The McItaly a Sustainable Living Flop

I myself am not a fan of McDonald's hamburgers, not only for sustainable living purposes, although those reasons are up there, but for the sheer fact that they just aren't all that appealing. Not when I think about what is actually in them, and weighing that pitiful excuse of a burger (a couple of ounces slapped together behind the counter by a fifteen year old kid with a loose band aide on his finger) with all the negatives, I usually have lost my appetite. I am not putting anyone down who swears by their Big Mac or Happy Meal, but it's just not my thing. Yet in terms of being an ethical consumer there are other reasons to abstain from Ronald McDonald.

Not only is there the fact that the meat industry is something that should be revamped, I think the premise of limiting the amount of meat we all eat on a weekly basis is becoming more popular. I even read that Kate Moss has recently pledged to go meatless on Mondays, but that couldn't be too much of a sacrifice for her because I also read she doesn't eat anything on the first five days of the week anyways. Needless to say, between transportation emissions, farming practices, and yes even the amount of fecal matter these bovine creatures accumulate from moo to burger are wrecking havoc on the environment.

A second point of contention with supporting the mega fast food chain in terms of sustainable living is that if you are to opt for their burgers and fries you are not giving back to your local community. A part of ethical consumption entails supporting local farmers for a variety of reasons; they reduce carbon emissions with significantly less transportation for the goods, you are also bolstering local commerce and business, and really there are many more. These facts, coupled with a recent article I read, gave me quite a chuckle.

Apparently McDonald's was hoping to attract more of their customers in Italy by appealing to their sense of national pride; the chain actually got the blessing from the government. They unveiled on their menu the McItaly and this delicacy even had its own tag line, "McDonald's speaks Italian." The marketing ploy is that the red, white, and green of the Italian flag are incorporated into the burger with your pick from smoked pancetta, artichoke spread, lettuce, onion, and Asiago cheese, "We want to give an imprint of Italian flavors to our youngsters," claims Luca Zaia the Agriculture Minister of Italy. Yet the claims go one step further in touting the 'Made in Italy' logo because supposedly the burger contains only Italian Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) elements.

But is that really sustainable living wrapped up all neatly with paper glowing with golden arches? Not so the outraged founder of the Slow Food trend Carlo Petrini, "Globalizing a taste does not promote it but rather standardizes and homogenizes it." He continues, "This isn't about supporting Italian farmers and products, it's about making money by working with a multinational that actively takes power away from local producers." The entire McItaly release has caused a backlash from the citizens, and most notably from the farmers and local producers in the area with one calling it a "monstrous act of national betrayal."

At a time when sustainable living should be at the forefront of our minds at not only a local level but a federal one, I can see why a few miffed farmers have a bone to pick with the burger chain. Petrini himself fought arduously to stop McDonald's from ever opening its doors, but he was just no match for the corporate Goliath. While not everyone across the globe will have the 'pleasure' of sampling the McItaly, we can all instead do our own part in supporting our local markets. In fact, those Mom and Pop diners will not only be a better choice for your community and the environment, but most likely your health and taste buds as well. In closing, one can't help but wonder what someone who actually sampled the burger had to say, "It's like they couldn't be bothered to make the effort."

Photo credits: Vacacion