The TODAY show ran a segment this morning regarding the new McDonald’s “nutrition education” documentary, 540 Meals: Choices Make the Difference, as well as my Change.org petition seeking to keep it out of schools.
You can watch the entire report here:
You’ll note that anchor Natalie Morales says at the conclusion of the report that McDonald’s “has no plans to stop Cisna’s speaking engagements” in schools – referring to John Cisna, the science teacher who is featured in 540 Meals. I can only assume this also means that the company plans to continue its practice of having its franchisee network promote the film (and its accompanying “Teachers Discussion Guide”) around the country as “educational” material for use in schools.
That’s really disappointing to hear.
As many of you know, McDonald’s has a new CEO, Steve Easterbrook, and in recent months the company has shown a remarkable willingness to address consumer concerns, including meaningful commitments to start using only cage-free eggs and antibiotic-free chicken in its restaurants. Given this new openness and apparent sensitivity to consumers, as well as the considerable negative national press coverage 540 Meals has received ever since I broke the story about it on this blog three weeks ago, I’m honestly surprised the corporation is digging in its heels over this misguided in-school marketing effort.
So what will it take to get McDonald’s to discontinue promoting 540 Meals in schools?
Yet more consumer pressure and yet more negative press coverage.
And that’s where you come in: Please SIGN the petition if you haven’t already done so, and please SHARE it with friends and family on social media.
As I’ve said many times, McDonald’s is free to show this film on YouTube, in theaters or on television. But this aggressively branded, so-called “nutrition education” seemes cynically calculated to get impressionable, impulsive teens and pre-teens to eat more fast food than they do now. That’s an incredibly irresponsible message to promote in schools, particularly when one out of three children are already overweight or obese.
Thank you for your continued support of this important effort.
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Sally at Real Mom Nutrition says
Terrific job, Bettina!
Bettina Elias Siegel says
Thank you, Sally!
Casey says
Thank you Bettina for speaking up for parents who don’t want schools to be used to market McDonald’s to our kids! As McDonald’s digs in its heels, now is the time to ramp up pressure on the fast food giant.
Kathleen Prechtel says
As a Registered Dietitian who works in schools, I see the video as a springboard for meaningful discussion in the classroom not only about the choices we make everyday which affect our health but also the power of advertising and marketing. This is exactly what “impressionable minds” face daily so what better place than school to learn about the ways of the real world. In addition to the issues/questions posed in the teacher discussion guide, I would also delve into the nutrients lacking in a steady diet of fast food, the amount of sugar/fat/salt in typical fast food menu items relative to what consumption should be for good health, the effect of sugar and fat on brain chemistry, the evolution of fast food choices in response to consumer demand and so on. The reality is most kids frequent McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants regularly. So the question is do we teach our kids to be critical thinkers to help them navigate or do we shelter them from the world in which they live and hope they figure it out. Quite frankly, I’m surprised 56,000 parents would choose the latter.
Bettina Elias Siegel says
Kathleen: I have an entire post going up shortly in response. I’ll circle back and share the link here. – Bettina
Bettina Elias Siegel says
Here it is: https://thelunchtray.com/why-540-meals-fails-miserably-as-nutrition-education/