Chapter 10

In the discussion of fast food corporations, why is it important to talk about their overseas operations?
With already a substantial amount of fast food restaurants in the US, corporations have long been opening restaurants in other countries to enable further growth. Today, on average, McDonald's opens about five restaurants daily; four of these restaurants are outside the US. Restaurants have chosen to purchase locally grown foods in order to allay fears of imperialism. To do this and still maintain uniform products, many companies have drastically altered the agricultural practices of the host country. In fact, McDonald's prepared Indian farmers to grow a certain type of iceburg lettuce seven years before finally opening a restaurant there.

In foreign countries, what group does most fast food advertising target?
Most fast food advertising in foreign countries targets children because of the lack of attachments to food traditions found in children, as well as their susceptibility to amiable figures such as Ronald McDonald, who, according to an Australian survey, was deemed by nine- and ten-year-olds to be a reliable determinant of what to eat.

What did London Greenpeace do to protest McDonald's and what was McDonald's response?
London Greenpeace denounced McDonald's with a pamphlet titled, "What's Wrong with McDonald's? Everything they don't want you to know." It contained an array of accusations – some true and some purely propaganda – such as "promoting Third World poverty, selling unhealthy food, exploiting workers and children, torturing animals, and destroying the Amazon rain forest" (Page 245). Four years after London Greenpeace started distributing them, McDonald's asserted the pamphlets were false and sued five of the members for libel. Three of those five immediately settled; the other two contended the accusation, resulting in a 20-year legal battle that, despite the fact that McDonald's won the case, proved to be an immense source of embarrassment for the company.