Want fries with that? You better like fish
In a move that should surprise no one, McDonald's has apparently forced Olympics bosses to ban the sale of fries at hundreds of food retailers at Games venues across Britain during the 16-day event.
The revelation Wednesday comes on the heels of another controversial decision -- making a Dutch beer the official brew of the Games instead of one of the many fine British ales made in-country.
A memo leaked via Twitter shows that LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) will be asking hungry spectators to give food handlers a break when they order such favorites as sausage and chips or steak and chips, due to "sponsorship obligations" with the biggest commercial food partner at the Games.
The one exception to the rule will be the British classic fish and chips. Still, warns the committee, if there's trouble at the food stands, they might take away that dish entirely.
"Please do not give the staff grief," the memo states. "This will only led (sic) to us removing fish and chips completely."
Hopefully it won't come to that. But if online reaction is any indication, it might. Cries of "Boycott McDonald's" could be heard throughout the Twitterverse and in online comments, right next to debate about whether its fries can truly be considered deserving of the term "chips."
McDonald's has remained mum about the memo. Given its massive investment, including the construction of a temporary "world's biggest McDonald's ever" next to the Olympic Stadium, the topic will no doubt remain off the menu for its PR firm.
Below is a video of FOX Sports news analyst Rick Horrow discussing McDonald’s sponsorship of the Olympics
Recently on Medal Detector
More Olympics Coverage from the Yardbarker Network
49 Comments:
-
Sounds like a bad movie about the Gestapo with everyone speaking in phony German accents, "You vill eat vhat ve tell you to eat. Your attitude has been noticed! Ve haf vays of dealing vith you! You vill eat our fries!"
-
Screw McDogfood's, their corporate death-burger AND their overly-salted golden sticks of artery-clogging cholesterol.
Go to London; see the Games; eat American Fries and drink Dutch Beer.
Hey... if you order a Heineken with your McDogfood's fries, do you get a complementary cup of Mayo to dip them in? -
Don't blame it on the Sunshine.........or the Moonlight..........Blame it on the Good Times............Blame it on the Queen!!
The Queen is the one behind this..........bet your last money.....she taxes the HELL out of
England........just like a window tax...road tax..tv antenna tax..yes antenna tax go figga for some damn bad reception rabbit ears there is a tax and you better pay it...LOL!! or else..flatline...lol......now there is a fry tax in Engand called........Fish and CHIPS only....... aint that a Bitch!!..........like I said .....the Queen! -
I'll just order 2 fish and a platter of fries but leave the fish.
-
corporations need to own us, to maximize profit ...you can easily resist by boycott..... purchase nothing that has a corporate label.......the beast and will wither and die
-
So McDonalds now owns the International patent for french fries? Wonder how much they had to pay for that........
-
LOL @ England Suckers
-
McDonald's tries to capitalize on any big event. British food may not be that good but if they try to shut down fish&chips then I hope Britain boycotts McDonald's.
-
Freedom of choice should not be inhibited by governments. Choice also has the responsiblity to accept the consequences of your decisions. Most of the regulation processs does nothing but limit peoples responsiblity for their actions. We should not accept others making our choices for us. I think we call that socialism or even communist like. Imagine that happening to the point where you can't even live your daily life as you wish.
-
Sure, let's get rid of all the intrusive government regulation -- so all the Big Corporations can make tons of money without ever having to worry about any lawsuits because of all the people who get sick and die because of all the cost-saving corner-cutting. I mean, who cares if even YOUR child happens to eat something that has been contaminated with e-coli just because Big Corporate didn't want to bother with spending the money to make sure YOUR child's food is actually safe to eat? Hey, it's all about the Almighty Profit margin, right?
-
i doubt that GOVERNMENT had anything to do with banning chips throughout olympic village food vendors.
Unless you now consider McDonalds the governing arm of the UK. -
it's not the gov. it's the olympic commity.to induce companies to inest they had to make consessions. learn to read + read to learn.
-
From no on I will, when I need fast food, by pass mcdonald or eat their but will not eat their fries, that way they will have more fries for the game. This is wrong mcdonald but my little buying will not cost you very much but I will talk to my friends and other sales people I work with.
-
It is amazing that at a sporting contest, a vendor is willing to insult the people of the host nation in not allowing traditional meals for profit. It is also amazing that the management group would allow McDonalds which serves low quality, unhealthy food to dictate terms. I am positive the other vendors serve a higher quality meal than McDonalds. Just goes to show you that the Olympics are NOT about the sports anymore, just about making big money!
-
Yeah! Stupid NBC is the only network allowed to show the olympics on tv. It must be about the money to put on a show.
-
I am sure that all networks bid on the Olympics, just depends on how much they bid. The Olympics have always been on 1 channel or all of the channels of NBC.
-
no more McD for me. I don't think McD is all that great anyway. GO BURGER KING. And down with the Olympics.
-
NO MORE MCD'S FOR MY FAMILY,,,,THIERS OTHER PLACCES TO GO EAT AND SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER THAN MCD'S
-
Oh not to worry, my lovers of fries! All you have to do is order the fish and chips and the dish you really wanted, then pour the chips onto the dish you really wanted. LOL You can give the fish to someone else. Problem solved!
-
hahahahha yeah if it was salmon u could give it to me! hahahah
-
time to vote with frozen whole potato's through Mc-D's front plate glass windows..Vote often as possible ,you deserve a brake today from McDonald's :P
-
Food vendors should hand out a few FREE french fries with everything people order! Drinks; beer; water; candy; chocolates. That will teach them a lesson they won't soon forget.
