87,000 People Petition McDonald’s To Put Veggie Burgers On Menu

(Morton Fox)

In spite of the salads on the menu, most fast food eateries cater to omnivores. I remember working with a vegetarian who would (willingly, mind you) go with me and my fellow co-workers to local fast food joints and order cheeseburgers without the meat, content to eat just the bun and cheese slices. Perhaps, all these years later, she’s one of the nearly 90,000 people who have signed a petition asking McDonald’s to put veggie burgers on the menu.

Burger King already offers a veggie option at some locations, and McDonald’s sells them at its restaurants in India, but not stateside.

The creators of this Change.org petition, which currently has 87,800 signatures, are asking McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson to please give non-meat-eating consumers a reason to visit the Golden Arches.

“Adding plant-based protein options at McDonald’s will appeal to workers out for a quick lunch, families with health-conscious members out to dinner, children on field trips, and anyone looking for something different than the current menu at McDonald’s where even the french fries contain beef flavoring,” reads the petition.

The author of the petition tells the Wall Street Journal that she believes McDonald’s is being short-sighted by not having a proper veggie option.

“They’re not only not getting the new customers who are health-minded, they’re losing customers to competitors,” she claims.

Of course, McDonald’s may be reluctant to release a veggie burger after another quarter of flat sales. The company recently blamed its overly complicated menu — which included too many limited-time and test offerings — for consumers becoming alienated with the brand.

[via Eater.com]

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Walmart Testing Online Grocery Ordering And Pickup In Denver

(frankieleon.)

Ordering stuff online for in-store pickup is convenient and saves on delivery fees, but would you do it with groceries? Would you do it with groceries at Walmart? That’s what the mega-retailer hopes to find out by testing “Walmart To Go” service in Colorado. They’ve combined their grocery delivery and in-store pickup business models, which just might be the logical coc

The system is pretty much what it sounds like, and similar to the Site-to-Store service that the company has provided since 2007. Customers place their orders online, then stop by the store to pick them up. Simple.

What about impulse buying? Interestingly, more than half of customers that Walmart surveyed said that in-store pickup appeals to them because it gives them the option to run in the store and pick up things that they forgot to add to the original order.

Walmart has been testing grocery delivery services in different regions since 2011, but the in-store pickup concept is new for grocery items. Customers pull up to a dedicated pickup area, or to the drive-thru pharmacy window in stores that already have them.

At $5 to $7 per order, Walmart’s delivery service is more accessible than the Amazon Fresh pricing model, which charges $299 per year for access to delivery in limited markets. They don’t plan to ditch delivery, and are continuing the service even in greater Denver.

Wal-Mart picks Denver for online/pickup test [Denver Business Journal]

Walmart Begins Testing Online Grocery Shopping With Local Store Pickup Option In Denver [Techcrunch]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

More Bad News For Babies: 216,000 Britax Strollers Recalled Over Finger Amputation Risk

(The Britax BOB Motion, B-Agile and B-Agile Double)

It’s been quite a bad news week for babies and their parents — on the heels of yesterday’s recall of 200,000 baby pacifiers by Fred & Friends, Britax has announced it’s recalling 216,000 strollers over the risk of amputation.

Little fingers have a habit of going wherever they want, but that could be the very wrong place if it’s a Britax B-Agile, B-Agile Double or BOB Motion stroller, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says in announcing the recall.

“The hinge on the stroller’s folding mechanism can partially amputate consumers’ fingertips, break their fingers or cause severe lacerations, among other injuries, when they press the release button while pulling on the release strap,” the CPSC says.

The three types of strollers were sold in many color schemes including black, red, kiwi, sandstone, navy and orange. Major retailers nationwide sold the strollers, along with Amazon.com, albeebaby.com, buybuybaby.com, diapers.com, ToysRUs.com and other online retailers from May 2011 through June 2013 for between $250 and $450.

