Sales at McDonald’s in Poland grew by 14.6 percent to 668 million zloty in 2006, and their net income increased by 47 percent to 40 million zloty (10 million euro) compared to 2005.
How would that news make the heir to the British throne want to reach for his sick bucket?
Because when he was in the United Arab Emirates last week he was overheard remarking to a nutritionist there: ‘Have you got anywhere with McDonald’s? Have you tried getting it banned? That’s the key.’
I think it's about time Charlie got a proper job.
The key to what, is not known. But given Charlie’s reputation for talking to plants, and wanting to set up a degree course in parapsychology, it’s probably got one of those wacky ‘alternative’ tags to it.
The obsession with Big Mac’s by the western middle classes (and royals) is very sad, indeed. They seem to hate anything popular. Like George Orwell’s similar obsession with tinned food, this is a manifestation of a fear of the masses, of mass produced goods.
Big Mac’s are not the end of civilization as we know it. A hamburger and french fries is a nutritional (if not particularly tasty) meal. As part of a balanced diet, MacDonald’s is not a threat to anyone.
But that doesn’t stop British aristocratic morons – and the liberally challenged - like Prince Charles from trying to push weirdo, organic fantasies on us.
And to think I was annoyed another unelected public figure like the First lady of Poland thought she could have influence on public debate.
At least she never had the cheek to want to ban something as harmless as a cheese burger, just because it’s popular.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Polish news to piss off Prince Charles – hah!
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44 comments:
Hi Beatroot,
Prince Charles is right. Its not healthy. People are substituting it for a regular diet. Its a vicious cycle.
what ya mean TC, it ainlt healthy?
If you just eat cheese burger and french fries in your diet then you would be lacking some minerals and in the long run you would probably get ill.
If you eat just (healthy) carrots as your complete diet you would get ill much quicker...
So which food is 'healthier'? Answer: neither - there is no such thing as healthy FOODS only healthy DIETS...
This is not rocket science...
As a former Chef, I am appalled when I realize just how many people eat at McDonald's for their daily menus. You're exactly right however, a cheeseburger and fries isn't necessarily unhealthy if eaten only from time to time. But sadly however we're living in a society where the governments of the world are attempting to be parents as well, and trying to "protect us from ourselves" which is kind of outrageous as it justo pens a Pandora's Box. I'd love nothing more to see McDonalds as well as other fast food chains close, but not because it's been banned, but because people stop eating that shit. The "meat" you get at McDonalds compared with what you can get at a decent butcher's shop can not even be compared. I believe that it's the people's responsibility for what they want to eat, but obesity is becoming an epidemic and it will only get worse. I just hate the fact that the certain governments will attempt to regulate what I put into my body. Oh well, maybe I'll have a Big Mac today...
Carrots are healthier than Mcdonalds food. Mcdonalds food is greasy and fried and loaded with sugar. They're about making money, not nutrition. I agree with Michael, occasionally its ok, but people are substituting it for a regular diet. It does provide a meeting place for young people and old people.
One of the reasons why the government wants to control it is because you get a few people who will sue these fast food places because they didn't know it would make them fat. There was or is a case going on in the U.S. about someone suing McDonald's because he ate it every other day or whatever and caused him to be fat. Common sense goes a long way sometimes.
And Beat has a point, it's about a healthy diet. You can eat junk food more than the average joe, but if you ride a bike for a few hours, you'll burn everything, doesn't matter if it's a BigMac or carrots.
Not to mention trans fats!
A restaurant critic's view:
Having enjoyed many cheap meals in style at McDonalds' over the years and mused over the moral repercussions I inevitably reached a moral impasse: the place rules, sure, but it makes you fat if you eat there all the time. Morgan Spurlock is a pussy and his doctor a quack: I ate in Micky D daily for five years, with only breaks for KFC (for variety and those snazzy twister things) BK (Sunday treat) and pretentious restaurants (to impress the easily impressed) and didn't end up disturbed enough to make a crappy film. I must conclude that as soon as I started to earn a reasonable living I could afford to stop going there and cook healthy things with my wife.
