030117 Vegetarians Challenge McDonald's Payout

DES MOINES, Iowa - Some vegetarians, including the lead lawyer in the matter, are challenging how McDonald's Corp. will distribute $10 million to settle the mislabeling case involving beef-flavored french fries.

An Illinois Circuit Court judge in Chicago is to hear arguments next Monday on who should receive the money and why.

The Seattle attorney who brought the original lawsuit against the fast-food giant, Harish Bharti, said he will object to the company's list of proposed recipients in part because the selection process had been "rigged," favoring those who either don't represent the majority of vegetarians or who are sympathetic to McDonald's.

"I am deeply concerned that the funds not be allocated to a relatively small number of interest groups determined by ... lawyers with personal preferences or prejudices unrelated to the actual needs and concerns of the class members," Bharti said in a brief.

Bharti wants the court to appoint an impartial third party to draw up a new recipients' list.

Objections to the settlement distribution also have been filed by the operator of a Web site for vegetarians, VegSource.com. Jeffrey A. Nelson contends some would-be recipients are "in fact anti- vegetarian."

Some, Nelson said, had publicly opposed bringing a class-action lawsuit against McDonald's for representing its fries and hash browns as being vegetarian when they were, in fact, cooked in beef-flavored oils.

To settle the matter, McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Ill., issued an apology and agreed to pay $10 million -- 60% to vegetarian groups, 20% to Hindu and/or Sikh organizations, 10% to children's nutrition and hunger relief efforts and 10% to those promoting the understanding of Kosher foods and dietary practices.

Besides various vegetarian groups, three universities -- Tufts, Loma Linda in California and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -- would divide $1.3 million, according to the list before the court.

Responding to complaints over the choice of recipients, McDonald's filed a brief saying that some complaints are "substantive but many ... fall into the category of petty gripes or sour grapes over not receiving funds ... When distributing a large sum of money, it is impossible to please every potential grant recipient or interested party," the company said.

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com