[14:39] librarianim: If you search EBSCO's Academic Search Premier and do a title search, it will pop up
[14:39] perignon212003: ok
[14:40] librarianim: let me continue searching. hold on
[14:43] librarianim: i also found a dissertation titled Small Fry, Big Spender: McDonald's and the Rise of a Children's Consumer Culture, 1955-1985
[14:44] librarianim: it is not full text, so would need to be ordered through interlibrary loan
[14:47] perignon212003: ok
[14:49] librarianim: you might need to do some research on children and advertising and then try and tie it into mcdonalds commericals
[14:50] librarianim: i'm not finding much out there
[14:50] perignon212003: ok thats what i was asking my teacher,, and the 2nd partial article is located where?
[14:51] librarianim: it is a disseration. let me send you the bib info.

[14:32] perignon212003: hello
[14:33] librarianim: just a sec
[14:33] Meebo Message: perignon212003 appears offline. Your message may not be received.
[14:35] perignon212003: ok
[14:36] librarianim: hello
[14:37] librarianim: are you there?]
[14:37] perignon212003: yes
[14:37] librarianim: do you have a question?
[14:38] perignon212003: im am wondering is there anyway i can find previous McDonald's menus going at least 5-10yrs back?
[14:39] librarianim: Can you talk to the people at McDonalds? Maybe they have it in their archives
[14:39] perignon212003: how would i go about doing that?
[14:40] librarianim: checking
[14:41] librarianim: did you already research mcdonald's corporation online?
[14:42] librarianim: they have an extensive website
[14:42] perignon212003: i have but let me look at it again
[14:46] librarianim: type in old mcdonald menu on google
[14:46] perignon212003: it gives me the new menus i want to look at the older ones
[14:47] librarianim: it was just an idea from my tech guy
[14:49] librarianim: check this one out
[14:49] librarianim: mcdonald's products in wikipedia
[14:50] librarianim: click on products
[14:50] librarianim: click on specific ones
[14:50] librarianim: and it gives you the history of say the Qtr pounder
[14:52] perignon212003: yea im trying that but not getting far
[14:53] librarianim: what are you trying to show?
[14:54] librarianim: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me
[14:56] perignon212003: how due to the health conscience movement McDonalds has gradually changed their kids menu to offer much healthier options.
[15:01] librarianim: you've really started a conversation here!
[15:01] perignon212003: why what did i do???
[15:02] librarianim: we're all talking about diet and preservatives ....
[15:03] librarianim: caramel sauce and apples ...
[15:05] perignon212003: lol yea thats what my group is doing a paper on
[15:09] librarianim: ... it would be easier to talk about the perceptual shift if the actual physical shift was as positive as it looks in marketing terms, so why is it so hard to find supporting research?
[15:09] perignon212003: i found one interesting article but i am looking for more
[15:09] librarianim: I'm into this
[15:10] librarianim: What did you find?
[15:11] perignon212003: its like i keep finding the fluff but not the real facts
[15:11] librarianim: ah so, grasshopper
[15:12] perignon212003: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_15_39/ai_n13649046/print
[15:12] perignon212003: it talks about some of the health changes but without giving actual nutrition facts
[15:13] perignon212003: or should i say the "healthier options"
[15:14] Meebo Message: perignon212003 is online
[15:15] librarianim: can you look at is from the perspective of McDonald's competitors (including the organic market) to see why this is so?
[15:16] perignon212003: because even though they have changed their options on the menu according to who is the considered healthy? What type of apples are they using? Milk etc?
[15:17] perignon212003: Are these the most healthy choices or just a simple and "smart" reaction to the movement
[15:17] librarianim: I looked up mcdonald's healthier alternative on google and got those kinds of questions
[15:20] librarianim: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/WalMartMakeoverFavorsSubwayOverMcDonalds.aspx

(For the uninitiated, although I'm a mild mannered library assistant these days, at the turn of the millenium, I wrote a book about organic birdfood that changed the way the pet food industry markets to its customers.  Of course, I was just riding the crest of a bigger wave, the hundredth monkey and all that, but look!  Here we are!  See, you CAN make a difference!  This is the Wall Street Journal reporting on how Wal-Mart chose Subway over McDonald's.  I never thought I'd see that.)

Wal-Mart makeover favors Subway over McDonald's

By The Wall Street Journal

Wal-Mart is losing its taste for burgers and fries.

Subway, the fast-food chain that likes to promote its sandwiches as a healthy alternative to traditional fried and grilled fare, began doing business with the world's largest retailer only three years ago. But from a lone restaurant inside a Wal-Mart in Ozark, Ala., Subway has quickly overtaken McDonald's (MCD, news, msgs) as Wal-Mart's primary fast-food concessionaire across the United States.

At one time, McDonald's was the exclusive in-store restaurant for Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, news, msgs). But now Subway, a unit of closely held Doctor's Associates of Milford, Conn., is in 1,419 Wal-Marts compared with 1,021 McDonald's. So far this year, Subway has opened 105 Wal-Mart locations in the United States -- more than three times McDonald's' 34.

In some ways, Subway's rapid rise at Wal-Mart isn't surprising. The sandwich chain has been expanding at a torrid clip worldwide while McDonald's has been reining in growth, focusing on boosting sales and returns at existing locations.

Also, a restaurant inside a Wal-Mart can't operate a drive-through window. That's a big drawback for the hamburger giant, which does about half its business with motorists.

Another major factor, however, may be what's on the menu.

Wal-Mart's embrace of Subway comes as it battles an image as a ruthless corporate giant with stingy wages and benefits for employees. Looking to portray itself as a good citizen, Wal-Mart has been tackling greenhouse gases and wasteful packaging. Pitching the virtues of "sustainability," it also has been emphasizing healthier foods at its stores, including organics.

A push for healthier lifestyles

As it struggles to cap rising health-care costs, Wal-Mart has singled out employee diets as a concern. Andy Ruben, Wal-Mart's vice president for corporate strategy and sustainability, suggested this spring that "eating healthy meals instead of fast food" might be a good start.

An internal memo leaked to the press in 2005 revealed that the retailer was looking for ways to cut its health-care costs without damaging its reputation. It noted that rates of obesity-related heart disease and diabetes were growing faster among its employees than the general public. Among its recommendations were discouraging unhealthy people from working at Wal-Mart and requiring all jobs to include some physical activity, such as cashiers gathering shopping carts in parking lots.

The memo sparked an uproar, and Wal-Mart retreated on the shopping-cart idea. But it has since launched what it calls "personal sustainability projects" for employees to take better care of their bodies and the environment.

More than 400,000 of Wal-Mart's 1.3 million U.S. employees are participating in the fast-growing program organized by Act Now Productions of San Francisco. In addition to recycling more and cutting energy use, workers this year have been resolving to get more exercise and eat better.