We share our planet with a myriad of creatures and plants - an interdependent yet fragile web of miraculous complexity and diversity. People of all ages and walks of life enjoy reading about, observing and appreciating wildlife and the countryside.But in the last 100 years the modern industrial system in general, and transnational corporations in particular, have ruthlessly exploited natural resources all around the world, inflicting damage on forests and other eco-systems, reducing biodiversity, causing land, sea and air pollution and even adversely affecting the global climate.
McDonald's contribution to this destruction is mainly through the effects of cattle ranching (as the world's foremost promoter of a beef-based diet and the largest user of beef), through the growing and transportation of cash crops, and through the production and disposal of thousands of tonnes of packaging materials.
Since the late 1960's especially, environmental movements (on a local, regional and global level) have successfully exposed and opposed the reality of the scale of damage and destruction. Since the 1980's many corporations like McDonald's have been forced onto the defensive, resorting to producing propaganda to try to deflect public criticism and claiming their 'concern'. However, the problems continue to increase, and so too do the protests and campaigns.
Is the planet big enough for both transnationals and the natural world?