An elementary school girl put McDonald's CEO Don Thompson in a jam by lecturing him on nutrition, USA Today reported.
At the corporation's annual shareholders' meeting, 9-year-old Hannah Robertson, who attended the meeting with her mother, told Thompson that big companies should stop tricking kids into eating junk food. "There are things in life that aren't fair - like when your pet dies. I don't think it's fair when big companies try to trick kids into eating food that isn't good for them by using toys and cartoon characters. It isn't fair that so many kids my age and younger who are getting really sick with diseases like diabetes and obesity," the little girl said.
She went on to question the company's business practice of marketing salted, fatty and highly processed foods to children. Hannah posed a straight question at Thompson asking him, "Mr. Thompson don't you want children to be healthy so they can live a long and healthy life?"
To this, Thompson promptly replied saying they "don't sell junk food" and he watches what his children eat. "My kids also eat McDonald's. We cook lots of fruits and veggies at home," he said. He further mentioned that McDonald's, which is world's largest food chain, also sell apple slices in kids meals and veggies in side dishes and the company recently started selling fat-free chocolate milk. Thompson concluded by saying, "I think it's great that you want to eat more fruits and veggies."
Food chains such as Mc Donald's have come under the scanner for selling unhealthy and processed food that result in serious health problems like diabetes and obesity. According to the Centers of Disease of Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has increased 18 percent in 2010 compared to 7 percent in 1980.
