McDonald’s is the largest global fast-food chain, operating over 40,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries. It is known for high-volume production of meat, poultry, and eggs—supply chains linked to industrial-scale livestock systems. In recent years, lawsuits and investigations in the UK and U.S. have exposed rampant workplace sexual harassment, harassment of young workers, child labor violations, and unsafe working conditions. Globally, franchise workers report violence, wage theft, and exploitation in markets like Saudi Arabia. McDonald’s Israel franchise sparked boycott calls after donating free meals to IDF soldiers; in 2024, the company bought back its Israel franchise after years of backlash.
McDonald’s drives large-scale environmental damage, animal suffering, and systemic labor abuse. Its global meat, poultry, and egg supply chains contribute to deforestation, water depletion, and high greenhouse gas emissions.
Investigations in the U.S., UK, and beyond have documented workplace sexual harassment, child labor violations, unsafe conditions, wage theft, and exploitation of young and migrant workers. Franchise workers in multiple countries have reported violence and intimidation.
In 2023, McDonald’s Israel gave free meals to IDF soldiers during the early days of the genocide in Gaza; in 2024, the corporation bought back its Israel franchise, reinforcing economic ties to the Israeli state.
McDonald’s scale ensures its environmental footprint, labor abuses, and political complicity are entrenched features of its business model, not anomalies.