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Beyoncé Knowles, Destiny's Child, Hamburger, Houston, Junk food, McDonald's, Morgan Spurlock, Obesity, Ronald McDonald's Charity Houses, Texas, USA
Beyoncé in August 2014 (Credit Ferderic J. Brown / Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)
«The great thing about McDonald’s is that they have a lot of different things on their menu. I love their salad», former lead singer of R&B group Destiny’s Child and now successful solo artist Beyoncé Knowles, 33, declared. And her words triggered the debate.
Healthy lifestyle is a sensitive matter in the US, where the 69% of adults is overweight or obese. And McDonald’s is not only the recognized lead chain of hamburger restaurants, but also the well-known symbol of “junk food”, according to its reputation.
Knowles’s statement got several reactions. The first one by the Parent-Teacher Association, which pointed out that Beyoncé’s declaration was a bad example for billions young and too fat fans. The second reaction arrived by the Vegetarian Association. «Salads are not a healthy alternative of the McDonald’s menus», a spokesperson said, referring to the salads mentioned by Beyoncé. «They are not green heads of lettuce with a few drops of olive oil and vinegar. On the contrary they are enriched with toasts, bacon, cheddar cheese, grilled chicken and a lot of sides and toppings. In a few words, they are full of calories». Beyoncé did not bother about it. Instead, she admitted eating daily at McDonald’s restaurants.
The turning point of the story came out when the agreement between the star and the advertising office of McDonald’s became public in the US. Knowles would have been the new testimonial of the Ronald McDonald’s Charity Houses, a project launched by the company in order to fight childish malnutrition in the developing world. «I am proud to be part of it, and I am happy to use my music in order to reach my fans, McDonald’s customers», declared the singer, born and raised in Houston, Texas. The «fattest city in America», as defined by a Men’s fitness online article.
(Morgan Spurlock’s “Don’t eat this book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America” is the main source of this article)
