McDonald’s Sues Protesters for Rejecting the Fast Food Junk
“We’re doing this for your own protection.” Protesters with the Australian group BurgerOff are hearing a similar phrase from McDonald’s. The fast food giant is suing protestors who object to the birth of a new McDonald’s restaurant near an elementary school. What’s more, Mickey D’s (slang for McDonald’s) is saying that the lawsuit is for the protesters’ own protection. It isn’t clear what this protection is against, unless McDonald’s thinks they can protect people from good health.
Nearly 100,000 people from Australia, mostly in the town of Tecoma, have signed a petition seeking to stop McDonald’s from building there. But McDonald’s doesn’t care what the people want.
Members of the group BurgerOff, so committed to keeping Ronald and the Fry Guys out, recently flew around the world to deliver their petition to McDonald’s global headquarters near Chicago. Not only were they not given an audience with the company’s execs, but representatives refused to even touch the petition.
The battle for Tecoma has been going on for more than two years. McDonald’s wants to build one of their 24-hour drive-thrus near an elementary school, a location townspeople say would serve as a giant advertisement affecting their smallest citizens. Tecomans don’t want the restaurant there, or anywhere near them.
Read: McDonald’s Shuts Down Restaurants in Bolivia
Every day, kids as young as five years old would need to walk past a giant advertisement for junk food just to go to school…
Our community doesn’t want that. The plan is opposed by 90% of residents…But instead of respecting our wishes, McDonald’s appealed the decision and are using their huge financial and legal power to bully their way into our town. They’re now suing locals who are objecting to the building of the store in the Victorian Supreme Court — and there are accounts of McDonald’s private security on the proposed site threatening and intimidating locals who have peacefully protested against the plan.
BurgerOff and citizens of the town have organized protests, flash mobs, social media work, and community outreach events to keep McDonald’s at bay. While they’ve managed to hold them off for the past few years, McDonald’s is undeterred.
As a matter of fact, they are so committed to putting in a restaurant where they aren’t wanted, that they are suing the protesters. McDonald’s has filed a lawsuit to keep protesters away from the construction site. It’s their opinion that the town wants them there and the protesters only represent a small fraction.
“That’s a lie that McDonald’s in Australia keeps pushing,” says Garry Muratore, one of the protestors. “We know that nine out of 10 people don’t want this.”
Those “nine out of 10 people” were represented in the more than 7,000 pages of petition that were hand delivered to McDonald’s global headquarters, pages that had to be handed off to a security guard because company officials wouldn’t come near it.
Read: Why You Should Avoid Fast Food at All Costs
As for their lawsuit, McDonald’s says it is the best way to protect the protesters. Confused? So are the protesters.
“We then pointed out that if they were being responsible, why are they suing us? And it was a little bit like the quote from the Vietnam War that we had to destroy the village to save it,” added Muratore. “They actually told us that they were suing us for our own legal protection… I don’t know what that meant, but they seemed to think it was a great idea.”
LOLOLOL! If 90% of the people don’t want it…..WHO is going to buy their poisonous food? Seems quite unintelligent for this corporation to push for this…..but what do we expect from a corporation who cares not if they are destroying people’s health because profit is more important? (Google “Wheat Belly”). Ask their severely underpaid employees about their motives! However in this case, it seems they are fighting to win, not for profits….
Marie, unfortunately there site is on a highway that runs through the town of Tecoma. It is one of the main ways to head up into the Dandenong Ranges, a popular tourist destination, from suburbia. It’s all the flow through traffic that they expect to be their customers.
They are also pushing to expand further into these Dandenong Ranges so this is just the thin end of the wedge. The resistance seems to have failed in stopping the building in Tecoma (completion is still months away if they succeed), however it has definately held it off a long time and potentially stopped further building in these beautiful hills. Now the job is to ensure no profits and drive them out.
Oh I’m sorry I didn’t understand that part. Well that is sad. But hopefully the people who live there will teach their kids about good nutrition and what this corporation is doing to the health of those who eat their ‘food’ as well as how they treat their employees. Maybe letting those kids watch the videos on ‘pink slime’ will help them understand what they would be eating? Good luck! It should be up to the people who live there. I’ll send good wishes your way!
