That’s right, THREE HUNDRED PERCENT! I did the actual experiment myself. First, I went to the McDonald’s in Conway, Arkansas. I bought a Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal. Once I received this meal, I immediately ripped the burger apart and took note of every single ingredient in it. There are two buns, one quarter pound of beef patty, one slice of cheese, onions, ketchup, mustard, and two pickles. I then ate the burger, of course. I wasn’t going to buy it for $6.69 and not eat it. But after I ate it, I went to Walmart and looked at the prices of all the ingredients for the Quarter Pounder, the large French Fries, and the large Coca-Cola. I then jotted down all of the ingredients’ prices and calculated how much it would cost me to make just one sandwich of my own.
If I were to buy the ingredients separately at Walmart than buying it at McDonald’s, I would save around $4.16 a meal. The burger itself would only cost me $1.10, while at McDonald’s it is $4.09. The burger alone makes a profit of $2.99.
Phot Courtesy of Joshua Dabney
This is extremely upsetting to me. Not only does McDonald’s sell you food that can possibly kill you, if you consume too much of it, but they are making a “KILLING” off of it as well. They promote how their food is so cheap and filling, but why don’t they change they way that their food affects the body. Why can’t they change the ingredients. Change the bread to wheat bread, and cook the meat with less grease.
In Miriam Marcus’s article, Gotta Love McDonald’s Profits, he says that McDonald’s is making around 1.2 billion dollars quarterly in profits (par. 3). With all this extra money they have, they could change their ingredients, and not even feel a pinch of money being taken from their wallets. I guess they are so greedy that they just want it all.
Why do we allow corporations to do this? We need to stand against these things. McDonald’s is attracting children all around the world to eat at their restaurants, and they are polluting their bodies while stealing our money. Something needs to be done.
If you want more detail on this subject, go to my websit called Fast Food Frenzy.
Dear Josh,
ReplyDeleteI always knew that McDonalds was making a large profit but never realized how much. Setting the disturbing nutritional facts aside that is reason enough for me to start cooking at home.
" I went to Walmart and looked at the prices of all the ingredients for the Quarter Pounder." Did you ever take into account that Walmart is also making a profit? If not McDonalds is making a more than 300% profit off everything it sells. It never ceases to amaze me how everyone jacks up the price as high as possible and then claim there product is cheap!
" Not only does McDonald’s sell you food that can possibly kill you, if you consume too much of it, but they are making a “KILLING” off of it as well." At this point in the game I have no remorse for people who still eat at McDonalds. I'm not saying I care but if they are going to eat there the least they can do is stop complaining about how fat they are.
Thanks for going the extra mile with all your research. I'll be sure to come back to your blog again.
Kudu
Dear Josh,
ReplyDeleteAs with every business, I knew that McDonald's had to be making a profit off of the things it sells. "The burger itself would only cost me $1.10, while at McDonald’s it is $4.09. The burger alone makes a profit of $2.99." But I wouldn't have ever guessed in a million years that they'd be making a nearly 300% profit! That's insane! You're right about them probably being able to change to healthier ingredients and not even really have their wallets notice a difference.
Seems like you did some excellent investigating of your own by going to Wal-Mart and figuring out how much it would cost to make your own burger. It would be cheaper, healthier, and smarter for all of us if we just went to the grocery store instead.
Dear Josh,
ReplyDeleteI really agree with this post. McDonald's should definitely look into trying to make their foods healthier. I'm sure it would put even more money into their pocket. Also they would probably have less lawsuits against them.
I like how you said "This is extremely upsetting to me. Not only does McDonald’s sell you food that can possibly kill you, if you consume too much of it, but they are making a “KILLING” off of it as well." This is very true about McDonald's. Although the part about the food killing you i don't really agree with. Yes McDonald's doesn't have the healthiest food but unless you eat it literally everyday for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and in between snacks. With no outside food except for McDonald's then you can't be killed by it. If someone does eat McDonald's like that then it's their own fault and they need to change their eating habits.
I do agree with this statement "With all this extra money they have, they could change their ingredients, and not even feel a pinch of money being taken from their wallets." McDonald's should just try to change their ingredients, even a little bit. I'm sure they would benefit more from the change then they believe. Too bad McDonald's doesn't have a say in the ingredients. Only their supplier does. I think someone you talk some sense into their supplier.
I really like this post. With the theme this semester I've only been interested in fast food topics. Although i have found other good topics. You should continue to write about fast food places. Maybe you will get heard someday.
Sincerely,
Klipspringer
Dear Josh,
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you address this issue. You made a point that it’s unhealthy, yet a lot of people still eat it because they have no other choices. It’s not that it’s their first choice, but in small towns like you mentioned it makes perfect sense that that’s all they have. They make a huge profit but still keep their prices very low. You’re getting what you pay for.’
“When I worked at a grocery store, I ate McDonalds at least twice a day because it was fast and convenient.” This statement really stuck out because I’ve honesty never thought about it in those terms. Sure, it’s unhealthy, but in moderation it’s okay. There are actually people out there, like yourself, that eat it daily though because they don’t have a choice.
“Not only does McDonald’s sell you food that can possibly kill you, if you consume too much of it, but they are making a “KILLING” off of it as well.” I really like statement because it’s completely true. They’re feeding their customers food that only harms them, which isn’t right. Not to mention, they’re making money off of it, so they’re basically getting paid to harm people.
I really like the way you address your blogs so keep it up!
Grackle
Dear Josh,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog I honestly wouldn't mind if I didn't ever find myself sitting in the McDonald's line again! That is insane the kind of profit that they make off of us!
"Did you know that McDonald’s is making almost 300% profit off of what they sell you." That large number seriously discourages me! How could any corporation do such a thing and feel compfortable about themselves. Oh wait, it's McDonalds.. Who am I kidding?!
"We need to stand against these things." Although I do agree with you 100% I honestly can't imagine us changing the roles of such a large corporation. When we come up with a way.. more power to us!
Thank you for you post. I will be back for more in the near future!
Chimpanzee