Check for the following model numbers on the label inside the stroller’s metal frame near the right rear wheel to see if your stroller is included in the recall:

• B-Agile strollers: U341763, U341764, U341782 and U341783

• B-Agile Double strollers: U361818 or U361819

• BOB Motion strollers: U391820, U391821 and U391822

So far there have been eight reported incidents, including one partial fingertip amputation, one broken finger and severe finger lacerations.

Stop using the recalled strollers immediately and contact Britax for a free repair kit: toll-free at (866) 204-1665 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday or online at www.britaxusa.com or www.bobgear.com and click on “Safety Notice” at the top right corner or on “Learn More” at the bottom center of the page, or e-mail strollerrecall@britax.com for more information.

Strollers Recalled by Britax Due to Partial Fingertip Amputation Hazard [CPSC.gov]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Is Chipotle’s Anti-GMO Stance Resulting In Profits?

Chipotle is about to launch “Farmed & Dangerous,” a 4-part satirical look at industrial farming, on Hulu.

Last year, gut-busting burrito chain Chipotle quietly became the first restaurant of its type to begin identifying which of its ingredients may contain genetically modified ingredients, while also publicly stating that its long-term goal is to eliminate GMO ingredients from its menu. This can be a costly move in a business with relatively thin margins, but it may be working in Chipotle’s favor.

BusinessWeek takes a look at the Colorado-based chain’s sales since it made its anti-GMO stance known to the public.

Chipotle recently reported a 30% increase in quarterly profits and sales at stores open more than a year were up 9.3%. In the last quarter of 2013, stores were averaging an additional $622/day over the same time period in 2012.

“The most obvious difference in the company’s approach was its vow in March to eliminate genetically engineered ingredients,” writes BusinessWeek’s Kyle Stock.

The eatery chain also has a position against the unnecessary non-medical use of antibiotics in farm animals, though last August it did leave open the door to buying some beef from antibiotic-treated cows, claiming there may not be enough drug-free beef to go around.

Chipotle sees its position on these matters as good for marketing and will soon launch a four-part satirical look at industrial farming called “Farmed & Dangerous” on Hulu. The trailer for the series is below.

“That’s why we create marketing designed to make people more curious about these issues,” Co-CEO Steve Ells explained in a conference call about earnings on Thursday. “We believe the more curious they become and the more they learn, the more likely they’ll come to Chipotle.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

After 23 Years, Eastern Air Lines Hopes To Rises From The Ashes To Fly Again

Consumers could have another option when looking for their next flight. After more than 20 years away from the tarmac, Eastern Air Lines Group filed paperwork this week to begin service.

The airline, which last flew in 1991, has begun the long process of gaining approval to begin service by filing applications with the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Association, CNN Money reports.

Although the approval process can take up to 18 months, officials with the airline hope to begin flights as early as December.

The Miami-based airline would begin as a provider of charter services and work up to scheduled service when more investors come on-board, Ed Wegel, Eastern Airline CEO tells CNN Money.

Eastern Air Lines was founded in 1928 and earned a reputation as the major carrier along the East Coast. The airline filed for bankruptcy protection in 1989 and stopped service as a result of labor unrest and a drop in air travel following the Gulf War.

The group of former airline personnel purchased rights to the Eastern name and logo from bankruptcy court in 2009, but couldn’t begin the process to restart service until receiving several millions of dollar from investors.

Even with strong name recognition and a rich history, Eastern Air Lines faces an uphill battle in today’s airline industry. Four major carriers – American Airlines, United Continental, Delta Air Lines and Southwest – control 80% of the air traffic in the United States.

Additionally, the FAA has revised a number of air travel rules that make things tougher on smaller airlines. A new requirement for longer rest periods for pilots has already wreaked havoc on small airlines; JetBlue had to ground more than 300 flights during a snowstorm earlier this year to abide by the new rule.