Good grief. So let the kids have a little fun on their way to prison, er, school. This is ridiculous. Are these kids so weak minded that they will be swayed by the bright colors? Protesters like this often are vandals, as well, no wonder they were arrested. 9 out of 10 people who decided to sign a petition is not 9 out of 10 people who live there. These are the same people who think a ‘gun free zone’ sign protects kids. Let the free market decide! If no one wants to eat there, it will go out of business.
wow not very smart are you, Dr? ha another web md doctor to save the day
The free market will succeed where government fails, every time.
have to agree with you doc..If people protest with their wallets then Mccrappy will have to take their mchappycrappy somewhere elsey!
Actually-it is 9 out of 10 people that live there-or have lived there. i am one of them. And I can tell you-this town DOES NOT want McDonalds there. And it’s not just because it’s crap food-or that the kids are feeble minded-they are not. The council knew the town was against the building-and went ahead anyway. Secret backdoor deals ensued and and the people protesting-the townspeople- have been bullied and harassed ever since. To see a group of Mums and Dads standing on the side of the roads with their placards-being shoved aside, pushed and beaten by enormous security guards-is something these little kids are watching on their way to school. So what part of this seems ok to you?
I wish McDonald’s and there poision would just vanish from earth.
If the TPP passes this will be happening more and more. Flush the TPP!
the problem is that little kids aren’t able to make the right choices at that age. the whole Ronald McD clown thing is pretty low marketing it seems to me. I’m for free markets so let the town or the area of town impacted choose.
I’m an ex resident of this community. There is a lot more to this story, which is quite extraordinary. McDonald’s is ruthlessly pursing this outlet because it is chasing tourist dollars from the huge numbers who go to the nearby national park (1/2 mile from the site), and the iconic old steam train and ecclectic villages with quaint tea rooms, cafes, and boutiques, etc. The local government council unanimously voted against the development after historic opposition from residents, but McDonald’s wouldn’t take no for an answer and took it to a state planning tribunal who overturned the decision. Giving McDonald’s the legal right, but not the moral right.
So the people took the protest to the court of public opinion and have waged what Aussie newspapers have called the biggest PR disaster in Oz. You can help, too and sign the petition at change.org/burgeroff and read more about it on http://www.burgeroff.org.
The supporters of this campaign are powerful, including celebrities like Jamie Oliver, environmental groups like Friends of the Earth, , polititicians at state and federal levels on BOTH sides of politics (!), local schools and academics. See http://www.burgeroff.org/supporters.
The worst part of this story is there is no accountability for this multi-national billion dollar corporation who is McColonising every last special place on earth. McDonald’s US executives and the Australian CEO have outright lied that they have the majority of support and this is a vocal minority. There was an official survey conducted showing 9/10 adult residents did not want McDonald’s, which was submitted to state Parliament by MP James Merlino who recently went back to Parliament regarding the legal action by McDonald’s being dropped and he said that it is n doubt the vast majority of the community who are against it and that McDonald’s is completely inappropriate for the area. Now there are serious questions in Australia about corporatocracy as well.
McDonald’s claim to have ethics on caring about communities and the environment. This case proves that is completely false. “Being a good neighbor means honestly caring about our local communities and the planet we all share”. (Pg. 6 2012 Annual Report)
“The basis for our entire business is that we are ethical, truthful and dependable” – Founder, Ray Kroc, 1958
(On McDonald’s webpage on corporate governance)
SMH PR Disasters:
http://www.smh.com.au/small-bu…
Oct 2nd BBC article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/busi…
Nearly 100,000 people from Australia, mostly in the town of Tecoma, have signed a petition seeking to stop McDonald’s from building there. But McDonald’s doesn’t care what the people want.
The entire Dandenong Ranges wouldn’t have 100,000 people let alone mostly from Tecoma.
In the 2011 Census the population of Tecoma is 2,088 and is comprised of 50.1% females and 49.9% males.
Mostly is 2% of that petition, if everybody said no. I reckon less than half of Tecoma would say no, so that means 1% or less of the list is a legitimate figure. Somebody didn’t do the math.
It probably would have been much better if the Mc Donalds was placed smack bang in the middle of Sherbrook Forest, then there wouldn’t be neighbors, kindergartens and the like to piss and moan. Then the tourists could munch on a big mack whilst taking in the magnificent scenery instead of the crappy scenery in Tecoma.
Surely 100000 people could chip in 1000 bucks each and start their own food chain to bring the competition to macka’s bottom line instead of throwing little tantrums.
I do like a mc Donald’s now and then but if there were over 7000 page of petition against it then I think that I mcdonalds should just back down and build there store somewhere else.