Lets Hear It For The Big Boys: In Praise Of The Corporation. (From The Argus)

Lets Hear It For The Big Boys: In Praise Of The Corporation.

7:54pm Tuesday 22nd June 2010 in

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Hello, my name is Alice and I quite like McDonald’s restaurants. And I let my child eat in them. I also don’t mind Disney, Coke, Apple or Microsoft.

I know it’s perhaps not the done thing as an intelligent, working mother living in the environs of Hove to admit to enjoying the prolific offerings of a large multi-national corporation. One that is regularly vilified, claimed to exploit workers and animals, market irresponsibly to minors and destroy the environment. To say little of its impact on local areas and communities. I know the Golden Arches cause a lot of consternation so I hope to tread carefully and therefore will start with a little story…

When Boy was 9 months old I took him on his first long train journey, we were actually moving house that day and I had a lot of travelling and carrying to do. Upon arrival at the station in desperate need of a cup of tea, toilet and nappy change I was at a loss at what to do and where to go. Nothing seemed helpful or hopeful in that chaotic mess of Victoria. Strolling the streets I noticed the familiar yellow logo (now presented on a more tasteful racing-green backdrop) and considered. It had been many, many years since I had been in a McDonald’s, I wasn’t sure if they even sold tea but I saw a high chair through the window and plunged inside.

I got my tea, loo break, nappy change and even managed a sit down and a bit of a play with Boy who enjoyed a break out of his pushchair. A kind lady who worked there took pity on me and even though I only had one cup of tea gave me the key to the very clean baby-changing toilet. I was pleasantly surprised but thought little more of it.

Then after a year of trying to get the pushchair and baby stuff into a myriad of tiny, local coffee shops without annoying anyone or to find somewhere to go to the loo, that previous McDonald’s experience felt like an oasis of calm in the rather try-hard yummy mummy environment. So after, once again, looking for a baby-friendly place to eat I decided to give McDonald’s another go, Boy and I both liked it very much and we’ve been again since! He sits in a clean high-chair drinking milk or juice and eating the fruit and chips (yes I let him have chips!), he even gets a toy and balloon to play with while I still drink the tea. If I am hungover (yes I do drink) I enjoy an Egg McMuffin, which are still amazing by the way and less calories than the average fry-up, I know because McDonald’s provide fat and calorie content of all their foodstuffs. Every restaurant in town uses salt and fat to make their food taste better, yes even the vegetarian ones. Oooh and you know what else is good for a hangover? A can of Diet Coke! Oh yes!

I am very aware of things like salt, sugar and fat levels and try to ensure that Boy has a healthy diet, well as much as I am able to and at home he eats organic, salt free food. So where’s the harm in this occasional excursion? Anyone horrified at the thought of eating in such a place should examine the hygiene levels, employment records and animal welfare stance of every late night kebab place you have ever bought your drunken chips in! Or even your local convenience store that has often supplied you with a chocolate bar (maybe one made by Nestle?) and we all remember that awful Whistleblower episode highlighting what goes on behind the fresh counters every day at your favourite supermarkets?

Boy recognises the Apple logo as well as he does the real fruit, that’s fine by me they make a lot of good products I really like and so does he, he’s had his own iPod Touch for a while now (it stops him breaking my iPhone). He has Nike trainers, not because he needs to be cool but because they are well made and withstand his constant kicking abuse, I buy them second-hand off eBay and pass them on. I’ve never promoted Mickey Mouse in our house but somehow Boy has become familiar with his work! He made his own way into the Disney store and so I bought him his own toy Mickey which he loves nearly as much as his generic, non-branded monkey. And if an Iggle Piggle branded potty means he will feel happier using it then I will buy him one of those too. Yes it’s a plastic choice, not an eco-friendly wooden one, but at home we try to recycle what we can and Boy is getting involved with that too. Even McDonald’s serve their food in paper bags and card boxes now, which I find way more pleasing than the amount of plastic packaging you still see in shops every day?

I want my child to be exposed to alternatives and exceptions, but also what is considered to be the ‘mainstream’. I don’t want him to look down on people who eat in McDonald’s, I don’t want him to not be aware of popular culture, I want him to make his own choices. Which surely is the main point here? What about personal responsibility and choice? If you choose to eat at McDonald’s and drink Coke every day then you deserve to become ill and obese. This is no one else’s fault and certainly not the company who buy the adverts that you sit and watch.

I have spent my working life promoting these companies, ones that hasten childhood along and aggressively sell you their plastic wares, huge entertainment juggernauts that release food and films that offer no spiritual, nutritional or emotional value (but come on who isn’t looking forward to seeing Toy Story 3?) and I am fully aware of their inner workings and shortcomings. But I have no emotional attachment to them for any reason, however, I do recognise if something works well for me, whether from a small or large company, and so will take advantage of any product or service that makes my life easier or happier, even for a throwaway moment. A shallow outlook maybe but these companies are obviously trying to take advantage of you and your hard earned cash so why not make use them when you see fit?