As IF Times

link Hunger Seen Worsening by Oxfam as Climate Change Heats Up World – Bloomberg.

They might have been able to get away with this back in the ’60’s when access to information was scant.  Images on TV of emaciated children holding bowls of milk would send people scurrying to write generous cheques to Oxfam.  Marketing to Americans’ natural compassion was an easy sell.  The current program of selling the idea of pervasive world hunger by tying it to the spurious cause of our day is either thinly veiled crappy marketing or simply pandering to the new generation of gullible people in America.

There’s probably somebody hungry in the world somewhere, but the chance that it’s linked in any way to global warming is as likely as a fat chicken in Ethiopia as one of my good friends is fond of saying.  People who count these kinds of things claim that Americans ( and that means Canadians too ) throw away over 400 pounds of food per person per year, so there’s no shortage here in North America or indeed most Western countries.  Unfortunately, this wasted food can’t just be transferred like a journal entry to those in the world who could legitimately use the food.  Indeed, in this part of the world, the people who are actively in the food distribution business such as McDonalds and KFC are demonized for providing too much cheap food.

According to Oxfam, ““The changing climate is already jeopardizing gains in the fight against hunger, and it looks set to worsen,” In addition, Oxfam said. “A hot world is a hungry world.”   The people who penned this little slogan have obviously never spent any time in the tropical Amazon rainforest where it’s hot 365 days of the year and yet things still grow there like body hair at a lesbian convention.   They must also have never considered that in Saudi Arabia, where the average temperature is over 100 degrees for half of the year and yet few are starving there either.  The heat=hunger argument looks iffy.

So how is it that global warming only affects people in some parts of the world whereas in others, people have so much food that they’re throwing it away? This disparity of reality can be solved by looking closely at exactly which constituencies are served by Oxfam.  Their website claims ‘over 90 countries’, but when you look at the list:  http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what-we-do/countries-we-work-in  The Philippines, Egypt, South Africa, Russia and the UK  are probably not their main focus spots.  The vast majority of those countries served by aid are in continental Africa.  Interestingly, many of those countries listed are in the midst of on-going tribal and religious wars.  Anyone in the farmer business in any of those countries is not going to be interested in farming or ranching if someone is likely to plant a bullet in them.

The issue of hunger in these countries is one of security and political stability not one of a few hot days ’caused’ by someone driving their SUV.  Adding more tax to a gallon of gasoline will no more alleviate hunger than would taxing Listerine in America solve halitosis worldwide.  It’s all hot air.

link Deal Approved In Muslims’ Suit Against McDonald’s « CBS Detroit.

A franchise is a very valuable thing.  Creating and maintaining a franchise is very powerful.  McDonald’s is inarguably the icon of the franchising model.  The core idea of franchising is to sell a specific expertise and to offer that specialty at every single location that carries the corporate name.  Tied in firmly with franchising is the notion of branding.  Franchising and branding is a serious business.  Everyone knows what a Coke is. Everyone knows what Nike stands for.  Everyone has an idea of what a Hooters restaurant is.

In the rush to gain more market share by expanding offerings, iconic franchises risk losing or at least diluting the valuable branding that in many cases, has been created over decades and generations.  Few would go to Fouad’s Falafel House for a cheeseburger, nor would they expect to get poutine at Hon’s Wonton Garden.  In the case of many so called fast food franchises like McDonald’s and Wendys, they have tried pandering to wider audiences with offerings of ‘healthy’ salads and other lighter fare.  Who wants a walnut salad at Mcdonald’s?  Why would they even consider selling Halal food?  Getting slapped with a legal judgement by unhappy customers should be a warning to operations like Mcdonalds that all customers aren’t worth chasing.

Some other food chains at least remain true to their roots.  Burger King offers the bacon cheddar stuffed burger and Denny’s even offers a bacon milkshake…topped with whipped cream of course.   Now that’s some honest American eats.  The boutique In-N-Out burger franchise out west likes to advertise that their menu has barely changed since 1948: burgers, fries, shakes.  No weenie salads or organic seaweed nonsense.   You gotta stand for something!  Nobody goes into a roadside diner expecting to get brook trout almondine with a mango salsa.

This is a philosophy that would serve well outside of the food business.  In the political process, they should also pay attention.  Recent news headlines show that the once darling of the conservative set, New Jersey’s Chris Christie, is now hosting fundraisers for the Clinton camp. !!!  Is he bacon or is he walnuts?  Marco Rubio, once considered to be a possible standard bearer for the GOP is backing a very liberal immigration policy.   That franchise looks as doomed as a Chinese taco stand.

Even more annoying is the fact that reaching out always goes one way, that is to pander more to the weenie crowd.  We would never see a veggie restaurant offer spareribs to entice meat eaters for their patronage.  We would never see hair salons offer a cigar section.   We would never see a Prius offered with a V-8.  Will we ever see a cheeseburger at Wolff’s Deli?  You would never see a liberal reaching out to get the conservative vote.

Where’s the beef?  The take away is that you can’t be all things to all people.  Unless there’s a core value that is consistently represented, the core constituency cannot be retained and the new ones will likely be fickle anyway.  When everyone offers the same thing, it’s all essentially hash.  Nobody has ever uttered the desire to go to a good hash place.