Still, smaller airlines have been making up ground recently. In order for American Airlines and US Airways to complete their merger last year, the Department of Justice required they give up several gates and slots at busy airports. JetBlue and Southwest came out the big winners in that deal nabbing most of those slots.

Group files to bring back Easter Air Lines [CNN Money]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

You Can Now Drive A Tesla Model S Cross-Country — If You Don’t Mind An 800-Mile Detour

Power up.

After earlier test drives up and down the East Coast last winter, the next obstacle for the Tesla Model S in its quest for acceptance was the task of setting up superchargers across the country, to enable the kind of American road trip everyone says they’re planning to take someday. Anyway, you can now drive cross-country in a Tesla, but you’ll just have to take a bit of a detour.

Two teams of Tesla employees are in the midst of a publicity stunt to showcase the network of charging stations, reports CNNMoney. The teams left L.A. on Wednesday and hope to be in New York in three days.

“Easy! I did 2,800 or so miles in less than two days and with only one case of energy drinks and 18 packs of Slim Jims!” you might be saying.

But it’ll take these Teslas a bit longer, as the cars aren’t driving the most direct route due to the twisty, windy ways of the supercharger network. It spreads across 3,600 miles (according to Google maps) and more than 600 of those are on small highways instead of faster interstate freeways.

Tesla claims the route is more like 3,400 miles, which is still miles and miles longer than the usual route. This path meanders north a bit, skirting Mt. Rushmore, before it joins up with the more direct northern route. Then it swoops down to Maryland and Delaware before hitting the New Jersey Turnpike (a route that is never fun for anyone, believe me).

Each station’s chargers are supposed to juice up the cars for about 170 miles of driving, and there are 32 stations on the route Tesla will be taking.

At the rate it’s going, Tesla says there will be a new supercharging station every day, so that by the time we’re ringing in 2015, drivers can opt for a more direct route.

Tesla’s 800-mile cross-country detour [CNNMoney]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Amazon May Raise Price On Prime By $20 To $40

(chinguri)

For years, Amazon has been charging an annual fee of $79 for Amazon Prime membership, which includes free two-day shipping on many items and access to a library of streaming movies and TV shows at no extra cost. For people who take advantage of both aspects of the service, it’s a pretty good deal at under $7/month, but is that all about to change?

In a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter earnings report on Thursday, Amazon admitted that it’s considering — not definitely doing it, but considering — raising the annual fee for Prime by twenty to forty dollars.

Amazon says there are “tens of millions” of Prime members around the world, growth that has likely been encouraged by increased use of tablets and other wireless devices that can stream Amazon Prime videos.

In its earnings report, the e-tailer says it increased the size of its Prime video library from 33,000 titles to 40,000 in December. It’s also recently begun getting into original programming with the launch of two shows, Alpha House and Betas.

It’s possible the additional costs of content acquisition and creation may be causing Amazon to look at that $79 and dream of a bigger number. Maybe the company will have different tiers of Prime service for people who want the video plan and those who just want the free shipping benefits? We don’t know as Amazon isn’t saying.

Amazon has made changes to Prime that some say make it less worthwhile. First, it began labeling some items as “add-on” items that did not count toward the minimum purchase total to qualify for free shipping. Then it raised that minimum from $25 to $35. For customers who had used Prime for many, smaller-dollar purchases and didn’t watch any of the streaming video selections, these changes took away a lot of the value for the program.

Amazon considering $20 to $40 price hike for Prime service in US [TheVerge]

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

FAA Puts The Kibosh On Thirsty Ice Fishermen’s Dreams By Banning Beer Delivery Drones

(YouTube)

Have you ever been ice fishing? There you are, out on the frozen expanse, huddled in a shack and focuses all your attention on a hole in the ice. Well, half your attention. The other half is all about talking to your friends and throwing back a beer. But one local brewery got in a spot of trouble for trying to make the beer part easier with a drone that delivered frosty cold drinks right to your ice fishing shack.

