By: Ozren Podnar |
Macedonian fans of healthy food celebrate because McDonald's restaurants are closing |
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After sixteen years of operation, McDonald's withdrew from the Macedonian market, sparking a series of rumors.
Since the official reason has not been released, some media hoped that the care of the Macedonian government about the health of their people is the reason behind it all.
However, there is no evidence that this is the case.
According to some sources, the main reason for closing is of administrative nature - a dispute between the licensee owner Stevo Janeski and McDonald's company.
Whatever the reason, the company that owned the franchise has lost the right to manage the local fast food restaurants and Macedonians will get a chance to return to the local specialties.
Iceland was the first to close McDonald’s restaurants
Iceland was the first European country to close all McDonald's restaurants.
In 2009 during the economic crisis, the company withdrew from the country, saying that it is unprofitable and hard to work in an island country with only 300,000 inhabitants.
Since they lost McDonald’s, Icelanders do not suffer in the least, as probably will not Macedonians.
To withdrawal of McDonald’s they responded by developing their brands, which have proved equally successful.
Harmful effects of McDonald's products
Since it was founded in the United States in 1940, McDonald's has grown into the largest and most famous fast food chain.
Daily it serves approximately 68 million customers in 119 countries around the world.
Although today has an army of fans, McDonald's has come under fire of numerous critics.
Company is the most criticized for trying to increase profits at the expense of the health of its consumers, offering them unhealthy foods.
McDonald's promotes its food as nutritious, but experts believe that it is a fast food with high fat content and with lots of sugar and salt.
Such a diet increases the risk of development of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, allergies, obesity, cancer and many other diseases.
Therefore, we hope that in the future other countries will follow the example of Macedonia and Iceland, which have proved that we do not need McDonald’s restaurants.
"Super Sized Me”
The wider public saw the other side of McDonald's food in a documentary titled “Super Sized Me”.
This film made in 2004 conducted a research about the impact of fast food on the increase of obesity in society.
The author of the film, an American independent filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, said that McDonald's is responsible for the increasing rates of obesity in the U.S., because nutritional information about McDonald’s products are not given to customers.
Gained weight in a month
To prove his point, Spurlock ate super size menus from McDonald's for 30 days.
He ate three times a day, consuming about 5,000 calories, with horrific consequences.
In a month he gained eleven kilograms (23 pounds), his body weight was increased by 13 percent and cholesterol has risen to 230. He suffered mood swings and sexual dysfunction.
Six months later, McDonald's pulled the super size menu and instead introduced the Happy Meal menu.
It is understood that no average consumer eats only junk food for a month and three times a day, but Spurlock proved damaging potential of the food that is served in restaurants of this giant corporation.
Fungi and bacteria avoid McDonald's products
Some observers suspicious about the fact that the food at McDonald's stays fresh incredibly long time, sometimes even years.
A photographer Sally Davis initiated the project called a Happy Meal in 2010, when she bought hamburger and French fries in one McDonald's restaurant, and decided to photograph it.
She photographed them every few days, until they turn bad, but after 137 days, hamburger and fries looked just as good without any mold and fungi.
The only difference she observed was the increased hardness of the meat. This is not an isolated case, and there was a hamburger as old as 14 years.
McDonald's explained that hamburgers become dry during the preparation and toasting, and when they are later left in the open, they lose moisture and therefore do not show signs of decay for a long time.
However, many consumers and experts believe that the real cause are many preservatives that McDonald's uses for food preparation.
However, it is assumed that preservatives are not the solely responsible for this phenomenon.
Marion Nestle from New York University believes that McDonald's probably uses a large amount of sodium propionate to prevent the growth of bacteria or molds in food.
Sandwich and fries from McDonald's - Day 863
See more pictures on flickr.com
Lying into the “face” of the public
McDonald's is trying hard to improve its reputation. In recent years, McDonald’s executed a number of measures aimed at the introduction of healthier ingredients in their food and at reducing energy consumption and environmental damage.
Because it is a powerful and influential company, consumers will always have the right to question whether the reports of positive changes in the policy of McDonald's are authentic, or embellished by friendly media.
Whatever changes McDonald's and other fast food producers introduce, we recommend that you always give a priority to fresh and organically grown food.
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