Wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before you immediately skim by this link because you refuse to read another rant written by a Vegetarian or Vegan- I am a content omnivore who is just feeling reflective today. Truth be told, I have begun to question much of what I thought I knew about food from a class that I started taking at UML called the Politics of Food. Funny enough, that is exactly what the class is supposed to do.

Last night I received an email from the professor for the class. She was sharing this link:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/omg-mcdonalds-does-the-right-thing/?src=recg

For those who did not immediately click the link, I’ll just tell you about it. The link connects you to a NY Times opinion story about how the McDonald’s Corporation is forcing its pork suppliers to phase out the use of gestation crates. Already I can start to tell that you could possibly be thinking, ” Who cares? How does this affect me?”

Answer: “Well I suppose some people care, while others may not. Unless you work a farm that raises pigs, this probably won’t affect you firsthand in the slightest.”

Being that I have begun to become a “label reader” at my friendly neighborhood market basket, I have started to become a person who does care. I saw what a gestation crate looks like and I am pretty disappointed in what I know about food. Take a second to google image “Gestation crate for pigs.”

So good job McDonald’s, right?

Today? Yes. They did a delightful job today. My larger concern has become what they will do tomorrow. It never really hit me until I read this article just how much power the McDonald’s corporation has in the global food market, but their decisions count for something. They are the third largest employer int he WORLD. Food suppliers, producers, competitors, really everyone pays attention when they make any sort of change in how they produce their successful products. Those who seek success watch to see what the successful organizations are doing and and industry is changed.

What I believe this major change has proved is what the average person can really do when he/she stands with a  lot of other average people. Consider the average population in the ever popular pyramid example. The base of the pyramid reflects the average people. Depending on the strength and size of the base, the pyramid stands a certain height tall. The average people control how high the tip of that pyramid (Executives at corporations like McDonald’s) extends.

Perhaps we, as average consumers, have much more power than we think.

Perhaps your brain is a bit tired from reading about this food for thought. If you had made it this far in the blog, reward yourself and watch this video:

~Alanna