Mickey D’s Finally Going ‘Healthy’

After all the pressure McDonald’s has been getting over the years about their hand in the rise of child obesity in particular, they’ve finally begun to put serious effort into making their menu healthier for the consumers. On Thursday, September 26 the company announced they would not be promoting their less healthy items to children anymore. Instead, on both the kids’ and adult menus, they will be offering options such as fruit cups and cut vegetables.

            To start with, the chain will be making these new changes to 20 of their largest markets, which statistically makes up about 85% of their sales worldwide. However, these changes will not be completely chain-wide until about 2020. The offerings themselves were announced with the Clinton Foundation’s campaigns to reduce childhood obesity.

            Even though they have started to add healthy choices like salads and raw vegetables in recent years, the millennial generation (who have become the company’s target audience) are still steering their interest to places like Panera, Chipotle, and Subway. Within the last week, McDonald’s biggest competitor, Burger King, released their new, healthier fries which are reduced fat.

            Clearly they still have a long way to go before people start trusting the golden arch again. Since most people still have their minds haunted by the horrifying images documentaries such as Super Size Me (2004) ingrained in our brains. I know my body can no longer process anything from fast food places except soda and the occasional McFlurry. Though it is good to see that the company isn’t being bull-headed and they are making serious efforts to make their food better for their customers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/27/business/mcdonalds-moves-toward-a-healthier-menu.html?_r=0