McDonald's - the good, the bad and the familiar.

Every Sunday, before my Dad got up, my Mom, my sister and I would walk to the local McDonald's in Hong Kong for breakfast.  We would get the Big Breakfast but never eat the English Muffins.....those were left for my Dad to chomped on with little packets of strawberry jelly.  I was 4 years old.

At 28, I still have a relationship with McDonald's.  Is it good?  Sometimes.  Is it bad?  Sometimes.  Is it familiar?  Always.  There are so many facets to this corporation where I am almost at lost as to where I should start.  So let's start with the interesting facts:

1. Santa Monica McDonald's only hold enough food for a few hours in storage therefore they get delivery of goods two to three times a week.  
2. There is a HOLIDAY PIE with a custard filling.
3. Their salt shakers for their fries is portioned so you don't over salt.  One basket of fries can fill up to 16 small orders.  
4. McDonald's washes their small utensils in a whirlpool-like washer every 4 hours.
5. Frying oil is filtered and recycled.
6. While apples with peel has a higher fiber content, they are also choking hazards, therefore they are peeled.
7. In the latest egg scandal, McDonald's has since dropped their supplier and replaced it with another. Corporate noted that they 'absorbed' the cost to prevent fluctuation.
8. In California, 60% of their food supplies come from within the state.  
9. The Filet-O-Fish is made of 100% Pollock.  They source their fish from Marine Stewardship Council Certified Fisheries for maximum sustainability.
10. A machine measures the chicken prior to butchering it so that the chicken breast can be maximized.

We are all familiar with McDonald's.  In fact, in some observational studies, most people, or most kids are more likely to recognize the Golden Arch than some vegetables.  It was something I grew up with and most of us either had it or knew of it.  But what do we really think about it?  

As a health care provider and educator, I can see how it is one of many contributors of obesity.  As an individual, I see it as a way to fuel and eat on a budget (with a few exceptions).  I do have a soft spot for Mickey D's - they are the first to be blamed and criticized but at the same time, they always fight back with some sort of change.  The latest is including fruit in each happy meal and reducing the size of the French fries order.  This leaves us with essentially two sides:  (1) Do we fight to get rid of or extremely restrict McDonald's and the likes? (2) Do we allow them to continue their money making quest?  Afterall, they never signed up to educate us.  Their goal is provide fast-food and keeps us coming back.  That, they have done very well.  Where does the responsibility lie?

My most recent McDonald's experience was with corporate (Operations Division), public relations (Porter Novelli), a nutrition consultant hired by McD's, Bonnie Modugno and the franchisee  of Santa Monica.  McDonald's is looking to be a sponsor of Los Angeles Dietetic Association, a district of California Dietetic Association.  Our meeting allowed for an open forum between the two parties to ensure understanding and open communication.

Obesity was a hot topic where Bonnie indicated the organization offered obesity classes to the community and in parenting classes.  While McD's are doing great community work with obesity, I couldn't help but consider their financial support on their top 4 political issues on Capitol Hill.  OpenSecrets.org recently published an article indicating that McD's is #5 on the top 10 list of corporate giants to fund political issues.  With $1,120,000 used this year, McD's top issues were immigration reform, corporate taxes, affordable health care and nutrition label.  I am curious about each of these issues as to where they stand with special interest to the nutrition label.  Many studies have recently indicated how nutrition labeling and facts have not been as successful as some people had hoped. But for those who want to know, it has certainly changed the method of selection.  Some chain restaurants have even altered their preparation methods to avoid caloried loaded dishes. 

The source of their food is also of concern from the environmental perspective to the quality of the food.  Some of you may have seen their latest commercial as part of their "Farm to Front Counter" campaign.  The video hints at the notion that McDonald's is sourcing their supplies one a personable farmer when in fact, McDonald's sources their potatoes from various large suppliers.  The same applies to lettuce and beef. 

With the mass amounts that McDonald's consumes, it took years just for them to launch their apples slices or parfaits (berry mixes).  McDonald's can create a ripple effect in our food system good and bad.  While it may take years, I can see them as a leader in many areas.  For example, if McDonald's woke up one day and wanted all their fruits and vegetables to be organic (we are not even talking about meats and sorts),  I am certain that I would have a few birthdays before the supply chain can sustain but once it did, I am sure their competitors will soon follow....see!

At the end of the day, it's not about McDonald's being right or wrong. It should not be about health care providers pointing fingers.  But it's about what the consumers are looking for and how we can accommodate accordingly.  With dietitian's expertise on nutrition and McDonald's experts on taste and consumer satisfaction, I honestly believe that we need to have a partnership to work together and battle this obesity epidemic to change the way we produce food and how we see it. It's much like what Dr. David Katz said in his talk at Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo 2011 (San Diego), each one of us are sand baggers when we fight this obesity battle.  One sand bag will never stop a tsunami of problems that come our way.  But if we work together and build a wall of sand bags, we are more likely to see this problem resolved.  This is also why in some studies of obesity we don't see "statistically significant" results.  Uni-modal interventions will never work.  We need to build a healthy community and provide a healthy environment in order to continue this fight.