I have never eaten at McDonalds, Burger King, or the alike since I was in forth grade. I felt McDonald’s was a terribly wasteful place to eat. Your food comes in those paper wrappers, which are then taken out put in those big dumpsters out back, then hauled off to the dump. As a little kid that seemed like a real problem. Landfills are unsustainable ways of disposing of trash, and why generate the trash if we didn’t need it in the first place?

So I stopped going to McDonalds and the alike. Over the years I persisted. I didn’t like their food particularly, and while I would consider going out to a casual restaurant for a good hamburger, I wouldn’t go to McDonalds. I might get a bag of chips or a bottle of soda from Price Chopper, but I still won’t eat at McDonalds.

Why not? Maybe it’s the smell. The smell of McDonald’s grease is truly repulsive even compared to landfill gas or dairy manure. Maybe it’s the way they treat their workers. They often make little more then minimum wage and risk dangerous burns from fryer oil. Maybe it’s just the wasteful throw-away nature of lunch at McDonalds. Don’t you just want to go to McDonalds and toss that empty cup and package out your truck’s window?

I don’t argue that my dislike for McDonald’s is totally rational. As an adult I realize that there are many common activities we do that generate far more waste and pollution then getting a burger at McDonalds. I often shop at Walmart for new toys for my truck. And I’ve even been known to like an occasional Donut from Dunkin Donuts’ or Coffee from the rest stop on the Northway. And I was known to occasionally go to late night take-out at college.

So I’m probably as guilty as everybody else. Still, you won’t get me into McDonald’s—except maybe to run to the rest room. It’s simply not my kind of place and not my kind of food. When I’m on the run, I might get soda and chips from a supermarket, but I still refuse to eat that slop they sell at McDonalds.

I thank Wendy's for advertising on the bottom of this page. I don't eat there either, and it makes me want to grin.