"We don't sell junk food," said McDonald's CEO Don Thompson when a 9-year-old Hannah Robertson confronted him with the accusation at a shareholders meeting in Oak Brook, Illinois.

"It would be nice if you stopped trying to trick kids into wanting to eat your food all the time," said Robertson, whose mother runs a business that encourages children to eat healthy.

"If parents haven't taught their kids about healthy eating, then the kids probably believe that junk food is good for them because it might taste good."

This goes to the lynchpin of Thompson's rebuttal: parents. What is their role in controlling children's food intake and teaching children proper eating habits?

"My kids also eat McDonald's. When they were about your size, to my son who is with us today, who was a little bit bigger, he was a football player, and also they cook with me at home," said Thompson. "I love to cook. We cook a lot of fruits and veggies at home."

"We provide high-quality food. We always have; it's real beef, it's real chicken, it's real tomatoes, real lettuce, real fruit, real smoothies, real dairy, real eggs, and we do it in a way that is also affordable."

Even so, Robertson was not the only one calling out McDonald's for contributing to child health issues, reported Newsmax.

"My medical and public health colleagues have repeatedly acknowledged the science," said Doctor Andrew Bremer at the same meeting.

"I think McDonald's-style fast food and the fast food practices [contribute] to the decline in children's health and McDonald's has yet to make substitute changes."

According to NYDailyNews.com, Thompson took over the chain last year during its initiative to offer healthier options on its menu. This includes salads as well as apples and fat-free chocolate milk as Happy Meal options.

McDonald's reputation as a "junk food" chain remains the most glaring, despite the fact that several other fast food chains sell similarly heavy and concerning food items, reported NewStatesman.

"The epidemic of obesity particularly relevant to my neighborhood [and similar ones]...it's not about McDonald's," added Thompson.

"I still cook ham hocks with my greens at home, I grew up doing that. I'll continue doing that."

But are all parents doing that, and is the practice of home cooking even to blame?

Listen to Robertson and Thompson's conversation below: