What McDonald's Tells Employees About its Own Food Is Something Everyone Should Hear

The news: McDonald's published a tip sheet on its McResource Line website that essentially told employees not to eat fast food – you know, the product that makes McDonald's billions of dollars every year. The site, which has since been shut down, featured a graphic that labeled a fast food meal that looks strikingly similar to a McDonald's value meal as an "unhealthy choice."

Seriously. Check it out:

Source: CNBC

The post, which intended to give health tips to McDonald's employees, described fast food as "high in calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt" and advised that eating fast food frequently "may put people at risk for becoming overweight."

The backstory: This is not the first time McDonald's has had trouble with its McResource website. In November, the site featured advice to employees recommending they sell their "unwanted possessions" on eBay or Craigslist if they needed "some quick cash" to pay for holiday presents — because McDonald's average wage of $7.75 clearly isn't going to leave employees enough income to buy Christmas presents for their families.

The site also recommended employees apply for food stamps, told employees to break up food into small pieces to feel fuller after meals, and of course, gave employees a sample budget which assumed McDonald's employees are working a second job and didn't account for food, gasoline, or heating costs.

Source: McDonald's

Why this matters: It's certainly no secret that fast food is bad for you, but that McDonald's own website would tell employees to avoid eating its food speaks volumes. The company said the post above was taken "out of context," but later took down the website entirely, saying it was creating "unwanted scrutiny." The website may be down now, but the truth about McDonald's food is wide out in the open.