McDonald's has been one of fastest growing fast food chains in the world since there opening 1955. Many know McDonald's for their burgers and fries, but many fail to see there greening of their company. To an environmentalist, they see McDonald's as a bad guy, as a pollutants villain but are they that bad? That's the question people are wondering is McDonald's that bad for the environment after all. Mcdonald's has improved there eco- friendly background tremendously, and in my opinion, they will keep growing. In this essay, I will be explaining my outlook on the "greening" of Mcdonalds.
Since 1989, McDonald's has been trying to improve their waste footprint in the world. They have been attempting to change many things and have come up with ideas to help manage their waste problem. They had the idea of on-site incinerators, but after research, they found out
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They have been reusing products such as cardboard, egg shells, napkins and packing components. Most of the fast food containers are mostly made out of recycled cardboard and napkins. Also, the napkins that McDonald's has been made out of 100% recycled cardboard, That is why the color of the napkins is brown is because of the cardboard. They reuse their burger boxes and storage containers, reducing the amount of waste they are creating.
Finally, the last way McDonald's is greening their company for the better is, they are working with recycling companies to clean and reduce their waste products. One of the corporations they are working with to green their company is the Golden Arches; they work with McDonald's to clean up litter around the restaurants and promote an eco- friendly business. McDonald's sends out workers to clean and pick up the litter around their locations. McDonald's is trying to make their locations litter free, which gives them a good reputation when it comes to people complaining about their waste
McDonald's is one of the multiple fast food restaurants that serve greasy and oversized meals that are harmful to the human body. Throughout a thirty day McDonald's only diet, Spurlock surrounds himself with logos, ethos, and pathos to impact the viewer's opinion on the true cost of eating fast food
Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, is a stark and unrelenting look into the fast food industry that has ingrained itself in not only American culture, but in many cultures around the world. There is almost no place on earth that the golden arches has not entered. Aside from Antarctica, there is a McDonalds on every continent, and the number of countries that have fast food restaurants is growing on a daily basis. Schlosser describes in detail what happens behind the scenes, before the hamburger and fries come wrapped in environmentally safe paper and are consumed by millions of people daily.
The essays “The End of Cooking?” by Michael Pollan and “Why McDonald's Fries Taste so Good” by Eric Schlosser and the documentary Food, Inc. directed by Robert Kenner are all three very effective in how they get their message across to their audience, but each one is very different in how the material is presented. The End of Cooking? focuses on how pre-packaged food and the fast food industry have changed the way Americans cook and is told in a very conversational manner. Why McDonald's Fries Taste so Good feature is more in depth as it features how both artificial and natural flavors were both developed and used to enhance foods. Food, Inc. is a documentary about agribusiness and details how the industrial farms produce food that is unhealthy for people to eat, bad for the environment and how the companies are abusive to animals and the people hired to work on the farms.
The American life has been transformed by the fast food industry not just changing the American diet but also the culture, workplace, economy, and the landscape. “Today about half of the money used to buy food is spent at restaurants-mainly fast food restaurants.” (Schlosser) This could be due to the fact that about two-thirds of working women are mothers. The impact of fast food on the American culture is transparent when just looking at McDonald’s. McDonald’s has become the world’s most famous brand; the golden arches are more known than the Christian cross. “A survey of American schoolchildren found that 96 percent could identify Ronald McDonald.” (Schlosser) McDonald’s is responsible for 90 percent of new jobs in The United States. The landscape has changed due to the fast food ...
McDonalds’ corporation is a leader in the fast food industry. Nonetheless, the corporation website has some drawbacks I terms of detailing the company’s social responsibility statements. As opposed to Starbucks, which delineates in a more precise manner its social responsibility statements, McDonald’s does not show its commitment in a clear way. Here are some of the aspects that were impressive when analyzing Starbucks business ethics and compliance standards of business conduct booklet.
To help further explain these misleading claims, a well recognized company by the media is called Terrachoice. “The Terrachoice Environment Marketing Consulting practice converts knowledge of markets, science and marketing into winning, client-centered solutions to help sustainability leaders deliver results” (“The "six sins," 2007). Terrachoice has conducted a study of the “Environmental Claims in North American Consumer Markets” and found shocking results that made them want to give warning to potential consumers about the ‘six sins of greenwashing. The Terrachoice Company was designed to improve the communication between the purchasers and consumers, helping to enhance, strengthen, and prove market relationship.
