Why Protestors Just Glued Themselves To A McDonald's In London

When you think of McDonald's, you think of Big Macs, delicious fries, and your morning Egg McMuffin and coffee. You don't think of McDonald's as the site of protests. Well, it turns out that Mickey D's is no stranger to a good old-fashioned protest. Over the years, they have been the target of many a disgruntled citizen. Even in the past year alone, they have seen their fair share of controversy.

The chain experienced massive protests in 2015, sparking The Atlantic to cover the rising animosity toward the previously beloved fast food staple, caused by food scandals and wage issues. And earlier in 2021, McDonald's had their own employees protesting poor wages and conditions (via ABC News), an animal rights group protesting McDonald's locations in some UK towns (via BBC), and boycotts over alleged discrimination issues (via Food & Wine). So what is causing chaos in Ronald McDonald's house now?

According to My London, an environmental group known as Extinction Rebellion (XR) held an attempted sleep-in at a McDonald's in Leicester Square, during which time three of the protestors glued themselves to the building. You may think gluing yourself to a McDonald's is a bit extreme, but what is a protest without something attention-grabbing? 

The "sleepover" was held in conjunction with an organization called Animal Rebellion to call attention to the climate crisis along with the message that McDonald's should "stop sleeping on the job and transition to a plant-based food system." The groups targeted McDonald's specifically because, as Animal Rebellion wrote on Twitter, "For the last 66 years, McDonald's has been causing mass devastation to our planet and to animals." So while McDonald's may be introducing plant based burgers (via New Food Magazine), these organizations clearly believe they have a long way to go to ensure they're doing their part to save the planet.