I really admire the way McDonalds has reinvented itself.
In the past decade or so, the massive hamburger chain has gone from being the Big Bad Fast Food Giant to being, well, less bad. You can actually eat some of the food they prepare these days, there are various options for the kids and the coffee is actually drinkable.
But why do they sell water in bottles and coke in cups? Profit, of course.
Bottled water is a pretty awful thing, really. It consumes vast amounts of oil in the form of plastics to make the bottles and fuel to truck them around, is expensive and the water itself actually isn’t any better for you than the stuff which comes out of 99% of Australian taps. We just think it is, and McDonalds probably makes 100% profit – somewhere around $1 a bottle – on every one they sell.
But there would be a huge public outcry if McDonalds started selling cups of water for a dollar or so (the cost of labour to prepare a drink of water would probably be the most expensive part of putting a cup of iced water on your tray).
Hopefully this blog will play a tiny role in preventing that outcry, and maybe even getting people to ask for water in a cup at Maccas instead of a bottle.
Check out:
http://www.bottledwaterblues.com/
http://lighterfootstep.com/2008/05/five-reasons-not-to-drink-bottled-water/
Nigel Paterson - 0410878752 
Paterson’s Curse? Isn’t that a purple flower that grows wild? Not that I’m casting nasturtians!
It’s a weed farmers hate. Pretty though.
I see a break through. At Maccas last week when I asked for a water they replied was that in a cup or bottle. I went for the free cup option.