Former McDonald's CEO Charlie Bell Dies

[d.l.Green]

"...died early Monday of colon cancer in his native Australia. He was 44."

<snip>

"Bell was replaced as CEO by Jim Skinner, the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company's third CEO in a year. Bell was chosen to follow former chief James Cantalupo, who died of a heart attack in April 2004."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=509&e=1&u=/ap/obit_bell


"A charismatic leader who said he ate a McDonald's product most days, Bell was diagnosed with colorectal cancer just weeks after being named to the company's top job in April."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&e=3&u=/nm/leisure_mcdonalds_bell_dc

[7th_Sephiroth]

1. PROOF!

McDonalds mcnuggets cause colon cancer

[Ian David]

3. McDonalds mcnuggets cause colon cancer????

It depends which opening you put them in.

[Deja Q]

7. Now now now. We both know the nuggets will get there in the end.

:evilgrin:

[flordehinojos]

14. NOT SO ... my mother died in october of l956 of colorectal cancer--back

then there were no chicken McNuggets and her diet never included a McDonald or Burger King (I don't know if they even existed back then). Family genetics were filled with colorectal problems.

[leesa]

28. There was a recent article linking them (burgers) It's both genetic and

related to meat by-products. That's been linked for a long time.

Most diseases can have more than one causitive factor. Meat tends to be relatively indigestible so it basically "rots" in your lower intestine. If you eat lot's of fiber type foods it helps to decrease the amount of time it lingers in your intestine.

[JackieO]

35. Study links red meat to ass cancer

http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_news_article.jspzQzidzEz338909

[nolabels]

36. Hot and spicy are also good for you I have heard, but bring a fan

If it burns comming out the other end that's okay too :hi:

Beans Against Cancer?
(snip)
This cultural aversion to beans may backfire. A glance at cancer mortality rates around the world raises a provocative question: Can beans actually protect against some major forms of cancer? As a general observation, countries with low rates of colon, rectal, breast and prostate cancer are those in which beans form a prominent staple of the diet, while countries with relatively high rates of these same diseases tend to be those in which bean consumption is markedly lower. Some of the highest rates of colorectal cancer in the world are in Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia, countries not famous for their bean consumption. In Poland, for instance, annual per capita bean consumption is just over one kilogram (2.2 pounds). What is more, "basically, Poland is a white bean market," according to industry sources (Northarvest 2003). White beans have the least amounts of antioxidants.

The Czech Republic has the dubious distinction of having the highest male colorectal cancer death rate in the world (34.2 per 100,000). Among women it ranks third. It is therefore interesting to read that "domestic production of dry beans for human consumption is practically non-existent in the Czech Republic and consumption is low," estimated at only approximately 11 to 14 ounces per person per year. As in Poland, "production ... is centered on white beans only, of the navy bean type" (Northarvest 2003).

Contrast that with Latin America. In Mexico, for instance, the colorectal cancer death rate is 4.7 per 100,000 for men and 4.6 per 100,000 in women. Thus, a man's chances of dying of colorectal cancer are one-seventh in Mexico City what they are in Prague! Similar differentials apply to other forms of cancer as well.

Beans contribute 70 to 80% of the vegetable protein consumed by lower-income Mexicans. Mexican dry bean consumption (much of which is of antioxidant-rich black beans) is 33 pounds per year, more than five times the US total. Perhaps not coincidentally, Mexico has just 30% of the US colon cancer mortality rate. Although the derisive term "beaneater" has been hurled by nordamericanos at their neighbors to the south, it seems that those who eat beans will have the last word when it comes to some kinds of cancer.
(snip)
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_249/ai_114820658

[Throckmorton]

41. "Ass Cancer"? Very sensitive of you.

[slackmaster]

46. Sooner or later you'll die of something, JackieO

I hope you are spared the indignity of having people make fun of your condition.

[Ian David]

2. And he'll be burried in a big styrofoam carton

And everyone walks away with a toy in their MourningMeal.

[smirkymonkey]

10. I feel kind of guilty laughing, but that was really funny!

:evilgrin:

[malmapus]

38. LOL same here..

Somehow when I read this on the news I knew I had to come here =)

[98geoduck]

4. Ironically, I just finished watching Fast Food Nation...

Last night, and was thinking all day about how disgusting corporations and this country have become...

