Join the Ogre Resistance

It looks as though Dreamworks could not have come up with a better slogan for its final Shrek movie: After all, if the media is going to portray you as an ogre no matter what you do, then you might as well join the ogre resistance .

I’m referring, of course, to McDonald’s voluntary recall of its 12 million Shrek glasses because of the presence of low levels of cadmium. It’s a story that is still unfolding, and parts of it remain mysterious. Who was the tipster with the Thermo Electron Niton XRF testing gun? This is not like a tipster who says: “Hey, I was down by the river and saw someone dumping something into it.” Personally, I do not own a Thermo Electron Niton XRF testing gun, and neither do any of my friends.

And why is the tipster remaining anonymous? He must know that in this day and age, far from suffering midnight retribution at the hands of Ronald McDonald, the company would have to give him a reward. And why did the tipster not send his data to the Consumer Products Safety Commission? Why did he send it to the office of San Francisco congresswoman Jackie Speier ? Could it have anything to do with the fact that the levels of cadmium he found in the Shrek gasses were far below those in the last cadmium recall? Was the tipster afraid that the CPSC might actually feel bound to treat McDonald’s fairly, whereas Congresswoman Speier could simply turn the whole matter into a public relations disaster for McDonald’s? If so, he reasoned correctly.

Of course, some aspects of the story are not at all mysterious. For example, here are a few excerpts from the McDonald’s press release that announced the recall: “The CPSC has said the glassware is not toxic. . . . The CPSC has said that the glassware is not toxic. . . . It’s important to know that the CPSC has said that the glassware is not toxic. . . . It’s important to know that CPSC has said the glassware is not toxic. . . . The CPSC has said the glassware is not toxic. . . . The CPSC has said the glassware is not toxic. . . . The CPSC has said the glassware is not toxic.”

And here is the headline from the story in the Christian Science Monitor: “Shrek glass recall: Toxic cadmium found on glasses”

Join the ogre resistance!

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