Should I boycott Macdonald's for environmental reasons?

The planet is heading for an environmental crisis. Indeed, the environmental issue is at the heart of our news. We can therefore wonder whether we should avoid dealing with the big multinationals to protect the environment. In this essay, we will study the case of McDonald’s. It represents one of the largest fast food company in the world. McDonald’s has no less than 22 billion customers a year worldwide

Therefore, we can ask ourselves if we should boycott McDonald’s for environmental reasons or not.

First, I will discuss about the negative environmental impact of McDonald’s. Then, I will deal with the positive points. Finally, I will give my global opinion on this brand.

The environmental impact of McDonald’s

In this paragraph, we will see that the brand is not enough committed to an environmental approach. The major point is about the business model, the ingredients for the sandwiches are grown and prepared centrally, then transported to the selling points and all this schema requires lot of transportation pollution and packaging means. In fact, the brand announces that it recycles 90% of their cardboard packaging. However only 25% of cardboard packaging is actually recycled in France. It is not enough for a developed country. In addition to the fact that the packaging is not recycled, it is used improperly. For example, in France, 115 tons of packaging are thrown away every day. Finally, McDonald's uses palm oil in their cooking. However, to produce this oil in sufficient quantity, it is necessary to destroy many forests to plant the palm trees. The brand has chosen Indonesia to grow palm oil. To sum up, McDonald’s has little concern for the environment. But, fortunately, the brand is aware of this situation and tries to better it.

Actions implemented by the brand

In this second part, we will deal with the environmental actions that the brand has implemented. First, the brand promised to stop using packaging that contributes to deforestation. Currently, it plans to reach 100% of cardboard packaging by 2020. Then, in the same perspective of environmental approach, McDonald's began to buy sustainable beef in 2016. McDonald’s has also stopped producing toys containing batteries. Lastly, the brand has set up a program to collect abandoned packaging. So, we can see that the company is making efforts for the environment.

        My personal opinion on the environmental impact of McDonald’s

In my opinion, McDonald’s wants to enter into an environmental approach, however it is very difficult. The brand is trying to make efforts to reduce its waste, but the volume is too large, and it depends on the business model. The brand is working hard in order to get a better image and to keep being attractive to consumers, nevertheless I think we should limit the consumption of industrial fast food in general, not only McDonald's.

To conclude, the fast food industry remains very polluting, so consumption must be limited. Therefore, we should consume differently. We can find local fast food or food trucks that use local products. These new concepts are generally more involved in an environmental approach.

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