‘Don’t you want kids to be healthy so they can live a long life?’ Girl, 9, corners McDonald’s CEO at shareholders meeting
DailyMail: She may only be little, but Hannah Robertson has a lot of big opinions – and an even bigger voice.
The nine-year-old showed it off at a McDonald’s shareholders meeting in Oak Brook, Illinois on Thursday morning when she cornered the fast-food chain’s CEO, Don Thompson.
‘Mr. Thompson, don’t you want kids to be healthy so they can live a long and healthy life?’ she asked during the meeting’s question and answer session.
Hannah has been well schooled in healthy eating; her mother, Kia, is a children’s nutritional activist and creator of “Today I Ate a Rainbow” – a game encouraging children to eat different fruits.
She even appears in videos for her mother’s business, showing other children how easy it is to eat healthily – and probably amazing a few by munching on handfuls of kale and spinach.
‘I don’t think it’s fair when big companies try to trick kids into eating food. It isn’t fair that so many kids my age are getting sick,’ she said, suggesting the company targets children with its advertising.
But Thompson did not falter with his response. ‘We don’t sell junk food,’ he said, USA Today reporter. ‘My kids also eat McDonald’s.’
He added that he watched what his children eat, making sure they eats lots of fruit and vegetables at home, and that McDonald’s sells fruit, such as apple slices, in children’s meals.
He pointed out that McDonald’s has also started to sell fat-free chocolate milk. But he added: ‘I think it’s great that you want to eat more fruits and veggies.’
The company has said it is committed to healthy living. Last September it made the move to list calorie information on restaurant and drive-thru menus across the country. It added that there would be more options on its menus, such as eggs whites on breakfast sandwiches, more seasonal fruit and vegetables and sandwiches starting at 350 calories. Thompson said that because of these options, items such as Big Macs, fries and chicken nuggets account for just 25 per cent of the sales.
McDonald’s investors voted down all shareholder proposals at the meeting on Thursday. One proposal asked McDonald’s to make an annual report about its effect on global nutrition, and another wanted the company to report on potential human rights violations in its global business.
Another speaker at the meeting asked that McDonald’s remove its locations from hospitals, while others asked it to stop targeting communities of color by signing stars such as Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas and the NBA’s LeBron James.
McDonald’s is just doing what any private company can do – advertise to target demographics, sell products, and make a profit for their shareholders. They’ve responded with healthier options on their menus too. Shouldn’t parents be blamed for forcing McDonald’s down their childrens’ throats?
Seems to me that Hannah just wanted to get some attention for her mother’s business (or her mom set it up).
DCG