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Template:Infobox McDonald's McDonald's faces varying problems, some of which are unique to franchising. As one of the world's largest and best recognized franchise systems, it must endeavor to successfully deal with matters of internal cohesion between the interests of its franchisees and that of the franchiser. At the same time, its global reach and broadly standard product line and level of service have led to McDonald's becoming the target of anti-globalization protests, and as the highest-profile fast food company, it is often blamed for obesity and excessive packaging waste. Its moves to protect its reputation and trademarks have at times been seen as heavy-handed.
As the world's largest restaurant chain, McDonald's also finds itself a target for external criticism. Even though its foreign franchise locations are usually locally owned and use locally-produced foods, the company is seen as a symbol of American domination of economic resources. Urban legends about the company and its food are plentiful and it is often the target of unusual lawsuits.
McDonald's has been the target of criticism for allegations of exploitation of entry-level workers, closing down stores once the workers unionize, use of sweatshop labor to produce "happy meal" toys, ecological damage caused by agricultural production and industrial processing of its products, selling unhealthy food, production of packaging waste, exploitative advertising (especially targeted at children, minorities, and low-income people), and contributing to suffering and exploitation of livestock. McDonald's' historic tendency towards promoting high-calorie foods such as French fries has earned it the nickname "the starchy arches".
Labor
Happy Meals Toys are made in low paying countries such as China. Conditions at the workplaces are very poor. Workers are forced to sleep in small rooms on bunk-beds without mattresses. A recent interviewer of workers found out that some workers work for 17 hours straight and earn less than ten cents an hour.
Environmental
The soya that is fed to McDonald’s chickens is supplied by agricultural giant Cargill and comes directly from Brazil. Greenpeace alleges that not only is soya destroying the Amazon rain forest in Brazil, but soya farmers are guilty of further crimes including slavery and the invasion of indigenous peoples’ lands. The allegation is that McDonald's, as a client of Cargill's, is complicit in these activities.
References
- Greenpeace International (April 2006). "We're trashin'it, How McDonalds's is eating up the Amazon" (PDF). Retrieved 2008 Dec 15.
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