The Federal Aviation Administration frowns on people sending out their own drones into the skies, but the owners of Lakemaid Beer figured they were just doing thirsty fishermen a favor by ferrying drinks through the air so they wouldn’t have to leave their toasty shacks.

The company — which calls itself the fishermen’s lager — had just started the local deliveries near Stevens Point, Wis., but the Minnesota-based company had its eye on a bigger slice of the ice fishing pie, reports NPR’s The Two Way. It’d hoped to use the drones to shuttle beer to ice shacks from bait and beer shops all over the wintry north.

Though it had only recently arrived in the skies, the FAA told the company its drones had to be grounded afer this first test.

“We were a little surprised at the FAA interest in this since we thought we were operating under the 400-foot limit,” one of Lakemaid’s managing partners said. Everyone at the company “figured a vast frozen lake was a lot safer place than [what] Amazon was showing on 60 Minutes.”

Drones aren’t allowed for commercial delivery, however, and as such the brewery can’t go on with its plans to use American airspace to bring thirsty fishermen (and woman, don’t you doubt it) a cold one.

The FAA told Lakemaid in an email that it “recognizes that people and companies other than modelers might be flying UAS with the mistaken understanding” that their actions are legal. But those rules only apply to people flying model airplanes.

The partner says he can see where the FAA is coming from (until someone from the FAA goes ice fishing and runs out of beer).

“I understand their concern,” he says. “Drones whizzing around piloted by any knucklehead is probably not the Jetsons future we all imagined.”

Watch the test video below:

Beer Drone Can Buzz The Skies No More, FAA Says [The Two Way]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Another Cruise Returns To Port Early With More Than 170 Ill Passengers

Days after Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas had to return to port early after hundreds of passengers fell ill, Carnival’s Caribbean Princess returned home to Houston last night, a day ahead of schedule, with at least 170 sick people on board.

Much like the Explorer of the Seas situation, it’s believed that the norovirus, which can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea, may be to blame for the sick passengers on board the Caribbean Princess.

The Centers for Disease Control is investigating the matter. In its preliminary report, it found that 162 of the ship’s 3,102 passengers had reported feeling ill during the cruise, while 11 of the Caribbean Princess’s 1,148 crew members admitted to feeling sick.

“We have already been working with the crew in getting some stool samples so we can send that back to our labs for testing,” a rep for the CDC tells the Houston Chronicle.

Early test results turned up positive results for the norovirus.

“We were confined to our room for three days,” one passenger recalled after finally being allowed to disembark the ship. “They threatened us saying if we left they would call the coast guard. The cruise sucked.”

The official reason given to passengers for the early return to port was that fog would be cutting their trip short.

“We are upset they told us it was fog,” says another passenger after exiting the ship. “If they had said in the first place it was sickness it would have been better. We knew it was a lie when they were predicting the fog as early as Tuesday. It was a shame to miss Belize.”

The Caribbean Princess is owned by Carnival and operated under Carnival’s Princess Cruise subsidiary. The ship will undergo a “thorough sanitization” before it heads out on its next trip, which is scheduled to depart tomorrow afternoon.

A rep for the cruise line tells the Chronicle that because of the early return to port, some passengers will be put up in local hotels for the final evening of the scheduled itinerary. Passengers will also be offered a 20% discount on future cruise travel with the company.

According to the CDC’s round-up of outbreaks on international cruise ships, this is the third known outbreak already in 2014. In addition to the 700 or so people who fell ill on the Explorer of the Seas, another 142 people on board the Norwegian Star complained of vomiting and diarrhea during a cruise earlier in January.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds

Here are ten of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

(1- Scoboco)

(2 – Karen_Chappell)

(3 – chuckthewriter)

(4 – pjpink)

(5 – Joel Zimmer)

(6 – Fujoshi)

(7 – cookedphotos)

(8 – C_Dubyaa)

Our Flickr Pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Want to see your pictures on our site? Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist