Democracy, Freedom and French Fries (by Sam Maxfield 2001) © Touch Nottingham (internet magazine and What's On guide) "McDonald's has invested in us because they like what they see and what they eat! They want us to stay just the way we are - our style of food, our people, our culture will remain steadfastly at the heart of what we do. It is unique and will remain that way..." So said Julian Metcalf, co-founder of Pret a Manger, when it was announced that McDonald's had bought a minority share in his company. A reassuring statement designed to allay fear that Pret would be swallowed by the clown in the strange wig. A statement aimed at those lunchtime Pret-ers who wear suits that don't begin with the prefix 'shell' that their fast-food outlet of choice will remain essentially unchanged. Because choice is surely what's important here, and as long as that remains intact, then it doesn't matter who owns what, or who? It doesn't matter, does it, that when you buy a Converse trainer, you'll be paying your money to Nike? Or that when you lay down your cash for an indie movie which questions the status quo, the cash registers will be ringing at Disney. The film might say that it's made by Miramax or distributed by Buena Vista but if you look hard enough you'll find the mouse ears, perky little suckers. Choice implies variety, alternatives - thrown around in the heady days o Thatcherism it was used to promote individualism, freedom, democracy - aspirational words. Words protected under the golden arches of capitalism. Brand identification incorporates these aspirations into its spin as slickly as the shining sincerity of a William Hague speech. Julian Metcalf's carefully prepared press release reinforces the language of every Pret leaflet - 'our people, our culture', 'unique'. Pret comes, as does every other product, with a pre-packaged, dictated set of associated values. People who choose Pret a Manger sandwiches are sophisticated. They appreciate 'fresh', 'natural' food; they belong to a certain 'culture'. They are 'unique'. Lovely. As a consumer I can choose my individuality by buying a logo, a look, a culture, a taste. I am being offered the chance to define my values when I lay down my money. Lucky me. Is this too simplistic? I sometimes eat at McDonald's, sometimes at Pret a Manger; mostly I buy my food from supermarkets and greengrocers. Thus I am exercising my right of choice whilst not wholly buying into a prescribed identity. I am living the Thatcherite dream, and yet the Thatcherite dream is not about freedom of choice, not about freedom at all. It is about profit. McDonald's have not bought into Pret because they 'like what they see...', they have bought into an area of the market they do not yet dominate, and want a nice fresh slice of new profit. Pret a Manger have a 'philosophy'. You can access their philosophy (a word that fits in nicely with 'culture' and 'unique') on their official web site, and this is what it says: "Pret is a private company... if there is a secret to our success so far it's probably our determination to put quality ahead of profit... we do not operate a central production factory, nor do we employ mass production techniques." Oh but Julian, Sinclair and co., you've just climbed into bed with the people who do, and for what? For the money to expand into international markets. For profit. You greedy, greedy boys. You'll make yourselves sick. Like PacMan the huge corporations are eating up every market competitor in an unrelenting drive for profit. They are wise enough to know that we crave choice, and powerful enough to successfully determine those choices by brand labels and marketing. They are eating us, as surely as we are buying their products, and once we are all gobbled up, shat out and spat out, there will only be one choice left. In fact it's already starting. It's called cannibalism. The market will eat itself. -------- The Slow Food International Website - - - read more rants and raves