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May 20, 2010 Statement from Janis Sanchez, School Nurse, Percy Julian Middle School

We as parents, health educators and children’s advocates can’t match McDonald’s marketing might. We encourage parents to shut the door to your advertising which is directed at our children, find healthier food choices that are within their means, and account for daily physical exercise. But your corporation does these hard-working, well-meaning parents and educators no favors. Your marketing strategies take advantage of every location that working parents can’t constantly monitor, to undermine the food and nutrition values parents and health educators work so hard to instill.

May 20, 2010 Statement from Dr. Alfred Klinger, M.D.

With aggressive marketing, McDonald’s and the fast food industry are foisting pathology and disease on many in the form of: obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes, paralysis and major kidney problems. These medical problems would not exist if children are taught proper nutrition and how to practice it continuously.

May 20, 2010 Statement from Deborah Lapidus, Senior Organizer, Corporate Accountability International

Your corporation spends hundreds of millions each year advertising to kids, a practice you pioneered in the late 50’s and early 60’s with the iconic Ronald McDonald, who today remains the centerpiece of your predatory kids’ marketing campaigns.

March 31, 2010 Kids Deserve a Break Today: Parents, Health Experts, Children’s Advocates Call on McDonald’s to Retire Ronald

NEW YORK, NY – After close to fifty years of hawking fatty food directly to kids, Ronald McDonald is being urged to retire. A new report and national poll released today by Corporate Accountability International finds that close to half of the public favors the clown’s retirement. Download the press conference audio here.

March 31, 2010 Statement- Raj Patel, Author, "Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System"

We’ve heard that McDonald’s isn’t just a clown but a pioneer in the marketing of food to children. But he’s also an architect. Without him, the food system we have today would look very different. Here and around the world, the way food is grown, subsidized, processed and eaten has been fashioned by the needs of this gargantuan corporation.

March 31, 2010 Statement- Michele Simon, Author, "Appetite for Profit"

McDonald’s knows that vulnerable children are the perfect advertising audience, since they don’t even know they’re being marketed to. Children under the age of eight do not have the cognitive capacity to understand that Ronald is trying to sell them something; they just know they love the friendly clown.

March 31, 2010 Statement- Stacey Folsom, National Spokesperson, Corporate Accountability International

Thank you for coming today. I am Stacey Folsom, national spokesperson for Corporate Accountability International and its Value [the] Meal campaign.

March 30, 2010 Statement from Mark Keida, Senior Analyst, Lake Research Partners

Today, we are releasing a recent national poll from Lake Research Partners, with some surprising and very encouraging findings. But first, something that won’t surprise anyone: Ronald McDonald continues to be effective – and even continues to be liked.

March 30, 2010 Statement from Dr. Nicholas Freudenberg, Department of Urban Public Health, Hunter College

Today we are facing a crisis. Recently researchers estimated that if present trends in diabetes and other food-related diseases continue, our children and grandchildren will have shorter life spans than the current generation, a reversal of more than a century of public health progress.

March 30, 2010 Statement from Frances Moore Lappé, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Small Planet Institute

Why is this a problem? Because it’s not about reaching adults, whom we trust to make decisions — good or bad — for their bodies. Ronald is about targeting kids.

March 30, 2010 Statement- Wendi Gosliner, Researcher, Center for Weight and Health UC Berkeley

You know, it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Well, we’re here today because someone is getting hurt: our children. Today, fewer than 1% of children in this country consume a diet that is consistent with our national dietary advice, the Dietary Guidelines.

Media Inquiries

Christina Rossi, Press Officer
617-306-0920

Spokespeople

  • Stacey Folsom, national spokesperson
  • Deborah Lapidus, Value [the] Meal senior organizer
  • Patti Lynn, campaigns director

Advisory Board

  • Frances Moore Lappé
  • Susan Linn, EdD
  • Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH
  • Raj Patel, PhD
  • Michele Simon, JD, MPH
  • more

Read the full report

Clowning with Kid's Health: The Case for Ronald McDonald's Retirement

Learn More

Value the Meal Corporate Accountability International
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