McDonald's celebrates 70th anniversary
14th May 2010
Fast food chain McDonald's has celebrated its 70th anniversary, heralding another landmark in the company's history and the globalisation debate it has inspired.
Globalisation proponent and author Thomas Friedman has argued the case for the iconic multinational, saying it represents freedom and democracy.
In his best-selling book The Lexus and the Olive Tree, the writer of The World is Flat and From Beirut to Jerusalem made the bold claim that no two countries that have a McDonald's have been to war since they incorporated the golden arches into their daily routines.
However, writers such as Eric Schlosser have outlined some of the problems they perceive in the advent of consumerism, with his book Fast Food Nation looking at how the industry functions.
Morgan Spurlock famously outlined the potential nutritional dangers of fast food in his film, Super Size Me, by adopting an exclusively McDonald's-based diet. He later published the follow-up, Don't Eat This Book, recounting his experiences of a 30-day burger binge.
McDonald's now has more than 32,000 outlets in 117 countries around the globe, with three new stores opening every day.