Eat smart. This is one of the sections on the McDonald’sWeb site. Does anyone that is truly concerned about “eatingsmart” actually think that McDonald’s is the place togo? Probably not. Officials at McDonald’s have noticed this,and as such they are trying to revamp its image. One of the mostimportant aspects of this is the removal of the super-size menuoption. This is obviously just a public relations move by theMcDonald’s corporation to avoid the unpleasantness of furtherlawsuits.
McDonald’s past strategies included the introduction ofsalads and, more recently, changing the type of meat used inchicken nuggets. The problem with these actions is that theydidn’t actually make the food healthier, just more consumerfriendly. For instance, most McDonald’s salads have at least,if not more, calories than a regular cheeseburger. For example, oneof the most recent additions to the menu, the Crispy ChickenCalifornia Cobb Salad has 370 calories, 190 from fat. Incomparison, a regular cheeseburger has 330 calories, 130 from fat.Other notable menu items include McDonaldland® Chocolate ChipCookies with a serving size of 57 grams, 280 calories, 130 caloriesfrom fat and 14 total grams of fat. What a great thing to befeeding children …
Removing the super-size option won’t cut down on peopleovereating, nor is it any healthier. The food is still unhealthy,there’s just not as much. So, people who are currentlyconsumers of super-size meals will instead start ordering a largeand a small, or more likely, a large and a medium. This will justinflate McDonald’s profits, and make the consumers of thesedouble meals far worse off, for it is the burger more than thefries or the drink that is unhealthy. There are also other monetarybonuses for McDonald’s. No longer having to carry thesuper-size fry boxes or cups will allow it to cut down on thenumber of different items to be purchased from suppliers andinstead buy fewer items in greater bulk. As evidenced by warehousestores, buying in bulk saves money. The super-size drink will stillbe available as a “promotional item.” This means thatMcDonald’s will have another item that it can bring back todrum up business every once in a while.
All of this just points to clever marketing strategy byMcDonald’s in the face of potential lawsuits, rather than anysort of feeling of responsibility toward its consumers.
