I grew up eating pretty healthy and maybe that is why I never acquired a taste for burgers and fried food. In high school I even wrote McDonald’s a letter as part of a school debate assignment, telling them all the reasons I thought they did more bad than good and accused them of contributing to America’s obesity problem and deforestation.
I am being
compensated by McDonald’s for my participation in this campaign as part of the Mom It Forward BloggerNetwork. Regardless, I always give my honest opinions. Full disclosure here.
I was surprised when they actually answered
They included a whole packet of information on charities they started and/or support, such as the Ronald McDonald House. There were tons of great things they were doing, even if they still didn’t offer the healthiest foods at that time (in 2011 they signed a ‘Sustainable Land Management Commitment’ to decrease their impact on forests, fyi). That was a big eye opener for me, not only learning that I need to look into an issue in detail before jumping to conclusions, but to encourage improvement rather than send hate mail.
This is something I definitely want to encourage!
What persuaded me most to get involved?
I get to go behind the scenes, to the mysterious truths behind the restaurant counters and beyond…
on the McDonald’s Field to Restaurant Tour
on my journey into the secret world behind McDonald’s.
Follow with hashtag #McDTour
My husband likes to eat at McDonald’s and now, with their salads and chicken wrap options, I can’t compain about eating there. I was thrilled when they added apples and yogurt to their Happy Meals as an alternative to french fries for my kiddos!
I am looking forward to seeing their healthier menu options grow and I love knowing that they care enough about their customers to make these kinds of changes for the better.
In 2013, McDonald’s partnered with the Alliance for
a Healthier Generation, founded by the Clinton Foundation and the American
Heart Association to increase customer’s access to fruits or vegetables and to
help families and children to make informed choices in keeping with a balanced
lifestyle.
This is wonderful for the health of us customers, but also great for our farmers!
McDonald’s is one of the largest purchasers of
apples in the U.S. restaurant industry. In 2012, their U.S. system purchased
approximately 90 million pounds of raw apples.
I have learned that McDonald’s is striving to offer even more healthy options.
In 20 major markets, including the
U.S., McDonald’s committed by 2020 to:
Offer
customers a choice of a side salad, fruit or vegetable as a substitute for
French fries in value meals
Feature
only water, milk and juice as the beverage in Happy Meals on menu boards and
in-store and external advertising directed to children
Utilize
Happy Meals and other packaging and designs to generate excitement of fruit,
vegetable, low/reduced fat dairy or water options for kids or offer these
options in the Happy Meal
Include a
fun nutrition or children’s well-being message in 100% of advertising directed
at children
 |
| Learn more about McDonald’s Sustainability priorities |
These kind of changes I am more than happy to condone and share with you! I hope they continue to strive to be better and that other fast food chains will follow suit.
I like their changes as well. I wish they would allow adults to substitute fries for other items.
Me too! I've never liked french fries. I'll find out if that's in the plan. If not, I'll suggest it!