Pseudo vegetarian Christian theologian Prof. Stephen H. Webb (1961-2016) asserts that MxDxxxxd's provides calorie-dense fuel at an affordable price, implicitly concluding that Christians should accept fast food and factory farming as necessary realities. He goes so far as to suggest that, since Jesus was pro-grassroots and pro-simple eating, He is likely to patronize MxDxxxxd's if He were to return in the flesh today (Webb 2011b:20-24)!!
IMO, Jesus would protest MxDxxxd’s rather than patronize it. For Jesus says, “I desire compassion rather than sacrifice" (Matthew 9:13, 12:7 NASB). He also references the Sixth Commandment “Thou shalt not kill” in Mattew 19:18 and Mark 10:19 when speaking to a rich young man who asks Him about eternal life. As put by Reuben Alcalay (1981), one of the greatest contemporary linguists cum author of The Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary, the 6th Commandment "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13 KJV; Matthew 19:18 KJV) means "any kind of killing whatsoever." The original Hebrew, he points out, is לֹא תִּרְצָח Lo tirtzakh, which requires us to stop ourselves from killing any sentient beings altogether.
Now, MxDxxxxd's is the opposite of compassion in at least five ways (cf. Food Not Bombs n.d.).
1. Cruelty to animals. The menu of the burger chains are based on the torture and the murder of animals. Most of them are intensively farmed, without any access to fresh air and sunshine, and no freedom of movement. Their short lives are cruel and their deaths are barbaric.
2. Promoting Unhealthy Food. MxDxxxxd's promote their food as "nutritious", but the reality is that it is processed junk food -- high in fat, sugar and salt, and low in fibre and vitamins. A diet of this type is lined with a greater risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases.
3. Exploiting Workers. Workers in the fast food industry are paid low wages. MxDxxxxd's do not pay overtime rates even when employees work very long hours . Pressure to keep profits high and wage cost low results in understaffing so staff have to work harder and faster. As a consequence, accidents, particularly burns, are common.
4. Robbing the Poor. The demands made by multinationals for cheap food supplies result in the exploitation of agricultural workers throughout the world. Vast areas of land in poor countries are used for cash crops or for cattle ranching, or to grow grain to feed animals to be eaten in the West. This is at the expense of local food needs.
5. Damaging the environment. Forests throughout the world -- vital for all life -- are being destroyed at an appalling rate by multinational companies. MxDxxxxd's have at last been forced to admit to using beef red on ex-rainforest land, preventing its regeneration. Every year MxDxxxxd's use over 1 million tons of unnecessary plastic, too.
In conclusion, instead of dining at MxDxxxd’s, Jesus the Vegan Christ would challenge it and condemn it for animal abuse and damaging the environment. He would create a scene inside a MxDxxxd shop just like He cleansed the Temple. Stephen Webb is a fake Christian veggie theologian who co-founded the Christian Vegetarian Association, but was removed from his position as co-chairman in 2006 after writing several articles in which he admitted to eating meat occasionally, while promoting vegetarianism.
References
Food Not Bombs (n.d.). “What’s Wrong with McDonalds’?” FoodNotBombs Net. http://foodnotbombs.net/mcdonalds.pdf
Webb, Stephen H. (2011). “A Response to William T. Cavanaugh’s “Out to Lunch”,” The Other Journal 19: 20-24. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Other_Journal_The_Food_and_Flourishi/jkJNAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Webb,+Stephen+H.+%E2%80%9CA+Response+to+William+T.+Cavanaugh%E2%80%99s+%E2%80%9COut+to+Lunch%E2%80%9D,%E2%80%9D&pg=PA20&printsec=frontcover
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