I have only been junkfooding once since those days and thought that the choice of burgers was much wider than before and that Mickey D had certainly brought in a lot of salads. Supersizing isn't the marketing tool it used to be evidently. Now everything is huge by default! I enjoyed the burger a great deal - it was full of crisp veg even though the meat wasn't that good (but then don't home burgers always taste like they came out of a cow's ass?). Apart from the fries, which are a carb-laden deep-fried potato mush showered in salt, my only other complaint was the coke, which tastes like it was mixed in a bucket in the back and the bucketeer had sloshed in too much water. Although nothing as bad as BK in Poland, where the coke was (until the franchise imploded in 2002) like water with a splash of coke (actually more palatable with a savoury meal but then not exactly good value!).
The moral of the story is that a chronic McDonald's habit is a symptom of a society where people are not properly informed about food and don't have time (or don't prioritise) for cooking at home (and, in the UK, where we're fed mostly junk food from an early age at school).
Closing McDonald's down is therefore just addressing the symptom and not the problem.
Being a rounded individual with a problem-solving bent (unlike most the people who jabber so delectably on Beetroot like a bunch of lovely sociologists) I have a solution: thoroughly rape the earth for all its resources (sustainably!) and move to another planet as soon as possible.
Isn't the issue of McD's much bigger than taste or individual health?
Isn't McD's getting more reliant on beef raised in areas that were formerly rainforests?
Don't cow farts now account for more pollution than cars?
What does it take to feed all these cows? Is it worth it?
Do we really all need to increase our meat consumption thereby negatively impacting upon the environment even more?
Hey TC! How is a carrot more healthy than a hamburger? Carrot ain’t got no proteins, innit? Nothing is healthy or unhealthy by itself – it is the combination of foods that’s important.
Mac’s are not the devil incarnate – like that stupid film Super Size Me tried to make out…”Those bastards..” please! The guy ate 5,000 calories a day! That's what lance Armstrong eats when he is doing the Tour de France!!!
And when he was offered a super size he had, like a moron, to take it (mimicking those ‘stupid fat trash’ that eat super size…)
I worked at McDonald’s in London Bridge for six hours once. Couldn’t stand it. Everyone is encouraged to compete with someone else and criticize their work: “Look, that surface is not clean…blah…” Horrible. And the money was crap. No unions.
Now that would be a better crit of McDonald’s. But no – all they can muster this time is a disdain for the people who eat there. It’s the middle classes trying to create a distance from themselves and the hoy-paloy….
Mike
But sadly however we're living in a society where the governments of the world are attempting to be parents as well, and trying to "protect us from ourselves" which is kind of outrageous as it justo pens a Pandora's Box.
Right on, brother. But don't you think that shows an amazing contempt for people?
I prefer Wendy's myself. If fast food chains like McD's and BK keep growing and expanding along with the tremendous population boom, how long before they will start selling "soylent green" and telling us it's all natural?
No problem...I guess I'm inspired by friends and family that reject the fast foods and processed foods for more organics and healthier choices. But I guess the most important point is everything in moderation.
Are McDonald's cows farting "in moderation"?
Are the rainforests being devastated "in moderation"?
Are grains being produced for the cattle "in moderation'?
Are the petro products being used to produce the grain for the cows being utilized "in moderation"?
Do we need governments to ensure that we don't eat too much meat?
The way things are going, yea, it sure looks like it!
Love how BR criticises Prince Charles for criticising McVomit but no doubt BR would be all over the same man if he spoke in favour of McVomit.
He needs to get a proper job? In 2006 the charity which he founded in 1976, the Prince's trust, gave away more than GBP41,000,000. Would you like to tell us if that was more or less than a million times the amount which you were responsible for being given to charity in that year.
