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'McDonald's apology is not enough'

Arthur J Pais

Harish Bharti's beef with McDonald's is far from over. McDonald's apology on its Web site to those customers who felt the information provided by it was not "complete enough to meet their needs" has failed to placate him.

Bharti, who has filed a class-action lawsuit against the fast-food giant for not letting consumers know that it used a small amount of beef flavouring in its French fries, still finds the corporation arrogant.

It has been nearly a month since the lawsuit was filed, so why didn't the company apologize earlier, he wants to know.

He is convinced more than ever that admission of wrongdoing and apology can only go so far -- big corporations learn the true lessons only when they have to pay enough cash so that they can really feel the pinch.

He has other reasons for his anger.

For, even as the apology was being posted on the company's Web site, McDonald's spokesperson Walt Riker told reporters that it "simply reiterates what the company has said throughout the fry controversy".

Bharti certainly wants a more forthright admission and financial restitution. The number of people who are offended by McDonald's "deception" could run into millions, he feels.

Even those Hindus who never ate the French fries at McDonald's would feel repulsed when they know how their kith and kin were deceived, he feels.

"It is not just the Hindus and vegetarians who have reason to get deeply upset by this decade-long deception," he says. "I know people who do not use any beef products for health reasons."

And there are orthodox Jews and Muslims who will not use beef products if the animal is not killed in a particular way, he points out.

Still, the Seattle-based lawyer has reason to "savour" what he calls "small victories" in the fight against McDonald's.

When the company admitted that it used "a minuscule amount of beef flavouring" a few weeks ago, Bharti felt he had won "half the battle". The apology is a victory of sorts.

But he hastens to add that the war is still on.

Bharti, who has made America his home for nearly two decades, also sees his war against McDonald's as a very American fight. "This is an open society, and people expect fair play from businesses, politicians and everyone," he says.

EARLIER REPORT:
Bharti's beef with McDonald's

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