Corporate Accountability International Calls for the Retirement of Ronald McDonald

Corporate Accountability International has brought a food fight to New Hampshire. The organization, which campaigns to challenge corporate abuse, is calling for the retirement of Ronald McDonald the legendary clown associated with McDonald's fast food chain. They have gone so far as to claim that McDonald's is responsible for animal welfare abuse, diabetes, and the breakdown of our food system among other ills.

In a 28-page pdf, Corporate Accountability International, details the groundwork for Clowning with the Kids' Health: The Case for Ronald McDonald's Retirement. Michele Simon writes in the foreword, "In addition to the unforgivable exploitation of children there is the manner in which clown imagery masks the true face of McDonald's operations. Far from being "happy meals," McDonald's food is responsible for such social ills as heart disease, diabetes, animal welfare abuses, labor exploitation, unceasing environmental destruction, and the breakdown of our food system."

Simon goes on to lecture about how it isn't the parent's fault for bringing their child[ren] to McDonald's but that it is McDonald's fault for undermining parental values, "McDonald's multi-billion dollar marketing machine represents a fundamental restructuring of the family dynamic. Every time a parent has to say no to a child, it's another let down, another way that a parent has to feel bad about not making that child happy."

The "Retire Ronald" campaign calls for McDonald's to eliminate toys from Happy Meals, stop using celebrities, cartoons, and branded and licensed characters that appeal to children (ie. Ronald McDonald the Clown and Disney endorsed toys), and remove advertising and promotional materials from anywhere children might be including schools, community centers, and pediatric health care centers.

A group of people, led by Corporate Accountability International, delivered a petition to local management at a McDonald's in Portsmouth, New Hampshire calling for the retirement of Ronald McDonald. According to NECN the petition called for McDonald's to, "stop its predatory marketing of this junk food to our kids, because it's making them sick."

NECN also reported that McDonald's Corporate Office issued a statement saying that Ronald McDonald isn't going anywhere, "He is the heart and soul of Ronald McDonald House Charities, which lends a helping hand to families in their time of need...Ronald also helps deliver messages to families on many important subjects such as safety, literacy, and the importance of physical activity and making balanced food choices."