Ritzer, George. The McDonaldization of Society. Revised New Century Edition. California: Pine Forge Press, 2004.
First, my personal reaction to this is documentary is an eye opener. I knew McDonalds was more harmful to than other fast food places, but I never knew about the lawsuit between McDonalds and it consumers. I never saw McDonalds as having big impact on my life; this is probably because the McDonald’s in my hometown never had a super-size option. In the video, Spurlock conducted interviews to gain ...
RITZER, G (2008) The McDonaldisation of Society (5th edition) London: Sage. (Ch. 3 – Efficiency)
McDonald's is the world's leading food service retailer with more than 30,000 restaurants in 118 countries serving 46 million customers each day. It is one of the most well-known and valuable brands and holds a leading share in the globally branded quick service restaurant segment of the informal eating-out market in virtually every country in which it does business. Problems Faced By McDonalds And The Public Opinion Of McDonalds For many years, McDonalds enjoyed worldwide success built on a few well-known, highly standard conditions. The company with the Golden Arches served a simple menu- hamburgers, French fries, and milkshakes or soft drinks. The food was priced low, its quality was consistent, and it was served speedily from establishments that all looked alike and were extremely clean. However in recent years, McDonalds has seen its growth rate slow down and its dominant market position slip. There are various reasons for this. The main reason is the several allegations made against them by environmentalist and health experts. These allegations are: Destruction Of Rain Forests McDonalds sells beef. Many beef suppliers get their beef from Central and South American countries. These cattle farms are usually placed on rainforest land that had been cut and cleared. The poor soil of the rainforest can only sustain life (grain for the cattle to fed upon) for up to a decade (although the mean is 2 years). The beef suppliers must move their farms every few years and consequently destroy more rainforest. Rarely does the forest re-grow, even if replanted. 70% of the moisture that makes a rainforest a "rain" forest originates from the transpiration of the leaves on the vegetation. Once that vegetation is removed for a few years and...
Waste incineration units produce a lot of carbon dioxide gas approximately around one third of the greenhouse gasses. It also impacts people’s health as they get exposed to the toxic emissions by breathing in the air or consuming contaminated food and water. Additionally, when the garbage gets burnt by the incinerators they end up as ashes which are then emitted from the chimneys, including the toxic materials and end up in specialist landfill sites for hazardous waste.
To conclude, McDonald’s definitely did a great job in maintaining its sustainability in the economic perspective. However, the performance of company in social and environmental perspective is not satisfactory. Some may suggest that most criticisms are oddly jealous from its competitors. Yet, it is important for an international company do consider its surrounding while earning money from it. McDonald’s needs to pay more effort on truly serving the community, instead of just fighting back those criticisms.
By studying the fundamental nature of their business through the lens of the TNS framework, McDonald's Sweden is moving beyond eco-efficency. Today, approximately half of the 160 Swedish McDonald's, the bakery, and the national headquarters run on renewable energy - hydropower. All new restaurants use water pipes made of recycled plastic instead of copper, wood framing instead of steel framing, and wood foundations instead of concrete foundations - overall, reducing construction material use by 5-10 percent. Research is currently underway at seven restaurants to develop a biological filter to clean exhaust from fry stations. The new technology uses bacteria to eat the oil and reuses remaining clean air to heat their restaurants. In addition, McDonald's Sweden serves organic milk and beef, recycles 97 percent of all restaurant waste, has significantly reduced distribution distances helping to cut fuel costs by over 30 percent, and has eliminated the need for over 1,200 tonnes of packaging material by changing to smarter packaging.
Over the years, growing attention has been paid to the ethical, environmental and social dimensions of business, most often under corporate social responsibility (CSR). Much of the early literature aimed to specify the concept and the various components of CSR, as it emerged in the second half of the 20th century (MINTZBERG, H., 1983). Various environment organizations and people are conscious of the toxic waste, of pollution, mountains of garbage and depletion of forests. McDonald’s, the largest restaurant chain in the world, presents a notable case study. For years McDonald’s used polystyrene containers for the famous Big Mac clamshell for its hamburgers. Since these containers were light in weight, did not absorb grease and kept the burgers warm. McDonalds soon become target of the Environmental Defense Fund which claimed that by making polystyrene packaging created toxic fumes, which took too much of landfill and took too much time to
Row, J., (2010). Pros and cons of incineration for landfill relief. Bright Hub. Retrieved: November 11, 2010, from: http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/civil/articles/89810.aspx