Off the Menu: Toys and Fast Food
May 7, 2010 by Kathy McManus
“A sad day for Happy Meals” is how The LA Times described a new ordinance in California’s Silicon Valley, which outlaws giving away free toys with high sugar, salt, and fat meals aimed at children. The ban will take effect in 90 days if the fast-food industry fails to “come up with a voluntary program for improving the nutritional value of children’s meals,” reports Sharon Bernstein.
Believed to be the first of its kind in the country, the ordinance “prevents restaurants from preying on children’s love of toys,” says its sponsor, Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, and “breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes.” The Mommy Files blog at the San Francisco Chronicle reports that “In the case of McDonald’s, the limits would include all of the chain’s Happy Meals—even those that include apple sticks instead of French fries.”
Proponents of the new restrictions include public health administrators, doctors, and some parents, the Times reports. “Opposed were fast-food franchisees, other parents, and fans of fast-food toys who said the promotions are often used to provide Christmas presents for poor children.” Critics say the ban negates parental responsibility, replacing it with government meddling. “If you can’t control a 3-year-old child for a toy,” said Supervisor Donald Gage, who voted against the measure, “God save you when they get to be teenagers.”
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25 Comments
What do you think? Leave a comment
May 7, 2010 by Fill Coalley
I spend a lot of time reading blogs and I have to say I'm ipmressed with your posts. It's refreshnig to find a blog that has valuablle content such as yours. I'll be a regular reader from now on, you can couynton it.
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June 7, 2010 by Connor McGuiness
This is crazy!!! cmon let us live our lives. theres a facebook group called the NANNY STATE LIBERATION FRONT thats trying to help fight back. check it out and join http://www.facebook.com/nannystateliberationfront?ref=ts
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May 7, 2010 by Evie
GREAT NEWS I HOPE IT CATCHES ON..............EVERYWHERE!
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May 19, 2010 by tamar truesdell
i'll bet you have no control over what you put in your mouth. so,you are just another mean-spirted woman who has a need to control other people. why shouldn't kids get to enjoy a little toy as a special treat once in a while?
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June 24, 2010 by Lisa
The problem is that a large percentage of kids eat these "happy meals" several times per week! So they are not treats, just another meal.
June 26, 2010 by Shmoe
Yeah and probably those same kids never leave the room after school and on weekends, they just sit there and play playstation 3 online exbox, or are glued to Youtube. Whos fault is that Sony, Ibm, Apple, or you the parent that lets your child do it. I think they call it exercise!
May 10, 2010 by Carol
I think its not up to the government to decide what my children can and cant have.
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May 12, 2010 by rebecca
THat is a great idea. Can we work on downsizing next?
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May 13, 2010 by mom of 10
Again a case of the parent not wanting to take time to teach the child about healthy food. Good things do not come easy. Teaching about and eating healthy food at home and only eating out occasionally (like maybe one time a month) and the parents picking healthy food on the menu when the kids are young, this is a very valuable gift a parent can give a kid because it lives for that childs life time. Bad food creats bad health in adulthood. Good food creats good habits and good health because they start looking for other good habits such as exercise and brushing teeth etc as adults. This leads to lower medical bills and dental bills and believe it or not happier kids. What ever happened to drinking milk or water at a meal? Why do people think salad is so bad? Why do people think food needs to be boiled in oil? There are good choices to be made my kids young and older make these choices when we eat out. I have a 7 year old grandchild that thinks salad with tomatoes and cucumbers broccoli and carrots is the best thing on the menu. When we go on vacation i let my teens shop for the groceries and they always come back with milk and salad things and they pack their own lunches with very healthy food and it the fridge runs out they actually complain the there is not any good food. The parents are the leaders here and the teachers of healthy food. There are good choices out there the parents need to be in Control here not the kids yet. If they don't purchase the bad items they will be dropped from the menu. PARENTS TAKE A STAND FOR THE BETTER HERE FOR THE BENIFIT OF THE HEALTH OF YOUR CHILDREN AND YOUR BUDGET.
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August 9, 2010 by Sarah Renee Garner
I totally agree I mean i use to eat mcdonalds all the time but those greasy foods are just killing my generation. Because I see girls and boys who are bigger than there parents and it is not suppose to be that way
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May 19, 2010 by Virginia Vandenberg
Come on people this is too much control being taken out of the hands of the parents. What's next? Will Ronald and the King have to go because they too appeal to young children who will be drawn to a place that serves unhealthy food?
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August 9, 2010 by Sarah Renee Garner
I understand what you mean but then again if they stay they will cause more and more kids to be outsmarted and feed them these unhealthy greasy foods
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May 19, 2010 by Peter King
Why do Liberals think that everyone is so stupid except for them and that we need to be told how to live? Morons get out of our lives (and please get out of the White House) and leave us all alone.
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May 25, 2010 by living in superfund Silicon Valley
No toys? what and dry up my supply of free button batteries as well as put thousands of low income foreigners out of a job. Way to go Silicon Valley. I think I will load up the truck with my old Hg/pb loaded battery inventory and dump it, gotta stock up on some those new Hg/pb free ones before the ban kicks in.
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May 29, 2010 by JIM & REBA
You've got to be kidding. We are a seventy something years young great grandparents that eat Happy Meals. We've been collecting these toys since 1989. Before we go off the deep end and ban the meals how about determining the percentage of Happy Meals sold to folks like us versus the percentage sold to (for) children. Let's keep the Happy Meals with toys for us kids.
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June 6, 2010 by Camille
It is a shame that no one takes responsibility for their actions these days. If your child is obese it is not McDonald's fault of Burger Kings fault or anyone else. Parents buy the food for the children so if your child is obese it is no ones fault but your own! I wish people would stop trying to pass laws to hold everyone else accountable but the parents it is ridiculous.
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August 9, 2010 by Sarah Renee Garner
Parents do control so 75% of this is there fault but also there driving one day and they plan to cook a healthy meal but their kid see's ronald mcdonald or the kin and they say can we go there it is hard for the parents to resist so that i think is another reason but I totally agree with you
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June 22, 2010 by cheryl hammonds
YOU NEED 2 GET A LIFE, KIDS LOVE TOYS. WHAT ABOUT CRACKER JACKS? THEY ARE GOING 2 EAT CHICKEN AND HAMBURGERS AND FRIES AT HOME SOMETIME .ARE U GOING 2 STOP MOTHERS AND GRANDMOTHERS FROM COOKING.ITS NOT ABOUT THE FOOD ITS THE TOYS BECAUSE U THINK THEY SELL MORE AND MAYBE THEY DO,AND U DONT MAKE THE MONEY, THAT IS WHAT U CALL MARKETING AND VERY SMART.THERE IS MORE 2 DO FOR THE WORLD THAN PICK AT PEOPLE TRYING 2 MAKE A LIVING.
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June 23, 2010 by Patty Tadda
Well I would have thought that LA would be the first to do this. Everything bad that comes across the country stems from the lovely state of California. It is a lovely state, with to many liberal people, people who have nothing to do but think up ludicrus laws. Maybe they should spend their time trying to fix the economical condition of their state. Let's take a walk down memory lane for a bit. They brought to the south, east, and north the movement of women wearing pants to work and church and restaurants, (this one I am fond of), wearing flip flops on plane flights, not bathing often, flower power, non traditional everything. Gay movements, you name it and anything weird, strange, out of the ordinary I am pretty sure you can trace to this state. I certainly wish that people would really focus out there on the main issues of their state.
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