Live by the sword...

[d.l.Green]

8. I just watched "Supersize Me"

finally for the first time last night. When you connect the timing of the release of the movie and all this CEO changing, it's no wonder they didn't go after Mr. Spurlock.

[lady lib]

13. Ewww...we haven't been back to McDonald's

since watching "Supersize Me" a few months ago. Nauseating! And they're a red corporation. Go blue with Arby's or Sonic.

[Arkana]

44. Or Burger King...

I go there because they refused to advertise on the SBC channel showing "Stolen Honor" during the election.

[bunkerbuster1]

42. Heh. I explained the premise of "supersize me" to my 4-year-old

I explained that it's a movie about a man who ate all his meals at McDonald's for a month.

Then I asked, "What do you think happened to him?"

She thought for a second, and said, "He got sick?"

[Deja Q]

5. Too many freedom fries, eh Mc Bell? Don't grimace on that joke either...

Colorectal cancer? I think he had some mad moo beef with those freedom fries...

[kikiek]

6. Wow....McDonalds gift certificates for those you hate....

[chicagojoe]

9. I did some work on Charlie Bells' home in Oak Brook, IL

He and his wife were very good to me.

[warrens]

11. Charlie Bell was from everything I heard about him a very decent person

I doubt hamburgers killed him. But I don't doubt that it will be made to look that way. I really do not like McD's at all, can't stand their food, but unlike Wal-Mart, they have used their market clout to do a lot of good, including traceability of all animals, cutting out antibiotics and cruelty to poultry, etc.

[d.l.Green]

12. Yup, they've also used their market clout...

to attract the very young to nag their parents to bring them there- and start a lifelong addiction, to continue the cheap beef market in South America making it more profitable(in the short term only) than preserving rain forests- but they can't grow them back after the cattle destroys the already thinned topsoil, to make their restaurants attractive to small poverty ridden towns who look to McD's as a cheap meal, to convince hospitals to put them in their lobbies, and the best one of all to start a charitable organization to house the families of the victims of some of the diseases that their food contributes to.

[DukeBlue]

18. Addiction

can be applied to anything. Some people are addicted to coffee, work, sex, Everquest, or running. These are mental addictions.

There is no chemical compound in McDonalds that causes you physical addiction. It is not a cigarette.


Shipping beef sounds expensive and complicated. Considering there is a huge resource of local supply ststeside. May be wrong. Looks like an UL.

http://www.mcspotlight.org/people/witnesses/environment/waters_laura.html




Thank you for your interest in McDonald's.
We would firstly like to reassure you of McDonald's commitment to establishing and enforcing responsible environmental practices in all aspects of our business.

McDonald's has always been concerned about the international environment including the clearing of tropical rainforests.





NOWHERE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD DOES McDONALD'S USE OF BEEF THREATEN, OR REMOTELY INVOLVE, TROPICAL RAINFORESTS.


McDonald's has a long-standing policy of buying as many of our products as possible from suppliers in the country where we are doing business.This policy is designed to increase the financial stability of the host country and to assure the freshest and highest quality products.


HERE IN THE UK, WE USE EC-SOURCED AND APPROVED BEEF FOR ALL OUR 100% PURE BEEF HAMBURGERS.


McDonald's does not use any South American or Central American beef for hamburgers sold in the USA or Canada. In these restaurants we serve only 100% pure, USDA-inspected, domestic US beef.

In our Central and South American operations, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and Venezuala our suppliers document that McDonald's beef comes from established cattle ranches, not rainforest land.

All over the world meticulous steps are taken to make sure that our suppliers do not sell us any beef that has been imported or does not meet our rigidly controlled specifications. Not only do we have people monitoring this in our supplier's plants, we also carefully check and double-check invoices, packing documents, government stamps and labels.


McDonald's has exacting standards and we have faith in our suppliers to meet our strict quality controls.


The research and reputation of the World Wildlife Fund (World Wide Fund For Nature) on the subject of the destruction of tropical rainforests is well known. A principle contributor to their research is Dr Norman Myers.


