"happy meals" news and stories

Making good on a threat it issued this summer, a public advocacy group has filed a class-action lawsuit against McDonald's to stop the burger giant from putting toys in Happy Meals.

Last June, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) warned McDonald's that unless the company immediately stopped using Happy Meal toys to market to kids, it was going to take McDonald's to court. No surprise: McDonald's didn't exactly "cease and desist," as any parent who's recently stumbled over a cheap plastic Transformer on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night will tell you.

CSPI contends that by luring kids in with the promise of toys, McDonald's is encouraging them "to develop a preference for nutritionally poor Happy Meals," according to its press release. While McDonald's counters that parents can choose healthier Happy Meals for their kids, such as those that include low-fat milk and apple slices, CSPI charges that fries and sodas are essentially the default option at the majority of McDonald's franchises, and no such Happy Meal is healthy for a four- to eight-year-old.

If you want to buy your kid a Happy Meal with Chicken McNuggets and fries in San Francisco, don't expect to find a toy inside.

A committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted, 3 - 0, to pass a proposed new rule banning toys from kids' meals unless they meet nutritional standards set by the board, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

In order to include toys, restaurants like McDonald's must limit the meals' sugar, sodium and fat content and include a half-cup of fruit and vegetables.

The legislation was put forth by board Supervisor Eric Mar as a "modest effort" to help curb childhood obesity, the Chronicle reported.

Why so glum, Ronald McDonald?

First, officials in one California county banned toys in fast-food kid's meals, Happy and otherwise (setting off a nationwide trend). Then there was that flap over McDonald's cadmium-contaminated Shrek glasses.

Now a public advocacy group has issued an ultimatum to the Golden Arches: Get those toys out of all Happy Meals, or we'll sue.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest announced yesterday that it will take McDonald's to court unless the fast-food giant immediately stops including toys in any meals (the plastic baubles no doubt constitute some sizeable portion of our trade deficit with China). The group charges that the toys lure children into a lifelong cycle of unhealthy eating habits, obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

In another effort to stem criticism about their lack of concern for kids' nutrition, McDonald's has created a Global Panel of Moms to discuss issues like health, nutrition and overall well-being. The nine women on the panel come from six countries, including Argentina, Germany and China, and are a diverse group in terms of accomplishment. Four are former Olympians, one is a cooking show personality, and others include an artist, a childhood development expert and a PTA (a school parent organization) president. McDonalds says that they plan to establish additional panels for individual countries. It sounds as though they plan to use these panels to brainstorm new and healthier offerings for kids, such as the packaged apple slices that were introduced as an alternative to fries over a year ago.

Of course, it remains to be seen as to how much McDonald's will change its menu. Healthy or not, their offerings are still popular, and that is something that is difficult for a business to even consider walking away from.

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