exploitation, and they're

> compelled to

> >'smile' too! Not surprisingly staff turnover at McDonald's is

> high, making

> >it virtually impossible to unionise and fight for a better deal,

> which suits

> >McDonald's who have always been opposed to Unions.

> >

> >ROBBING THE POOR

> >Vast areas of land in poor countries are used for cash crops or

> for cattle

> >ranching, or to grow grain to feed animals to be eaten in the

> West.

> >This is

> >at the expense of local food needs. McDonald's continually

> promote meat

> >products, encouraging people to eat meat more often, which wastes

> more and

> >more food resources. 7 million tons of grain fed to livestock

> produces only

> >1 million tons of meat and by-products. On a plant-based diet and

> with land

> >shared fairly, almost every region could be self-sufficient in

> food.

> >

> >DAMAGING THE ENVIRONMENT

> >Forests throughout the world - vital for all life - are being

> destroyed at

> >an appalling rate by multinational companies. McDonald's have at

> last been

> >forced to admit to using beef reared on ex-rainforest land,

> preventing its

> >regeneration. Also, the use of farmland by multinationals and

> their

> >suppliers forces local people to move on to other areas and cut

> down further

> >trees.

> >McDonald's are the world's largest user of beef. Methane emitted

> by cattle

> >reared for the beef industry is a major contributor to the 'global

> warming'

> >crisis. Modern intensive agriculture is based on the heavy use of

> chemicals

> >which are damaging to the environment.

> >Every year McDonald's use thousands of tons of unnecessary

> packaging, most

> >of which ends up littering our streets or polluting the land

> buried in

> >landfill sites.

> >

> >MURDERING ANIMALS

> >The menus of the burger chains are based on the torture and murder

> of

> >millions of animals. Most are intensively farmed, with no access

> to fresh

> >air and sunshine, and no freedom of movement. Their deaths are

> barbaric -

> >'humane slaughter' is a myth. We have the choice to eat meat or

> not, but

> >the billions of animals massacred for food each year have no

> choice at all.

> >

> >CENSORSHIP and McLIBEL

> >Criticism of McDonald's has come from a huge number of people and

> >organisations over a wide range of issues. In the mid-1980's,

> London

> >Greenpeace drew together many of those strands of criticism and

> called for

> >an annual World Day of Action against McDonald's. This takes

> place every

> >year on 16th October, with pickets and demonstrations all over the

> world.

> >McDonald's, who spend a fortune every year on advertising, tried

> and

> >failed to

> >silence world-wide criticism by threatening legal action. Many

> were forced

> >to back down because they lacked the money to fight a case. But

> Helen Steel

> >and Dave Morris, two supporters of London Greenpeace, defended

> >themselves in

> >a major UK High Court libel trial. Despite all the cards being

> stacked

> >against them, denied Legal Aid and a jury trial, Helen and Dave

> turned the

> >tables and exposed the truth by putting McDonald's business

> practices on

> >trial. Some damning judgments were made against McDonald's and

> protests

> >against the $40 billion a year fast-food giant continue to grow.

> It's vital

> >to stand up to intimidation and to defend free speech.

> >

> >WHAT YOU CAN DO - Together we can fight back against the

> institutions and

> >the people in power who dominate our lives and our planet, and we

> can create

> >a better society without exploitation. Workers can and do

> organise together

> >to fight for their rights and dignity. People are increasingly

> aware of the

> >need to think seriously about the food we and our children eat.

> People in

> >poor countries are organising themselves to stand up to

> multinationals and

> >banks which dominate the world's economy. Environmental and

> animal rights

> >protests and campaigns are growing everywhere. Why not join in

> the struggle

> >for a better world. Talk to friends and family, neighbours and

> workmates

> >about these issues. Please copy and circulate this leaflet as

> widely as you

> >can.

> >

> >Further information: www.mcspotlight.org

> >

> >

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