-
Screw the sponsers! Order baked potatoe in its jacket and bass blue label for a great meal.
-
McDonalds is truly in the wrong. Never liked the franchise's poor quality, "fat" food anyway. I've had great food in Britain and don't care about fries (chips), but I'm hoping the fish and chips sells like mad and Micky D's takes a dive. Using clout ($) to legislate what people can order and where they can order it is offensive. I'd boycott McDonalds here in the US, but I won't eat there anyway, so they wouldn't miss me.
-
No more McDonalds for my family either,maybe if everyone would boucott McDonalds theyed go UNDER,,,,,,,,,,theyre to to much fatty food and most of the time weve gotton COLD sanwhitches fromthier
-
Yeah! And boycott NBC because they are the only TV station allowed to broadcast the events!
-
Give me a break! american citisin, live in Mexico. No wonder the rest of the world thinks we are a bunch of money grubing assholes.
-
I will be boycotting McDonalds and I will strongly encourage others to do the same. Major corporations such as McDonalds are taking things way to far now and it is high time we, the consumers, start standing up against such tyrannical tactics.
This is just the kind of thing you would expect from an evil corporation who knows their product cannot stand up to the local competition. I had never considered McDonalds to be such a cut-throat corporation, until now.
It is for this reason McDonalds will never again receive my business, and I will do everything I can to convince others to take their business to any of the plethora of McDonalds competitors.
-
When I have fast food I generally use MacDonalds. No more. I don't like any corporation telling another what they can do/serve, etc. I'll pass this on to my students and friends.
-
Uh, perhaps when you stop to consider that McD's has probably poured millions of dollars into this event including kickbacks to the organizers; maybe they'd expect the organizers to live up to their contractural obligations by allowing McD's to be the sole providor of their signature item. The Olympic venues are built and the events themselves televised on the backs of countless corporate sponsors. They're not charities, they should be allowed to expect something in return. If the organizers were so worried about their "mom and pop" operators serving "chips" maybe they should have thought of that before agreeing to let McD's serve their fries exclusively. But then, the "mom and pops" would have had to pick up the slack in terms of the dollars needed to put this event on. That wasn't going to happen.
-
Uh, perhaps when you stop to think about what McDonald's is really "famous" for, you would realize their "signature item" is NOT their fries. Try "Big Mac" and/or "McMuffin", DG.
-
Who eats McD swill anyway? Looks like the LOCOG is nothing more than bunch of whoring politicians for sale to the highest bidder. (No offense prostitutes) Do the Chip Nazis dictate what the portion size of fish must be in order to dispense chip? I say serve up 1/2Kg of chips with a 2gram crumb of fish. If the LOCO-Goons have a problem with that, give them a bath of hot oil. I'm surprised that McD didn't get exclusive rights to sell fish, forcing people to eat fake-fish McFish sandwiches. Other chip vendors should consider offering "waffle fries" or "curlie fries", still a potato but not a traditional chip, then rename the dish Gustapo-tatoes.Cook them with the peel on and call them BrownShirtatoes. Screw LOCOG & McD, boycott McD globally
-
McD lost my business years ago. If I were at the games I would want to try eating the local offerings. Isn't the local food a part of what traveling is all about?
-
this is becoming disturbingly common. Spend enough money , and you have the right to trample people Tell a lie long enough and you get the right to ostracize people if they don't believe and accept your lie. McD is a perfect example of the former. I leave you to your selves to identify the latter culprits. In any event, no McD ANYTHING for me until the last olympic medalist goes home.
-
This is so wrong. I don't care how much money a corporation has donated to the Olympics, it has no right to dictate what anyone can or cannot eat. I am a Yank and I do not like MickeyD's to begin with ( I prefer Burger King) . You can bet yourself that I will never patronize McD's.
-
Too much drama ... would you like some flies with that ???
-
I think the other food vendors should be able to sell anything they want. I also think they should all chip in the money that McDonald's donated. The only reason the Olympics are able to be held is because of sponsorships. Nothing wrong, evil, backhanded, inhibiting, or oppressionistic about it. Put up the money and you have the power. Have you all not realized that's the way the world works yet?
-
Hey aren't these the same idiots that banned starter pistols from use at track & field events because they might scare or offend some gutless inbred spectator? Rumor has it the Javelin will be banned also because it looks like a spear and is offensive to the weenies that are afraid of a cap gun. Soon to be banned: Hammer Toss, Boxing, Fencing. New events in place of banned sports: Connect the Dots, Paint by Numbers, Tic-Tac-Toe, Red Diaper Doper Baby Relay.Maybe next time we can have the Olympics in country that hasn't been castrated by liberal panzies. All Brits deserve the right to Keep & Bear Arms. Take back your country from those that took it from the citizens. Water the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants!
-
Next they will tell me that NBC is the only tv network allowed to televise the events.
-
It is.
-
that's too bad that the mc stock is gonna go down better sell it!
-
because i own it
-
Stupid British People!!! Pack a lunch amd bring your own with you. I would Boycott Mcdonalds anywhere near the Olympics. Let McDonalds go it with just a few patrons.
-
Watch what happens to McD's fries after 10 weeks: www.youtube.com/watch?v=knJHfVQL8JE
Talk about last fry standing. Looks like ol' Ronald wrote the book! -
Just sharing a little US thinking here, but... Being as this is specifically against COMPANIES selling fries with their meals, it says nothing about anyone setting up a deep fryer in ,say, the parking and making their own... maybe make a few pounds on the side, y'know?