If you can't find anything better to write about that Prince Charles talking about McDonalds then you either need to get a proper job or a proper blog! Why not write about the PiS corruption scandal in Bialystok?
Given that the Queen alone costs GBP 50 million to support, the cost of the Royal family far outweighs the charity contribution you just mentioned. And while you're at it, stop making his attempt at the redistribution of wealth sound like a charitable gift from a kindly benefactor. Or like anything more than a drop in the ocean!
Oh and while we're playing Charitable one-upmanship - have you paid your taxes?!
In my experience, Polish diets are generally well balanced, but when it comes to grabbing a bit of a snack on the streets of Warsaw, I don’t blame Poles turning on mass to McDonalds! The rest of the fast-grub out there is simply dodgy!
Anon:
Foreigners pay tax as they go along here in Poland, and rather a lot of it, from what we get back.
As for the royal family in Britain – there is only one solution for them…the French model (very good cure for headaches and dandruff, I believe).
And that particularly concerns Prince Charles. He has had a very negative effect on architecture in the UK – his ‘classicism’ is reactionary and conservative. The same goes for ‘alternative medicine’ ‘organic farming’ and aspects of people’s private life, such as diet. He has no mandate whatsoever to have the influence he is having on national debate in the UK and should meet the guillotine as soon as poss…
Beatroot, of course I think it shows an amazing contempt for people. Everytime the government tries to impose morality, health consciousness, etc., it shows contempt for people in my opinion. Even now in NYC, they've either passed a law, or are trying to pass a law prohibiting a certain type of oil for frying French Fries. To me that's actually criminal. People's common sense (or lack thereof) cannot be regulated by government. And if one were to take the step of banning McDonald's for being unhealthy, then what's next??? Trying to ban alcohol again? Banning crisps? Chocolate? What? I think I'm now just ranting....
But living in Poland, I wonder what the Catholic Church's stance on McDonald's is...hehe
beat....really, McD's food is barely food. Im fine with letting people eat what they want. I think its a bad precedent to have the government prohibiting food outlets. B U T , mcd's meat is highly mediated....and the trans fats and nitrates make for a pretty terrible diet...if that is what you ate more than once or twice a week. However, the quality of food in general in the US and UK is terrible. One of the things i loved when i first came to poland was how good the vegetables were...and a good deal of the meat. That seems to be changing with the dominance of hyper-markets.
Go to france, say, and you see a far higher quality of food. But....Im not the food police. I do think people should be told whats IN what they buy....gm foods, sugar, coloring, steroids, etc. Antibiotics is a big issue. Beyond that....knock yourself out and have TWO quarter pounders.....
Go to france, say, and you see a far higher quality of food.
Actually, Step, France is one of the countries in Europe where McDonald's profits rose the highest...and the French have about the same life expectancy as the UK...where people are living longer and healthier than ever before.
As usual, we are demonizing the wrong things...and that let's governments move in on what is a private matter.
What JS Mill would say about all this...he would be horrified by the new 'liberals'...
BR: "we are demonizing the wrong things...and that let's governments move in on what is a private matter."
---
What is private about McDonald's aside from the profits they make to pay dividends to their stockholders and astronomically large top level executive salaries (while paying their workers doodly)?
When mass public impact corporate decisions are made that devastate the rainforests and put more cows on the planet there that fart nasty gasses after being fed grain that involves the use of all sorts of petro products -- that all produces global warming -- dat's not private.
In fact, there's very little dat's private deze daze. Get over it, stop the me-me-me individualistic drivel -- and deal with it for the common good!
Anonymous said...
Given that the Queen alone costs GBP 50 million to support, the cost of the Royal family far outweighs the charity contribution you just mentioned. And while you're at it, stop making his attempt at the redistribution of wealth sound like a charitable gift from a kindly benefactor. Or like anything more than a drop in the ocean!
Oh and while we're playing Charitable one-upmanship - have you paid your taxes?!
