FW: [McLibel] Worldwide Anti-McDonald's Day protests, 15th/16th October

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Thursday, October 15, 2009 2:00 AM

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[McLibel] Worldwide Anti-McDonald's Day protests, 15th/16th October

 

25th Annual Worldwide Anti-McDonald's Day protests - Thursday/Friday Oct

15th/16th 2009

 

Worldwide Anti-McDonald's Day on October 16th [uN World Food Day] is 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 our lives. The protests were

launched in the UK in 1985 by London Greenpeace.

 

Why not organise a picket or protest in your area, on or around Oct 16th?!

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

http://www.mcspotlight.org/campaigns/current/wwwmd-uk.pdf - or use latest

text below.

 

On the evening before, London campaigners will be celebrating their 5th

anniversary of regular Central London anti-McDonald's protests [weekly for

the first 4 years, and now the first and third Thursdays of every month!].

All supporters welcome.

 

Regents Street store

Central London, England

Thursday October 15th 2009

6pm - 7.30pm

 

They will have banners, and also leaflets to hand out. The demo will be

followed by vegan food in a local eaterie and then drinks.

Info: 07766 000271

 

 

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WHAT'S WRONG WITH McDONALD'S?

 

McDonald's spend 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 multinationals. The company's sales are now $40 billion a year. The

 

continual worldwide expansion of fast food chains 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

 

processed 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. Modern intensive farming and production methods are geared to

maximising profits. As a result, the widespread use of unnatural practices

and chemicals has also affected people's health (e.g. BSE and food

poisoning).

 

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

 

have no alternative to being bossed around and exploited - 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. This suits McDonald's who have always been opposed to workers' rights

and Unions. The same is true for workers toiling in sweatshops in China to

produce McDonald's 'happy meal' toys.

 

ROBBING THE POOR

The demands made by multinationals for cheap food supplies result in the

exploitation of agricultural workers throughout the world. 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. The heavy use of chemicals in modern agriculture destroys

wildlife, plants and the soil.

 

Every year McDonald's use over a million tons of unnecessary plastic and

paper packaging, the production of which requires environmentally-damaging

chemicals and degradation of forests. Most of the packaging ends up

littering our streets or polluting the land buried in landfill sites.

 

CRUELTY TO 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 short lives are cruel

and their deaths are barbaric - 'humane slaughter' is a myth. We have the

choice to eat meat or not, but the billions of animals slaughtered for food

each year have no choice at all.

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Food is central to our everyday lives, yet we have virtually no control over

 

its production and distribution. The way we eat, and even the way we think

about food is being manipulated by these powerful institutions and their

sophisticated marketing campaigns. But despite strenuous marketing efforts,

McDonald's is widely despised, and its 'reputation' - along with that of the

 

food industry in general - continues to sink ever further.

 

Every year on 16th October there is an annual World Day of Action against

McDonald's and all they stand for - with pickets and demonstrations all over

 

the world. Together we can fight back against the institutions which

currently control our lives and our planet, and we can create a better

society without exploitation or oppression. 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.

 

Environmental and animal rights protests and campaigns are growing

everywhere. People in poor countries are organising themselves to stand up

to multinationals and banks which dominate the world's economy. 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.

 

www.mcspotlight.org

 

 

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