As London pledges the greenest Olympics ever, McDonald’s plans a massive temporary restaurant that will serve visitors and athletes alike.

The term “Olympic athlete” evokes visions of lean muscles and powerful bodies: the pinnacle of human physical achievement, performing amazing feats of strength and endurance. We associate these fierce competitors with the utmost in human health, requiring untold hours of training and only the most nourishing foods. So it’s all the more jarring to hear that this year’s Olympics will see the construction of the world’s largest McDonald’s – which will run for only six weeks. And there will be another location in the Olympic Village, where the athletes will live.

From July 27th through September 9th, more than 50,000 Big Macs and 180,000 servings of fries are expected to flow out of a two-story, 32,000-square-foot McDonald’s with 1,500 seats. That’s about half the size of a football field. When the games are over, the oversized fast food restaurant will be torn down. It’s made of recyclable materials, at least – but that doesn’t do much to make up for the fact that McDonald’s represents the opposite of healthy, nourishing, performance-enhancing food.

McDonald’s has been an official sponsor of the Olympics since 1976, and has acted as the games’ official restaurant nine times. Doctors in the UK are less than thrilled about this year’s sponsorship, arguing that shilling fatty mass-produced junk food is sending the wrong message to a nation that’s dealing with ballooning obesity rates. McDonald’s expects to serve at least 300,000 patrons throughout the course of the games, and will be advertising extensively, with its logo plastered all over anything that’s Olympics-related.

The sponsorship means that McDonald’s will be the only branded food that’s sold within London’s Olympic Park, and to the athletes.

“It’s very sad that an event that celebrates the very best of athletic achievements should be sponsored by companies contributing to the obesity problem and unhealthy habits,” Terence Stephenson of the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges told MSNBC. “These brands are using the Olympics to be associated with medals and svelte, fit athletes,” he said. “They don’t want us to think of fat, unhealthy people when we think of their products.”

McDonald’s is clearly aware of the chance to gloss over its well-earned reputation as a major contributor to obesity and other health problems. The massive temporary location and two others planned for the park will give away nine million “activity toys” with Happy Meals, which will measure how many steps and jumps children take throughout each day, and will prominently display nutritional advice throughout the restaurant. Obviously there’s some irony in this, considering that a single meal of a burger, fries and a milkshake can easily exceed half of a grown man’s daily recommended calorie intake, and actual nutrition is severely lacking.

Applicants who want to snag one of the 2,000 jobs that will be available at the three McDonald’s locations for the games will have to go through a competition of their own. McDonald’s is holding Olympics-inspired, X Factor-style auditions to find potential employees with the best burger-schlepping skills.

The presence of this McDonald’s isn’t the only aspect of the Olympic Games that’s raising concerns about environmental and social impacts. Oil giant BP (British Petroleum) is among the major sponsors for 2012, leading organizations like the Commission for a Sustainable London to petition the organizers.

Olympics planners have made sustainability a major theme of this year’s games. In its bid to host the 2012 Olympics, London promised the greenest games ever, reducing or offsetting portion of the  326,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions that the events are expected to generate. It won’t be clear until at least September whether they achieve this goal, though they have made some progress already in areas like green building, public transit and waste reduction.

But no matter how green the London 2012 Olympics ultimately are, will it all be overshadowed by those towering golden arches?

Photo: pointnshoot

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They just can’t get healthier, cheaper and hipper fast enough. So the marketing geniuses behind the greasy fast food restaurants are burning the midnight oil in time for summer to chain-storm new ways to entice consumers who are getting wise to a lighter footprint.

1. Burger King’s new TV booty ad is a ridiculous send-up of I like Big Butts, featuring a Sponge Bob rendition, I Like Square Butts.

The highly sexualized ad, showing how to achieve a square butt by placing a phone book in your shorts, is aimed at an adult audience to sell its 99 cent value kids meals. Amid a sea of complaints, Burger King vows to only run the ad after hours to amuse the grown up audience.

2. Kentucky Fried Chicken new grilled breasts have been introduced challenging us to “unthink the unfried side of KFC” with this option for consumers who are watching what they eat (no extra-crispy, deep-fried junk food), but the company is still cranking out inferior factory chicken that’s no good for or the chickens no matter how you serve it. And then, of course, there’s the current Oprah Fustercluck.

3. Carl’s Junior beefs up image with ads featuring hospital surgeons or Padma singing its praises.

If you weren’t convinced before that bourbon is good for you, how ’bout when a scrub-wearing surgeon talks about craving bourbon ($6 Angus burgers that is) and knocking them back in between surgery because “bourbon keeps me focused.”

And the Western Bacon Burger, also just $6, seems ultra-healthy and gourmet when Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi shares how much she adores these sensational sandwiches since they remind her of high school and sneaking off to get a taste of that special sauce. The most offensive thing about the Padma promotion? The ad line next to the gorgeous reality show host says “it’s more than just a piece of meat.”

4. McCafe is your kind of caffeine place. Just like in the real coffee houses with real baristas, you can brew it your way with shots of vanilla, hazelnut or caramel. Yes, savor that quick, inferior coffee plus all the sugar you ever dreamed of to complement your low-priced wrap sandwich like the McSkillet Burrito or any of those great meals that come under $3.

5. Priszm LP is reassuring the Canadian public you can’t get swine flu from fast food pork, because the employees at the 400 fast food chains (including KFC and Taco Bell) it operates in Canada wash their hands really good and there is no evidence you can contract the virus from eating pig products. Last week, the company reported losses of $2.6 million during its first quarter ending on March 22, compared to a $1.8 million loss the same period a year prior.

Image: iboy_daniel

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