McDonald's Tells Workers Not To Eat Fast Food - ThinkProgress

By Rebecca Leber^[1] on December 25, 2013 at 12:17 pm

"McDonald’s Tells Workers Not To Eat Fast Food"

On its employee resources website, McDonald’s offers workers reasonable if not unexpected advice for a healthier diet. McDonald’s employees should steer clear of fast food^[2] , the website warns, because meal consisting of burger, fries, and a soda cause weight gain.

“Fast foods are quick, reasonably priced, and readily available alternatives to home cooking,” one post on the McResource Line site says. “While convenient and economical for a busy lifestyle, fast foods are typically high in calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt and may put people at risk for becoming overweight.”

Illustrating this point is a picture of what looks suspiciously like McDonald’s food. At 550 calories, McDonald’s Big Mac delivers nearly^[3] 50 percent of one’s daily recommended fat. That’s not including the fries and soda.

McDonald’s defended the McResource posts, saying it has been “taken entirely out of context.” “This website provides useful information from respected third-parties about many topics, among them health and wellness,” they told CNBC^[4] . “It also includes information from experts about healthy eating and making balanced choices. McDonald’s agrees with this advice.”

The company pointed to its healthier fare; however, “these menu adjustments are often superficial and misleading^[5] or slow-coming^[6] in the fast food industry. By adding a green label^[7] to its McWrap, McDonald’s hopes to attract a younger consumer base that associates green with health.

The McResource Line is now infamous^[8] for advising low-income fast food workers to sell Christmas presents for cash and to live on food stamps. The corporation stands firm against raising wages^[9] , despite facing embarrassment whenever McDonald’s discusses its $7.81 hourly wage workforce. On these wages, even McDonald’s admitted it is nearly impossible^[10] for workers to afford basic expenses from healthy food to heating to transportation.

References

1. ^{^} Rebecca Leber (thinkprogress.org)


2. ^{^} steer clear of fast food (www.cnbc.com)


3. ^{^} delivers nearly (www.mcdonalds.com)


4. ^{^} CNBC (www.cnbc.com)


5. ^{^} superficial and misleading (thinkprogress.org)


6. ^{^} slow-coming (thinkprogress.org)


7. ^{^} green label (thinkprogress.org)


8. ^{^} now infamous (thinkprogress.org)


9. ^{^} against raising wages (thinkprogress.org)


10. ^{^} nearly impossible (thinkprogress.org)