McDonald's Corp. is getting ready to fight back against a new book and a movie that claims the fast-food companies are responsible for the nation's childhood-obesity epidemic. The book is called
Chew On This, a 270-page title aimed at 11- to 15-year-olds. The movie is a film version of the bestseller
Fast Food Nation. Both books were written by Eric Schlosser.
Chew On
This publisher Houghton Mifflin Co. says in promotional materials for the book that it will show kids "the fascinating and sometimes frightening truth about what lurks between those sesame-seed
buns." The book also criticizes McDonald's for being low-wage employers. But the fast-food giant isn't taking any of it sitting down. The company is thinking about dispatching a "truth
squad," along with a team of "ambassadors of the brand," to get out the message that McDonald's offers a healthy menu and provides good jobs, according to a document it sent to restaurant franchisees.
McDonald's is also holding press briefings where company executives tell reporters about what the company calls its "commitment to quality food and career opportunities." McDonald's spokesman Walt
Riker said the company has "a responsibility to set the record straight" but isn't making a special effort to counteract the movie and the book. "What you're talking about is a rewrite of a book
that's five years old," Riker said, which means that "McDonald's is already familiar with the issues in [the book]," according to the
Wall Street Journal.
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