MCDONALD’S

any of a large group of US fast food restaurants in many countries of the world. The company, established in 1855 by Ray Kroc , has become a symbol of US commercial success. McDonald’s originally sold only hamburgers, such as the Big Mac, but now sells chicken, fish and breakfast foods as well. The restaurants are especially popular with children and are regarded as typical of the American way of life. In 1997 McDonald’s won the longest trial in British legal history (over seven years) against two people who handed out leaflets claiming that its food is not healthy and that to get the supply of meat it needs it causes damage to the environment. In 2004 their case was taken to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.