McDonald's urban legends
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There are many urban legends about McDonald's. This is perhaps because of McDonald's very high profile around the world and perhaps also because McDonald's is a focus of the anti-globalization movement whose more maverick elements regard the corporation as evil.
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Red and yellow empties seats
McDonald's restaurants tend to have a "red and yellow theme". An urban legend is that the corporation "calculated" that this color combination would entice people to leave the restaurant; thus, making room for new customers. However, it should be noted that this is a successful two-colour scheme for many corporations, e.g. Shell Oil and the British Royal Mail. It should also be noted that if such a color scheme had such a repulsing effect on some, it is likely those affected by the colors wouldn't come at all.
Unusual ingredients
Many large companies have been plagued by rumors that they substitute unusual and unethical substances in their products, to save a few cents per serving. McDonald's is not immune to such claims. The following is a list of the most popular rumors about their food.
One common thread that ties many stories like these together, is the fact that the near death experiences were not reported to the easily accessible mainstream media, police, medical services, or even government-run food or health inspection agencies, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These agencies and services are legally obliged to act on such extreme cases.
Hamburgers
Worm meat
- RUMOR: McDonald's/Jack in the Box hamburgers are made of worm meat. This rumor dates back to at least 1978, possibly earlier.
- ORIGIN 1: One account of the story claims it was dug up by 60 Minutes. The show has never aired a segment on this or any similar theme. Other variants have credited other investigative journalism shows for the "shocker".
- ORIGIN 2: Some versions of the tale have it being revealed in a talk show chat with company CEOs. It's unlikely that business people would even be booked to appear on a talk show. CEOs generally aren't interesting enough to be booked and appear on the shows, thus any producer unwittingly booking the executive would have had to be prepared for a rating disaster.
- DEBUNKING FACT 1: Neither McDonald's nor any other resturaunt would use worms, for the simple reason that worms cost more per unit of weight. To use worms as filler would be more expensive than using actual beef. In an April 30, 1992 issue of The Times, Ray Kroc commented that "We couldn't afford to grind worms into our meat. Hamburger costs a dollar and a half a pound, and night crawlers six dollars."
- DEBUNKING FACT 2: To set up a case against McDonald's on this, one would have to justify what McDonald's does with the gigantic shipments of meat it regularly orders from cattle farmers.
- DEBUNKING FACT 3: If one was to suppose that worm meat was used, one must justify the small proportion of the U.S. population involved in worm farming.
- DEBUNKING FACT 4: See note on FDA, other authorities.
- DEBUNKING FACT 5: "At an Atlanta press conference, McDonald's officials, backed by a regional officer of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, denounced the rumors as "completely unfounded and unsubstantiated", and swore that the company's hamburgers contain nothing but beef". From Newsweek, November 27, 1978.
- DEBUNKING FACT 6: McDonald's released a letter from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in 1982, attesting to McDonald's burger's pure beef content. It was used as proof in a rebuttal press conference on October 1 of that year, against the rumor.
- EVEN IF IT WAS: Worm meat is considered very nutritious, and contains no gristle.
Kangaroo meat
- RUMOR: McDonald's/Jack in the Box hamburgers are made of kangaroo meat. Origins and details are similar to the above rumor about worm meat.
- PRESUMED ORIGIN: Kangaroos are regularly killed en-masse in Australia, they are considered a pest, and their carcasses are essentially useless. Anyone to find a purpose for their meat could easily profit.
- DEBUNKING FACT 1: The cost of setting up a major operation to transport this meat thousands of kilometres from Australia would theoretically be astronomical, and would be represented in the consumer's final price for purchasing the burger at a McDonald's/Jack in the Box restaurant.
- DEBUNKING FACT 2: To set up a case against McDonald's on this, one would have to justify what McDonald's does with the gigantic shipments of meat it regularly orders from cattle farmers.
- DEBUNKING FACT 3: If one was to suppose that kangaroo meat was used, one would have to question why there aren't obvious bulk quantities of kangaroo meat coming into the US from Australia.
- DEBUNKING FACT 4: See note on FDA, other authorities.
- DEBUNKING FACT 5: Kangaroo steak is available for human consumption (at least in Australia), is lean and tasty, but costs considerably more than beef.
Beef tallow in french fries
- RUMOR: There has long been a rumour (to the horror of vegetarians and Hindus) that McDonald's french fries are fried using beef tallow.
- FACT: Traditionally, McDonald's indeed uses beef tallow to make french fries. However, McDonald's is currently switching into using vegetable oil instead, in an attempt to market its french fries as being healthier than in the past. (It should be noted that Burger King still uses animal fat to make french fries, and accordingly places signs informing customers about this fact.)
McFlurry rumor
- RUMOR: One rumor circulating on the Internet claimed that a girl suffered a near death experience after eating a McFlurry. The rumor claimed that the girl was highly allergic to bird feathers. The family traced back the origins of all the food the girl had recently eaten. On phoning McDonald's head office, they were told what was in the dessert.
- FACT: It is true that McFlurry can cause allergies on some customers. However, the allergen is not bird feather, but peanuts. In fact, the small print on the McFlurry cup says: "May contain peanuts".
McDonald's provides complete ingredient lists for all of its products on each of its regional websites.
Exception legends
It is sometimes claimed a particular location is the only place where a McDonald's has closed down, due to lack of business. This claim has been made for several occasions. In fact it is not very rare for particular branches of the franchised chain to close, particularly after McDonald's poor financial performance in 2002.
No McDonald's Here
In 2002 British Foreign Office Minister Denis MacShane claimed that Sarajevo, Bosnia and P'yŏnyang, North Korea are the only two world capitals lacking a McDonald's. In fact McDonald's operates in just 119 countries, and now does have a branch in Sarajevo.
See also
- McLibel case - A case in which McDonald's fought the distribution of a pamphlet containing multiple rumors about the corporation; while many were proved false, others were proved to be true. This, and the negative publicity given to McDonald's methods of fighting the case, made it a Pyrrhic victory for them even though they technically won the case.
References
- McDonald's Yugoslavia. 2003. http://www.mcdonalds.co.yu/
- McDonald's country website index, McDonald's, 2003, http://www.mcdonalds.com/countries/index.html