An Open Letter to Ken Barun, President and CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities by Marla Rose December 23, 1999 Ken Barun President and CEO Ronald McDonald House Charities 1 Kroc Drive Oak Brook, IL 60523 Dear Mr. Barun: Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this letter. I hope that you approach what I have written with an open mind, because it addresses a matter that is deeply serious to many people and one that has grave consequences for billions more. I am writing to you today of my growing concern for children of the industrialized world, many of whom are becoming addicted to products that are slowly destroying them. In this context, one would naturally assume that I were referring to a substance that is widely known to be harmful for anyone to consume, like drugs or cigarettes. In fact, however, I am referring to something that is far more insidious and unavoidable: Mr. Barun, I am writing to you about food. More specifically, I would like to address McDonald's products, and how they affect young consumers today and tomorrow. There are many issues that can be raised in relation to McDonald's policies, but, taking into consideration your role with Ronald McDonald House Charities, it seems appropriate to focus on the single matter that should concern you and your organization: taking an active role in reducing unhealthiness and disease among children. The goal of Ronald McDonald House Charities is stated as such: To continue seeking solutions for the problems facing children and families today [and] to provide comfort and care to those who need us most. As worded, this is a noble and worthwhile goal. I am troubled, however, by several issues: for one, it has become abundantly clear with current, independent research into health and nutrition that a high-fat, high-sodium, low-fiber diet - for example, the kind of food typically served at McDonald's restaurants - can contribute to diseases known to plague children and adults alike, such as heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes and other ailments. Secondly, I doubt that Ronald McDonald Houses, unless they are budgeted to operate in every city across the globe and they are of an unimaginably colossal scale, can adequately provide "comfort and care" to the throng of people who are currently suffering from such diseases, and those who will be in the not-too distant future. Additionally, it seems disingenuous that McDonald's, the world's biggest purveyor of animal-based convenience foods, can truly "continue seeking solutions for the problems facing children and families today" when it is an abundance of animal protein ­ with it's attendant saturated fat, cholesterol and absence of fiber ­ that puts many Happy Meal children of today into the obesity clinic tomorrow. Mr. Barun, can you tell me how we are to reconcile the apparent gulf between what the charity division of McDonald's proposes to do, and what the commercial division actually does? It is estimated by government health officials that there are approximately 4.7 million American children classified as obese or overweight, which is double the number from 1970. One in five American children is considered overweight by medical standards. Along with a lifestyle that is too sedentary, most health experts are attributing this epidemic to diet. What kind of diet? One that is heavy in calories from saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal-derived protein. In other words, a typical meal at McDonald's. Obesity is often considered the first physical manifestation of what could eventually be a lifetime of health troubles. By the time someone has high blood-pressure and advanced heart disease, that person has likely graduated from Happy Meals onto Big Macs, and thus would fall outside the aegis of the Ronald McDonald House Charities. I recognize that it would be impractical to propose that McDonald's provide health care for the legion of people who are facing the consequences of poor lifestyle habits, so I would instead propose that if your organization is truly concerned about disease, that you go to the root of the problem. I urge you to focus on prevention. Ronald McDonald House Charities would be able to benefit the greatest number of people by far through an emphasis on education, one that would give priority to nutrition and physical fitness counseling. I ask you to look into the pioneering work done by such respected medical professionals as Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. T. Colin Campbell, and the late Drs. Charles Attwood and Benjamin Spock. You'll find that through rigorous, ground-breaking studies, they've all come to a similar conclusion: the maintenance of a low-fat, plant-based diet can prevent many of the afflictions common to those in industrialized nations. Despite whatever good McDonald's charity division may currently do, it is much smaller in scope than one that would teach people the skills they would need to live a long and healthy life. Taking into consideration the kind of food that McDonald's sells, I doubt that it would be possible to truly emphasize healthy lifestyle choices, but that would be essential for your charity organization to achieve its goals in a much more ambitious, meaningful, and sincere way. I hope that you will take the time to respond to this letter, and let me know the measures that McDonald's Corp. and Ronald McDonald House Charities are taking to promote healthiness. This letter is being publicly posted on my website, www.veganstreet.com, and I'm sure that visitors to Vegan Street will be eager to read your response. Sincerely, Marla Rose President The Vegan Street Co.

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