Dear Anonymous,
You’re completely wrong. The total amount paid by the tax-payer of the entire British royal family in the most recent year for which there are figures was £37.4 million.
Which means you are also wrong with your claim that the cost of the royal family outweighs the charity contribution I mentioned.
And even if there were no charity contribution the British tax-payer does very nicely out of the royal family. The royal family are given money by the tax-payer in exchange for the royal family giving the revenue from the Crown Estate. In the financial year to 31 March 2005 the revenue surplus from the Crown Estate paid to the Treasury amounted to £184.8 million. To put that another way: each person in the UK was given £2.40 by the royal family.
We don’t even need to go into issues like the costs of elected head of states or the costs of elections or the amount of money generated by tourism and the boost given to British trade by royal trips, just look at the cold hard cash going out and coming in. That is wealth redistribution.
Have I paid my taxes? Yes thanks, last month alone I handed more than 7000 zloty to the taxman. In return I got very close to bugger all.
Beatroot said:
Actually, Step, France is one of the countries in Europe where McDonald's profits rose the highest...
Thanks to British tourists, most likely.
What you, Geez, Stepx, Harry don't get is that, for BR, McDonald's means PROGRESS. Just as building a road through one of the very few remaining wetlands in Europe is PROGRESS. This is progress, as understood by fellow travellers in 1930's - if the proletariat likes McDonald's, then McDonald's must be good, gotta?
Harry,
You are spot on about the royal family in the UK being a great value for money. I'd say just the guard change outside Buckingham's palace pulls enough tourist trade to pay for the royals' upkeep. And prince Charles, OK, maybe not the brightest spark and with strange ideas about architecture, but, hey, he surely does less damage than the elected politicians, like Tony Bliar or the Ducks.
the French have about the same life expectancy as the UK...where people are living longer and healthier than ever before.
Except, of course, that the quality of life in the UK is the lowest among the old EU-15 (2005 Economist survey).
I think this argument about the British monarchy being ‘good value for money’ is such a dull one. For a start I have yet to meet a tourist in London (and I have met many many) who says they have come to the UK because of the monarchy.
And the few fools who do go to Buckingham palace and pay loads of money to get dragged around some very boring old rooms are mental retards and deserve to get ripped off, as they are being.
But the real argument against the monarchy is that they have no part to play in a modern, meritocratic society. They are symbols of inheritance – of having influence just because of an accident of birth.
The Uk will only become a modern democracy when they finally get the will to chuck out the monarchy and the unelected house of lords.
The royal family in the last 20 years has become a bit of a joke as an institution in Britain. And you would expect as the popularity of the monarchy wanes, republicanism would strengthen.
Unfortunately – and very much in keeping with the times – this has not happened. What we have is a loss of respect for one institution but nothing to replace it with.
Now that’s VERY 21st century!
and the quality of life survey was a SUBJECTIVE one - there was no objective criteria by researchers, ot was how respondants felt
So that tells you more about a miserabalist culture in Britain than it does any objective look at their 'quality of life'.
Beatroot,
I shouldn't have said "survey", it was not subjective, it measured objective indicators. And it wasn't the only research with this result (I just gave this one as a reference).
I think you are defending indefensible.
I lived in 3 western European countries, including the UK, and visited almost all of them for extended periods. No offence, but UK is the worst to live in. OK, so you can't help the weather, which is of course a big factor. But the lack of infrastructure, dillipated cities, pathetic public transport, failing health system, bad education system... I could go on and on. Sometimes, living there was more of a 3rd world country experience than a modern developed one (and even then, most 3rd world countries have at least better food).
OK, let's not talk about them being value for money. Let's talk about the fact that the gave you £2.40 last year. Are you going to give it back? No? So you want to keep the current system where they give most of their cash to the state and then pay tax on the money the 'tax-payer' gives them?
Or you just want to take their property from them?
Mr Fink-Nottle
the lack of infrastructure, dillipated cities, pathetic public transport, failing health system, bad education system... I could go on and on.
