San Francisco Soda Tax

According to ABC:

A can of soda could eventually cost about a quarter more in San Francisco. A proposed measure would add a special tax to sugary beverages, but the proposal is different than a similar ballot measure that failed in Richmond last year.

The idea is simple -- the bigger the drink, the more taxes you pay. It would be 2 cents per ounce for all sugar-sweetened beverages. That includes soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, and bottled Frappuccinos.

"It's not a nanny state at all; we're not banning anything," San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener said.

If you have to preemptively defend yourself of being a nanny state... you're probably part of a nanny state.  

McDonald's Sues Australian Town

According to NaturalNews:

Plans by fast food giant McDonald's to build its first restaurant in the Australian town of Tecoma, located in the state of Victoria, are being challenged by nearly 100,000 individuals who recently signed a petition demanding that McDonald's stay out of the area. 

According to Yahoo! TV in Australia, representatives from an activist group known as BurgerOff recently flew 10,000 miles to the McDonald's global headquarters near Chicago to deliver the petition and signatures, which company officials reportedly refused to touch.

***

Despite the fact that the vast majority of Tecoma residents, according to Muratore, are in opposition to the project, McDonald's plans to move forward with it anyway. The company has even gone so far as to file a lawsuit against the protesters in an effort to keep them away from the proposed construction site, alleging that the project is well supported throughout the local community. But according to Muratore, this claim is absolutely false.

"That's a lie that McDonald's in Australia keeps pushing," he told reporters. "We know that nine out of 10 people don't want this."

God bless any town that fights elitist global corporation who think they know what is best for an area of the world they've never even been to.  Somehow McDonalds thinks suing this town will help their image?  I guess they don't really care about their image considering the way they treat their employees.  

Mcdonald's has a world wide reputation, they were a once beloved aspect of society, not so much anymore.  Yet somehow they think they can rest on their laurels and keep treating their customers, employees and communities like crap, while still raking in enormous amounts of cash.  Sadly they get away with this because most people are so addicted to Big Macs they don't care what the company is doing other than serving their food.  

Learn more at the official site, BurgerOff.org.

Awesome Fast Food Packaging

It nearly makes me want fast food just to try something like this out ... fortunately for me it is only a concept, but a very awesome one!

Check out Wired to learn more.  

McDonald's Canada Linked To "Shocking Animal Cruelty"

L.A. To Ban GMO

According to RT:

Los Angeles is considering a ban on the cultivation, sale and distribution of genetically modified organisms, which would make the city the largest GMO-free zone in the US.

Los Angeles City Councilmen Paul Koretz and Mitch O’Farrell introduced Friday a motion to curb growth and proliferation of GMO seeds and plants within the city.

The councilmen said the proposal aims to protect local gardens and city-grown food from future contamination from GMO seeds. The motion would not impact the sale of food containing GMO ingredients, however.

GMO seeds are mostly used only by large-scale farming operations, of which none exists in Los Angeles city.

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Some smaller US localities have banned the cultivation of GMOs, but LA would be by far the biggest US city to do so.

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A public effort to require all GMO foods and seeds to be labeled as such throughout the entire state of California failed a year ago. Opponents of Proposition 37 - like Monsanto and Kraft - helped donate around $46 million to the cause against labeling. Supporters of labeling raised just over $9 million in that defeat.

Voters in Washington State will consider a labeling requirement next month. Opponents of Initiative 522 - led by questionable fundraising tactics by industry trade group Grocery Manufacturers Association - have pumped $17 million into the effort to defeat labeling. Supporters have raised over $5 million.

As the article states this measure seems to be more symbolic than anything else.  Considering it won't ban much of anything since there are no large farms using GMO seeds in L.A.  

However I guess it is a step in the right direction in gaining more public attention to the situation.  So ... I guess good job L.A. Let's get this ban implemented and then adequately expanded to include a ban on all GMO foods and then we'll have something to truly celebrate about.   

Feds Order School to Ban Packed Lunches

According to InfoWars:

A school in Richmond, Virginia is following federal government instructions by telling parents that they need to have a doctor’s note in order for their children to be allowed to bring packed lunches to school, another example of how the nanny state is encroaching via the public education system.

***

While informing parents that they cannot make a decision on their own child’s diet, the same school promotes the fact that they sell ice cream during P.E. lessons every week. In a separate post, another parent describes how their child was upset because she was the only student not able to buy nachos and lemonade, which were also being sold during P.E. lessons right before lunch.

So schools are happily promoting junk food, while at the same time claiming that parents are not the best suited individuals to decide what their kid eats for lunch.  What kind of backwards logic creates this atmosphere of idiocracy is truly mind boggling to me.  

Dear Parents,

I have received word from Federal Programs Preschool pertaining to lunches from home. Parents are to be informed that students can only bring lunches from home if there is a medical condition requiring a specific diet, along with a physicians note to that regard.

I am sorry for any inconvenience. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Stephanie [redacted] the Health Coordinator for Federal Programs Preschool at [redacted].

Thanks,
Ms. [redacted]

Cop Served Raw Burger at McDonalds

According to CBS: 

Officer Rob Moore pulls up to the McDonald’s drive-through in Derry, New Hampshire a couple times a week for some fast food, ordering a double quarter pounder with cheese. It’s usually the only place open working the night shift.

“I was the only one at the restaurant. I drove through and I was in full uniform,” said Moore. He grabbed his order and pretty hungry he dug in and quickly took four bites before realizing something was wrong. “I took the bun off and the first patty was cooked, the second patty revealed a raw mess and I’m sitting there holding that. I couldn’t believe what I just ate.”

Officer Moore believes it was no accident given the circumstances. “A lot of people don’t like police officers, all the circumstances are there. Only one there in full uniform and it was obviously cooked after I arrived.”

The problem is it wasn’t cooked and a few hours later he became violently ill. Moore says he contacted the franchise owner and was told the cook was a manager in training.

He says he was also told there is surveillance video of the cook preparing his order. “I was told you could see him actually put the patty into the cooker, trying to close the mechanism a couple of times, eventually taking it out and putting it on the bun and serving it to me like that. It’s unacceptable.”

McDonald’s would only release a statement saying, “We take matters regarding food safety and quality very seriously. We have investigated the issue and have resolved the customer’s concern at the restaurant level.”

Officer Moore believes there should be more stringent procedures for monitoring employees. “This could happen to anybody, not just law enforcement,” he said.

There was no way I could even edit this story down, the whole tale needed to be shared.  

I worked at a rotisserie chicken place for a while, we served the majority of our food right in front of the customer, and I know for a fact we had a few cops who would purposefully come to get food from us knowing they could watch us prepare it.  

With that said I'd imagine they were worried about someone spitting in their food or using dirty gloves to prepare it.  Serving someone raw meet is not cool.  There certainly are bad cops out there but one should not assume that they are all bad people.  Possibly causing sickness or worse to someone who has never done anything to you personally is really immature and pathetic.  

But hey, it's McDonald's what else should I expect?