Would you buy water from Mcdonalds?
I was on holiday with my family in America recently and after an afternoon of shopping it was time for lunch. By this point in the holiday I'd realised that as a vegan tourist I was just going to have to go hungry from time to time and that afternoon was one of those times. So my dad was going to order & asked if I'd like something to drink. I told him I wanted some water but not from Mcdonalds, which caused my brother to ask "why whats wrong with their water? It hasn't got meat in it". I told him that I didn't want to give any of my money in support of a company those main business is dead animals, he rolled his eyes & retorted that whenever we eat out in a restaurant I eat the vegan option whilst most eat meat so whats the difference? Which started off an arguement that would climax with me saying (rather loudly) "Even if I wasn't a vegan I wouldn't eat here they feed people filth, pure & utter filth, honestly it reminds me of pigs to a trough". After realising that most people in there had just heard me inadvertently called them pigs I decided that then was probably a good time to slip away & get myself some water of some place.
I know I buy non leather shoes from stores that sell actual leather & I buy dairy subs from places that sell the real stuff but thats different, isn't it? I makes sense in my head I just can't explain it well. It's like Mcdonalds is just such a huge symbol of animal cruelty & my local health shop isn't. Their tag line is 'billions & billions served' & if they were to shut down an incredible amount of animals would be saved but if a small independant shoe store closed it wouldn't have the same inpact.
By the way, you probably guessed but my brothers a bit of moron. Later in the holiday he would get smashed off his face & tell me that "all vegans are tossers that eat green stuff just to feel superior" . . . idiot
I look at it this way: the care they (don't) take with handling food goes into handling serving utensils too. I would get water there, perhaps, but only after my other potential sources were exhausted. It's a food tabu thing... I don't want to eat ANYthing from there.
I can't stand McDonald's but I have bought water from them. Burgers too. I bought them in Cozumel, Mexico to feed the starving street dogs. I hated giving money to them but I hated to see the starving dogs following me. So I made a few dogs tummies full by giving money to the devil. I quenched their thirst as well. I have no regrets.
I look it as: it's okay to buy things from places like grocery stores that sell meat, because when they look at their producting grossing for the month (or year, or however those business people do it), they see that people are buying the non-meat products, and this keeps them supplying the non-meat items.
This is correct. I once was a bookkeeper at a grocery store and they really pay attention to what people buy. They keep track of all their shoppers buying habits, even down to individual stores, and stock accordingly.
I wouldn't get the water either. :)
No way would I ever buy water at McDonald's. Afterall, bottled water is doubly bad because not only are you supporting wholesale slaughter with your purchase, but also supporting the pollution of the environment by purchasing bottled water. I would only take a free glass of tap water from McDonald's if all other sources have been exhausted. Then again do I really want the person working there to hand me a free cup of water that have been around greasy, disgusting matter all day? So no, I would not even take a free glass of tap water from McDonald's.
I can't stand McDonald's but I have bought water from them. Burgers too. I bought them in Cozumel, Mexico to feed the starving street dogs. I hated giving money to them but I hated to see the starving dogs following me. So I made a few dogs tummies full by giving money to the devil. I quenched their thirst as well. I have no regrets.
:'(
Aww! That's a sweet story, I must say. It makes me said to think about the poor dogs going hungry, but it makes me glad to know someone cares enough to spend money on their well-being. :-*
I was buying one poor old limpy dog pet food. Bought a bowl to put it in. The president of the Cozumel Humane Society said many street animals have never had pet food and it could totally disrupt their digestive systems. Of course, I felt more guilty buying that because I certainly don't allow pet food in my pet's mouths. These poor dogs are used to leftovers from the garbage. Not overly processed crap with added sugar and salt call 'pet food'. So, the girls at McDonald's got used to me in my really bad Spanish asking for a burger without all the fixings. I explained it was for the 'perros". They smiled at me but I am sure they thought I was insane. None the less, I could buy a burger for $1.00 and feed a critter that struggles daily to exist. As my beautiful sweet Isabela was a Cozumel street dog, I have a very special place in my heart for the Coz dogs.
Don't get me wrong. I feed the critters no matter where I vacation. A starving animal is a starving animal. If I can help I will. I guess in Cozumel, I sold my soul to the devil.