Er….yeah…you might have a point there…
Harry
Let's talk about the fact that they gave you £2.40 last year. Are you going to give it back?
No, I am not going to give it back. In fact, if I saw any of them in the street I would mug them!
france may be eating too much McD....but the quality of the *real* food is far far far better than ,say, the USA>
I dont care what people eat....I just think they -- the government -- should inform people. But I suppose its up to people in the end. I have nothing against hamburgers.....(I dont however eat McDs).....but I also know its not exactly the most nutritious meal around.
As for the UK -- just my subjective take...I lived in London for a little over a year.....and while much of it I loved...the terrible transport and the cost got to me. I left...anc came to.....(drum roll) Poland.
And please.....do away with the miserable monarchy. There is no place for this crap. Value for money IS NOT THE POINT. They are horrible people on top of it...the old queen mum was best pals with ian smith...Pinochet (so is the queen) and sent birthday cards to every dictator in the world. Tell them to get a real job.
Beatroot: so you just want to steal money from people because they are more lucky than you. Hope you don't expect any sympathy from anybody if/when you get mugged. Love how you whine about Prince Charles not having a proper job and thus lives from money which you probably thought the tax payer gave him and how McDonalds exploit their workers but then go on to say how you would quite happily steal money.
John: how many of the royal family have you met? I've met a couple of them and as a fair few of them live in the same area as my mother I know quite a few people who have had quite a lot of contact with royals. I've met exactly zero people who have less than favourable opinions of the royals which they know. They need to get a real job? Firstly they already have real jobs and secondly if they just said "Fuck it. The UK can be a republic. We're severing all ties with the British government. We'll just have the same rights and duties as everybody else." they would not need to ever work a day again: they'd have GBP 184 million a year of income to spend.
Beatroot: so you just want to steal money from people because they are more lucky than you.
Lucky! Don’t think so. The royal family are circus freaks. They are the bearded ladies of British celebrity culture. The most humane thing would be to abolish the monarchy as an institution as quickly as possible.
By (metaphorically) mugging the royal family we would be taking back what was stolen from us centuries ago…
^ Don't talk utter shite please. The royal family have stolen nothing from you. All they have ever done to you is give you money!
It might be humane to abolish the royal family (I sure as hell would not want to be part of a family which gives GBP 140 million to the tax-payer every year and in exchange is constantly chased by gutter press and photographers) but it would be economically stupid. Why not keep the cash they give to the state? You certainly want to keep your share of it from last year.
how do you think that the monarchy became lanowners all those years ago? They stole it. How do you think they got all that influence (and in the old days ) power? They stole it.
Nobody elected them.
I would privatize the lot of them and if people are so deperate to go and see them then stick them in London Zoo (reptile house).
^ I see, the old 'all property is theft' line which is used by various types to justify why they want to take something from somebody who is richer than them.
And you're showing how little you know about British history when you say that nobody elected the British royal family. The current Royal family were chosen by Parliament via the 1701 Act of Settlement.
One more tiny point: the second and third in line to the throne already have jobs with the British army. Would you privatise them too? Or would you mug them? I'd pay good money to see you trying to mug William or Harry! More than the £2.40 the royals gave you last year!
^ That was me forgetting to sign my name...
Harry deTrot defending the royal family? This is one weird farking blog.
^ I think you may be getting me confused with another Harry.
Harry here: You mean you're not the Harry of Harry's Place?
Or did my quick glance at Harry's Place blog lead me to the mistaken assumption that you are Trotskyite?
I'm not that Harry.
harry - that one.
The current Royal family were chosen by Parliament via the 1701 Act of Settlement.
)) Now you are just avin a laugh…Who, per chance, elected the parliament of 1701….?
One more tiny point: the second and third in line to the throne already have jobs with the British army.
)))))))))) Stop it…it’s starting to hurt…
and harry is not the harry of pro-Iraq war, Islamofascisism obsessed Harry’s Place…
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