McDonald’s boss says Ronald is ‘ambassador for good,’ parents want ‘right to choose’

Source: Associated Press

McDonald’s Corp. CEO Jim Skinner came out swinging Thursday when asked about Ronald McDonald and whether the burger chain hooks children with junk food.

Skinner, speaking at the company’s annual shareholder meeting at McDonald’s headquarters outside Chicago, said that newspapers ads Wednesday calling for Ronald’s retirement had prompted an outpouring of support to his office, with parents and customers asking Skinner “to defend their right to choose.”

A group called Corporate Accountability International paid for the ads, which said Ronald is encouraging unhealthy eating habits and contributing to childhood obesity and related diseases such as diabetes.

At the meeting, shareholders defeated a proposal the group had helped craft asking McDonald’s to issue a report on its responses to childhood obesity. The proposal received 6 percent support, according to preliminary results released by the company.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/mcdonalds-boss-says-ronald-is-ambassador-for-good-parents-want-right-to-choose/2011/05/19/AF3vWD7G_story.html

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Jim Skinner is not to be confused with DU founder Skinner. And this AP report does not mention how San Francisco banned packaging toys with fast food meals (oversimplified as "banning Happy Meals" and even more spun out of proportion to "nanny statism"), maybe that's what Jim Skinner was talking about.

.. and Ronald smoked a joint 4 years ago. And he does Chrystal Meth..... string him up!

"It's the only way we will achieve racial purity".. Fox New Master Commentator Bill O'Reilly.

End of discussion.

Ronald sells garbage to parents that take their kids there.

Not a staple. They say so themselves.

Remember in Supersize me, the PR divisions of the fast food co's advised him not to eat there every day

And yes, every day, eating their food, is not as healthy as going to Subway

But by the Happytistas' logic, Ben and Jerry Ice Cream should be banned. Chocolate should be banned.

No one in their right mind would go to McDonald's every day

No one in their right mind would eat nothing but Ben and Jerry's ice cream either

What part of moderation are they failing to understand?

Just look at what they did to this poor strawberry ice cream cone :(

they seem to have achieved the exact same flavor as the rest of Unilever's other brands of ice cream: across the board mediocre; at least the flavors i favor. so, i would agree with, at least, the technical accuracy of your statement that, ".... No one in their right mind would eat nothing but Ben and Jerry's ice cream either ....". it is beyond pathetic when the only decent choice of canned ice cream in New York City, if not the world, is Haagen Dazs.

http://www.unileverusa.com/brands/foodbrands/benandjerrys/index.aspx

They're talking about putting limits on McDonalds' ability to market unhealthy food to kids.

McDonalds doesn't spend $1.4 billion a year on advertising so that people only eat there in moderation as an occasional treat. They talk through both sides of their mouth for PR purposes, but its obvious that they're all about sucking the youngest possible kids in as early as they can and building brand loyalty.

hasn't showed up at my door to force-feed my children against their will. I keep a broom by the door just to chase them away. :sarcasm:

Without Ronald McDonald, it would be just House charities. Not good.
Also, I raised 2 kids and travelled many evenings from ball field to ball field with a stop at the drive through on the way. I enjoy the occasional happy meal my own self. That being said, there were also many nights when, as the mom, I JUST SAID NO. I didn't expect the world to alter the rules to make my job as a parent easier. It's very difficult to set limits when kids have image after image of in-your-face advertising. It's hard when they get older to monitor their behavior and their actions. But it's your job. Pick your battles, and when you make a decision, stick to your guns! It's not easy, it's not supposed to be. But it's also not that hard. When you know you are doing the right thing for your children, for their health and their future, you do it. Eventually, you will see a return on your investment, and you'll be proud. In the meantime, give the kid a burger occasionally, make them eat their veggies another time, and cross your fingers it'll work itself out.
Peace.

The great thing about it is that it promotes the brand and associates it with a heartwarming activity, helping sick kids.

However, getting kids to nag their parents to take them to McDonald's because they will get a crappy plastic Made in China toy should be illegal.

Always amazes me that a bunch of liberals are so right-wing over certain issues. Either you are for freedom of choice or you're not.

My kid is 43, so it's pretty irrelevant as far as I'm concerned, but it's up to parents to make certain informed decisions - "nanny state" is a rightwing term, but it somehow bleeds over to the left.

BUTT the fuck out! You don't get to choose what the rest of us eat, or smoke, or do. Lead your own damn life.

If you knew that something was modified beyond recognition, you might not buy it. If there was education about food going into one's body, more people would make educated decisions... I know many people who have kids and have no clue how to cook without a microwave or doing the drive thru. People in this country should have the right to a job that pays and time for pleasure and family time... There is so much wrong with this country that I'm not sure it will ever be good.

children for profit.

You kid exploiting asshole! :rofl:

Sheesh.

:eyes:

I better get my daughter to stop watching Dora before she forces me to go to Target and buy her a whole Dora bedroom set :rofl:

like this?

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A2KJkIdsqdVNvDUAUAijzbkF/SIG=12iojv16i/EXP=1305876972/**http%3a//

Thanks for posting!

Ronald McDonald just needs to be redesigned. He should be morbidly obese and there should be a zipper on his chest where he had his bypass. Every time he appears before children he should make a big show of checking his blood sugar.

Don't take your kids there to eat. My daughter asked me on the way home from school if I could take her to Jack in the Box and I told her we're close to Safeway let's just pick up a bunch of bananas. Only cost $1.99 too.

Here's another thing about McDonalds. I called to complain that they only gave a half piece of cheese on their fish sandwich.I was told that is all any of their stores give. How cheezy!

it's not all that cheap, either. I'd rather grow my garden.