The heir to the UK’s constitutional monarchy would like to ban the world’s most popular restaurant.
The Prince of Wales hit out at McDonald’s yesterday, suggesting that banning the US chain was the “key” to children eating more healthily. His controversial comment provoked an immediate reaction from the fast-food company, which called the words “disappointing” and accused Prince Charles of being out of touch with its menu changes.
The Prince spoke as he and the Duchess of Cornwall visited a diabetes centre in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and watched children packing healthy lunch boxes to encourage awareness of the disease.
As nutritionist Nadine Tayara told him they discourage children from eating fast food, he retorted: “Have you got anywhere with McDonald’s, have you tried getting it banned? That’s the key.”
While I personally find McDonald’s food to be among the worst of the fast food chains–and that’s saying something–the idea of a government ban on its product is outrageous. Indeed, I’m sure there would have been something in Magna Carta prohibiting it, had the chain been around in 1215.
Moreover, as David Weigel observes, it’s a rather amusing comment coming from the would-be king of the Britons.
Long before Ray Kroc's leviathan slithered onto Charles' shores, Britons had some of the worst dietary habits on the planet. They breakfasted on a mound of saturated fats – black pudding, sausages, the rest of the "fry-up." They drank heavy, liver-mutilating beers. They ate seafood and potatoes fried in enough oil to power a retrofitted Aston Martin. The chief evolution of British food in the last few decades was the mainstreaming of Indian cuisine, carbohydrates and barely-legal meats slathered in creamy sauces. Oh, and then there are the British hamburger chains which predate the franchising of McDonalds.
But the threatened banning of Wimpy’s wouldn’t catch anyone’s attention.
Dan Collins has a better idea: “Time to Ban Royals from Opening Their Yaps.” The suggestion is accompanied by some profane suggestions for added emphasis.