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do--but I think everybody here would back you on not giveing that blood sucking meat grinder a single dollar!
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w83/ntshoes09/evilronald.jpg
That's so funny what you said about the filth and the pigs. People must've been thinking, "She must be from Peta :D :D :D :D :D ;D ;D ;D
i just hate mcdonalds as a corporation so i wouldn't support it. just as i don't shop at wal-mart.
that is in addition to just feeling weird it i went in there AND the fact that it is bottled water (enviro. stuff)
I look it as: it's okay to buy things from places like grocery stores that sell meat, because when they look at their producting grossing for the month (or year, or however those business people do it), they see that people are buying the non-meat products, and this keeps them supplying the non-meat items.
This is correct. I once was a bookkeeper at a grocery store and they really pay attention to what people buy. They keep track of all their shoppers buying habits, even down to individual stores, and stock accordingly.
Yuppers. I've worked in a supermarket for a few years and it's amazing the detail they go into to track sales, and figure out whether it's worth their while to order certain kinds of products, e.g. organic or vegetarian. Sometimes I've been in the position to lean on the buyers to get a particular product... but unfortunately, due to our local 'target market' or demographic, the products hardly sell (except perhaps to me) so they end up deleting them. Meh. ???
As for McDonalds - I can't believe I ever bought anything from them and called it 'food'. Ain't odd how they never call it food, but 'meals'* instead? I think they could be sued for false advertising if they did! ;D I swear it's all made of plastic........ and animals. :(
* (At least, that's how they do it here in New Zealand.)
Dear Hols,
Mistake number one was agreeing for everyone to go to MDs in the first place. You were hot and tired and probably really needed something to eat, as was everyone else. Were there really truly no other options for places to eat? (Why do tourists think that Americans only eat at fast food places?)
If I were in your situation, I would have been pretty ticked off about the selection of MD and everyone's assumption that it was okay for me to just go unfed. Given these facts, plus the general stress of going on holiday with your family, I can see how the water became an explosive issue for everybody.
It would probably help if in future trips you figured out where a good place to stop for lunch would be and got everyone to agree in advance that you were going to eat there. And be sure to bring some snacks for yourself if you get stuck. And about your brother--a LOT of people feel that way. Advocating a veg diet without making everyone feel completely defensive or--even worse--that you are on a superiority trip is an art. And it is especially hard to do in the middle of a hot vacation when everyone is tired and hungry! Good luck!
Do you boycott the company or the product? We've had this discussion on VegWeb before but I always enjoy hearing what people think. I've gone from boycott the corporation to boycott the product.
McDonald's owns Chipolte. Chipolte serves a very nice vegan burrito. Would you boycott the Chipolte burrito because McDonald's owns them? What if McDonald's started serving a vegan burger -- fat chance, I know, but what if? The problem is the huge multinationals that own so many smaller, better companies.
Check these out! ;)
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Corp/mergers.cfm
...and from Alex Jamieson -- the Supersize Me guy's vegan girlfriend:
http://alex_jamieson.blogs.com/healthchefalexblog/2006/11/who_really_owns.html
...and for those of you who are more politically active, a very good article - a little dated, but with some history of the organic food movement:
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0531-11.htm
http://www.endgame.org/organics.html
No, emphatically NO! I would NOT support that disgusting corporation for all the tea in China, I'd rather be hospitalized for dehydration and have a needle forcefully inserted into my arm with no anesthetic.
My first obnoxious thought when I saw this post was...no because the water is probably mass produced in barn under filthy conditions, then cruely bottled in virgin (uncycled) plastic after being highly processed with sugar and fat added, then sold as "something good for a little tummy." This isn't me being flip, this is my constant thought when I see their TV ads. I see the apples and carrots, and I have wonder where they came from, or if they are even real fruit or vegetables, or recycled and spray painted fries. It is where my mind runs, into an ugly overly processed place that smells like a feed lot and I DO know what a feed lot smells like because there are 10 of them around the places I have to routinely travel. Around here, we call that the "smell of money" but I think of it as the smell of Mickey D.
I wouldn't buy water from them if they were the last place left with water on the planet!
Ok, well, maybe under those conditions I would. ;) But, otherwise - no way. I can't really find a single positive thing about McDonald's except maybe their charity work.