Greenpeace: Lovin’ McDonald’s

Image courtesy of McDonald's

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Today on its website, Greenpeace grudgingly congratulates Mickey D’s on its latest eco-accomplishment: The burger giant recently opened its first restaurant with hydroflourocarbon-free (read: ozone-friendly) refrigeration in Denmark.

Strange bedfellows, sure. But it’s not the first time they’ve teamed up. Back in 2007, the Washington Post reported that members of the two groups worked together—sharing a tiny boat on the Amazon, no less—to stop deforestation in the Brazilian rainforest:

The eight were in the rainforest together on a mission to see firsthand where farmers were cutting down virgin forest to grow soy beans for, among other customers, McDonald’s. And though Greenpeace had not long ago been accusing McDonald’s of complicity in the deforestation, by the time of the Amazon trip in January, the eight officials were calling each other partners.

Those weren’t just words. The ubiquitous fast-food company and the global environmentalists had already jointly pressured the biggest soy traders in Brazil into placing an unprecedented two-year moratorium on the purchase of any soy from newly deforested areas.

Obviously, this partnership is great PR for McDonald’s (and make no mistake: The company milks it on its environmental site). But it’s also a bonanza for Greenpeace. This kind of who-woulda-thunk-it tidbit is blogosphere/Twitter gold.

Via Triple Pundit.

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