I could write a post titled "Hyper-Local Stupidity" every day. It abounds. But this little nugget from La Vida Locavore really stuck in my craw, partly because of its sheer obliviousness but mostly because it got huge play on Twitter when @bittman tweeted a link to it, writing, "McDonald's: 'nothing you can do short of going out of business would be a substantial improvement.'"

Yo, Crazy Local Eating Life, here's a news flash, McDonald's isn't going out of business anytime soon. Not in our lifetimes. Probably not in our children's lifetimes. Maybe not in our grandchildren's lifetimes. Get over it and deal.

It's not like your whining is going to get McDonald's shareholders, board of directors and management to say, "Gee, sorry, we didn't realize that beef was so bad for people and the planet. We're going to pack up shop, fire all 400,000 of our employees (we're sure they won't have any problems finding other jobs) and let people who like fast-food burgers patronize chains such as Burger King, Wendy's, Carl's Jr., Sonic, In-N-Out, Dairy Queen and a host of others. We really don't mind flushing our investments down the drain and are sure that cities across the world won't mind the 31,000 vacant, decaying restaurants that will blight their landscapes. And, while driving customers to chains that exhibit less environmental responsibility than we do won't help the planet, at least our hands will be clean and we won't have to listen to you whine at us any more."

McDonald’s and their ilk will not go away because you wish it. They will not simply disappear because you scream, “Die!” at the top of your lungs, however good that makes you feel. They may change if you engage them. That requires (locally grown, organic, sustainable) carrots as well as sticks.

Seriously, if you really want major chains such as McDonald's to change, wouldn’t it make more sense to thank them for the positive steps they take, hold those step (and your response) up as an example for other change and then, after consolidating one round of changes, start pressing for the next round?

Of course, this assumes that change is the objective. I suspect that, for many, the real goal is not change but the links from the right bloggers, the speaking slots at the right conferences and the invitations to the right parties that come from adopting politically correct, anti-corporate, hard-line, no compromise and extreme positions on green issues.  If this is what you want, fine. But don’t try selling the rest of us on the idea that you’re trying to change the world. You aren’t. You’re just trying to elevate yourselves while relieving whatever bizarre guilt you feel because you’re at the top of the food chain.