Until approximately May 1983, Dr. Myers had made erroneous assumptions about McDonald's and the rainforests. This came to our attention as a result of a comment made to Mr. George Cohon, the President of McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited, by the President of the World Wildlife Fund, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. Following that comment, we brought to Dr. Myer's attention the fact that neither the American or the Canadian companies, nor any other McDonald's company, has used, or does use, meat from cattle reared in former rainforests.


Subsequently, Mr. Cohen was pleased to receive from the Duke of Edinburgh, a letter acknowledging that Dr Myers and the World Wildlife Fund were satisfied that McDonald's were exonerated from any implication in the destruction of rainforests. Please see the attached statements for your further information.

envrain.pm4/Sept 92

[depakid]

40. Apparently, you haven't read much about the nature of addiction

The psychological aspects of addiction are more compelling than the physiological ones- particularly when the are instilled at a young age- which is PRECISELY what Mcdonalds hires child psychologists to do in their marketing campaigns.

The body gets over the physiological symptoms- but the psychological ones remain for years- which is why you see so many heroin addicts and cigarette smokers go back to their habits after months or even years of being clean.

Your rainforest argument is likewise flawed. Even if McDonalds doesn't directly use beef that's been raised on recently cleared rainforests (which I think they'd be hard pressed to prove) the FACT is that their purchases create market pressures that do cause rainforest rainforest clearing- and a whole host of other social and environmental ills.

While I'm not experiencing any particular shaudenfreude over this man's death, the bottom line is that he died of one of the very diseases that he's promoted among many millions of others- including children, who haven't reached the level of cognitive development necessary to defend themselves against McDonalds' insidious marketing.

[DukeBlue]

43. I am

not in the position to judge someones life. Not my thing.

However I linked to the WWF accepting that McD's isn't killing the rain forest.

Parents are responsible for what their kids eat, not a marketing program. Kids can't drive, if you don't want your kids eating there, don't take them. If you worked for me. If you eat their 4 times a week as an adult and die it is your fault.

There is a difference in chemical and psychological addiction.

I never said addiction was not real, it is quite real. People become psychologically addicted to many things.

[hughee99]

30. Ah yes,

What horrible people they are for coming up with the Ronald McDonald houses that help the families of 7 year olds with rectal cancer... Are you kidding me? The number of children who's families are in Ronald McDonald houses for things that can be even remotely related to McDonald's food is minuscule at best.

Damn them for their special Olympics work too! Sons-A-Bitches!

[depakid]

47. See, they even tagged you with their marketing!

Have a look at some analysis and commentary about "charity" marketing:

http://www.riehle.org/the-serious-side/corporate-social-responsibility.html

http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Jan2004/macdougal0104.html

[hughee99]

49. It comes down to this...

if your issue is specifically with the health of McD's food, there there is nothing they can do that will make you happy. Any good they do will increase their "brand value", and as such, any good they do will promote their food. If the food is truly this bad, then it should be outlawed, should it not? Otherwise, McD's, like any other company, has a right to advertise and market their product. Why is it so bad that they choose to do this by helping people rather than just by running stupid commercials? If anything, I would think someone would see this as a good thing coming from a company they hate, rather than as a negative. I don't see McD's as a great company because of this, but I don't see their support of the RMHC as a negative.

Theoretically, if McD's were to stop global warming or house all of the homeless, it would also increase their brand value. Would you oppose this?

[NYC]

15. 44 is quite young.

At that age, genetics likely played a large part, but this won't look good for McDonald's.

It's my view that McDonald's food is what gives them the worst publicity, so this won't cause their image much harm.

[DukeBlue]

16. My take.

The guy is dead, unless he did something to deserve it why mock a dead guy? Lots of people die of cancer.

As for McDonalds, my kids always begged to go. We said no 99% of the time. McDonalds sells a product, if you don't like it or don't want your kids to eat it make them eat at home. Worked for me.

They stopped complaining after what seemed like years..

jmho

[readmylips]

17. McDonalds: fries, boogers, hamburgers and runny diapers...

Dirtiest restaurant on Earth.

[Danmel]

19. Where's Our "Compassion"??

COme on guys- he was 44. He likely had a family history of coloractal cancer. And even if he didn't, that is a horrible way to go for someone so young. Let's show a little compassion ourselves here.

[Skittles]

37. this thread is f***ing nasty

nt

[slackmaster]

45. Colorectal cancer runs in my family

My maternal grandfather and two of his brothers died of it.

Their sister was diagnosed with it when she was on her death bed for an unrelated ailment. It would have killed her too.

My mom has had polyps removed.

Her sister had to have a section of her colon taken out because of colorectal cancer.

I have had polyps removed twice, once at 42 and again at 45.

Colorectal cancer can run in families. There is no doubt about that. It's a horrible thing and nothing to joke about.

In my family the cancer has always started in the coecum, the first part of the large intestine, where it cannot be detected by sigmoidoscopy. My grandfather might have been saved if he'd had a full colonoscopy when he was 60. I'm one of the lucky ones.

[chicagojoe]

20. How about a little respct for someone who just passed away.

Especially at such a young age. I don't like McDonalds, either, but some of what I see posted here is just plain mean. We're not talking about the corporation here. Put your energy toward something worthwhile, like the removal of the Radical Right from power.

[oioioi]

21. started at the bottom flipping burgers and mopping toilets

Sydney advertising agency owner Craig Wilson spent some time with Bell at last year's Cannes advertising festival. Wilson's teenage son had just begun his first job working for a Sydney McDonald's store. Bell wrote the boy a note wishing him well. "You never know where your first job will take you," he said.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11969435%5E28737,00.html

[newyawker99]

23. Hi oioioi!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[exploited]

22. He was fat too

If it wasn't colon cancer it may as well have been heart disease, diabetes or stroke.

He obviously didn't care enough about his health -- he ate McDonalds most days.
No doubt his main concern was the health of his profits.

[tx_dem41]

24. Looking at his pic from the web...

he doesn't look fat. Were you just guessing that? And, assuming he was fat, don't fat people deserve some compassion too?

[exploited]

26. I tried to find a pic to illustrate before I posted above

Conveniently they're all of his face or of him dressed in black with a black background.

No I'm not guessing. Watch a recent video of him and you'll see his size must surely be approaching the "morbid" classification. However, I am assuming that he won't be that fat in a few weeks time from now.

Eat fat, get fat.

[tx_dem41]

27. I hope nothing tragic ever happens to you or a loved one. n/t

[chicagojoe]

25. I've met him. Not fat, just a big man. I'd guess about

6'2", 200#. That's not excessive weight for a guy that height.

[exploited]

29. You've met him recently?

His rise and demise has been a big news item in Oz. The media has shown plently of recent footage of the man. He was a big boy alright. He was fat (but I guess that's relative).
"Australians are pretty blunt and we say things how they really are" says Bell.
http://www.licenseenews.com/news/news281.html

He was only in the top job for a month before he had to resign due to ill health. Interestingly, the guy he replaced died of a heart attack (although I can't tell you how fat he was).

I'm not being disrespectful just because got fat eating his product. He was the McHead of McCorporate McMass McMuck consumption. How much respect is warranted?

[chicagojoe]

34. About 3 years ago, or so, when he first came here from OZ.

As I posted earlier, I did some work on his home in Oak Brook.
This was right after McD's moved his family here from Sydney.
Very nice people. I like Australians anyway.

[VegasWolf]

48. He had plenty of money, why would he eat at McDonalds?n/t

[jmowreader]

50. What better way to check on what they're selling

than to eat it himself?

I think that he ate the product he sold is good, actually. All corporate executives should use the products they make or sell, within reason of course--if your company makes antiaircraft guns, you probably shouldn't run around shooting airplanes down--but the Waltons should shop at Wal-Mart, the CEO of New Balance should run races wearing his company's shoes, the president of Fender Guitars should play a Strat in a band...

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tx_dem41]

32. We can (and do) agree on this one, Frog. n/t

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[oscarmitre]

39. Have some decency amidst the satire and spite

He left a wife and two kids.

You can make your point about McDonalds as a bunch of corporate arseholes or as purveyors of dangerous food but remember this bloke had a family. Also that this bloke was apparently responsible for the introduction of the healthier foods we're seeing at McDonalds (food Nazis feel free to flame away). He left school had no university education but went to work for McDonalds and did well. Small wonder the reasonable people look askance at the Left when they see some of the nasty posts I've read here.

And if he did get ill from eating McDonalds every day then his death is directly attributable to his working conditions.