'We Don't Sell Junk Food,' McDonald's CEO Says in Meeting
"We don't sell junk food," said the McDonald's CEO in an annual shareholders meeting where they fielded questions concerning the company.
"We don't sell junk food," CEO Don Thompson told Hannah Robertson, a 9-year-old who was concerned about the obesity epidemic. "We sell a lot of fruits and vegetables at McDonald's and we're trying to sell a lot more."
Thompson was replying to a statement the girl said about kids eating unhealthy food, according UPI.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"Something that I don't think is fair is when big companies try to take kids into eating foods, that isn't good for them by using toys and cartoons characters. It would be nice if you stopped trying to trick kids into wanting to eat your food all the time," the girl said.
Thompson became CEO last month and is looking to expand the franchise's healthy options on the menu by adding kiwi and pineapple on a stick, which is a staple in other areas of the world. More recent additions have been smoothies, egg whites, and McWraps.
The healthier options are proving to sell very well, the numbers show. Big Macs and McNuggets only account for 25 percent of all sales right now, reported Hispanic Business.
"It's real beef, it's real chicken, it's real tomatoes, real lettuce, real fruit, real smoothies, real dairy, real eggs, and we do it in a way that is also affordable," the CEO replied, stressing that the ingredients are authentic.
Other topics on hand were questions regarding the fast food chain's targeting of minority groups, particularly African Americans.
"This one's kind of close to home. We do not have not, will not try to target people of color," said Thompson, an African-American who also lamented that his family could not afford McDonald's growing up.
McDonald's was holding this meeting because the company was asked to make a report on their impact on global nutrition and potential human rights violations.
"If you're concerned about the nutrition, you can drive past McDonald's," said Michael Cain, a shareholder from Crystal Lake. "Go home and make sure (your kids) eat what you want them to eat."
"I know what else I ate," Thompson said. "The epidemic of obesity's not about McDonald's; there needs to be more fresh food."
The potential human rights violations is concerning the franchise's employee pay and minimum wage.
