Thread: what...no toy in the happy meal?
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04-27-2010, 08:02 PM #1
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what...no toy in the happy meal?
http://www.fox23.com/news/national/s...z-efUFFVQ.cspx
Un-Happy Meal? California county trims toys to cut fat
Last Update: 3:52 pm
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Children eat a Happy Meal at a McDonald's restaurant. (Kristian Dowling, Getty Images) SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A county in California's Silicon Valley has decided to ban restaurants from giving away toys and other freebies with high-calorie meals.
The ordinance, passed 3-2 Tuesday by Santa Clara County supervisors, is aimed at curbing childhood obesity. Opponents call it another example of too much government meddling in family affairs.
The ban covers unincorporated areas of the county, which means only about a dozen fast-food chains and several family-owned restaurants.
A restaurant would face fines up to $1,000 if it violates the ban.
Supervisors will conduct a final vote May 11. If it passes then, the ordinance would take effect 90 days later.
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04-27-2010 08:02 PM # ADS
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04-27-2010, 08:11 PM #2
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Please .... can we take care of SEROIUS business ?? Legistlature here has wasted time, money and effort decieding to ban SPARKLERS.
Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?
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04-27-2010, 09:16 PM #3
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And then they came for the Happy Meal toys
Posted by: Sister Toldjah on April 27, 2010 at 7:12 pm
Really. Just what will they think of next?
The latest target in the battle over fast food is something you shouldn’t even put in your mouth.
Convinced that Happy Meals and other food promotions aimed at children could make kids fat as well as happy, county officials in Silicon Valley are poised to outlaw the little toys that often come with high-calorie offerings.
The proposed ban is the latest in a growing string of efforts to change the types of foods aimed at youngsters and the way they are cooked and sold. Across the nation, cities, states and school boards have taken aim at excessive sugar, salt and certain types of fats.
Believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, the proposal would forbid the inclusion of a toy in any restaurant meal that has more than 485 calories, more than 600 mg of salt or high amounts of sugar or fat. 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.
Supporters say the ban would encourage restaurants to offer more-nutritious foods to kids and would make unhealthful items less appealing. But opponents believe it amounts to government meddling in parental decisions. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will consider the proposal Tuesday.
Even though it’s largely symbolic — the proposed ban would apply only to the dozen fast-food restaurants within the jurisdiction of the board — the proposal has caused a bit of an uproar on the Internet, where comments on YouTube and other sites say it is another example of the “nanny state” gone wild.
The California Restaurant Assn. has taken out full-page newspaper advertisements against the proposed ordinance in local newspapers. One shows a little girl with her hands cuffed behind her back as she holds a stuffed animal.
Another opponent wrote in a YouTube posting, “I want to know when the pitchforks and torches and rope is going to come out…. We need to run these Frankenstein politician monsters the hell out of town!”
Ken Yeager, the Santa Clara County supervisor who is behind the effort, says the toys in kids’ meals are contributing to America’s obesity epidemic by encouraging children to eat unhealthful, fattening foods.
Some Santa Clara residents weighed in with their thoughts:
“We went through a phase when my daughter wanted the Happy Meal just to get the toy,” said Kristen Dimont, 37. The Sunnyvale blogger said that once her child tasted fast food, it took years to coax her back to the healthful variety. Dimont likes the idea of the ban — and thinks the supervisors should consider extending it to the play yards that also attract children to fast-food restaurants.
Rebecca Wolpinsky, 32, a mother of two, says she can’t stand the toys that are included with fast-food meals for children. “The toys are crap, honestly,” she said. “We end up recycling them or they end up getting left in the car.”
But Wolpinsky opposes banning the toys — or blaming them for childhood obesity. “To say that Burger King or McDonald’s is the root cause or that giving toys with children’s meals is a root cause is not right,” she said.
McDonald’s declined to comment on the proposed ban. But the California Restaurant Assn. has played a major role in the opposition.
If County Supervisor Yeager “wants to take away the toys that are making kids fat, take away Xboxes, take away PlayStations, take away flat-screen TVs,” said Daniel Conway, spokesman for the industry group.
Seriously, though, I’m sure it’s a possbility that some kids want that Happy Meal because of the toy, but I suspect it’s a minority. Kids love burgers and fries almost as much – if not as much – as they like toys. But the toys in the McD’s Happy Meals really aren’t anything to write home about. That said, if they’re really so offensive to the likes of Yeager, instead of mandating they stop why not offer tax breaks to the local McDonald’s restaurants for opting out of including the toy in the meal, or for maybe noting on the menu that the toy is no longer included with the meal but if you’d like one for your child, please ask for one?
Oh wait. We’re talking about the left coast, where liberal politicos have rarely ever met a tax break they liked.
McQ sums it up nice and neat: http://www.qando.net/?p=8135
This is just the beginning of what you can expect to see from the food nazis (the FDA and salt?) now that government health care reform is law.
Next thing you know, left coast nanny-staters will be calling for a mandatory tofu Happy Meal to replace the burger and fries.
Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?
http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/20...ppy-meal-toys/
Ban the toys? Why not ask they be included with a kid-sized salad instead? Side benefit, kids might then mistake the toys for croutons, allowing mom and dad to profit.
Oh yeah, and also ban the play areas. Let’s not encourage the kids to exercise.
Last week, some school systems in the UK had to re-think their school lunch programs. Seems kids actually need proteins, fats, etc.My boys loooooooooove the toys. They typically demand I open the toys for them before they even start on the burger or McNuggets, a fair chunk of which almost always ends up going to waste. My sense is that if it weren’t for the toys, they’d still insist on McD’s by name but end up eating the whole thing for want of anything better to do. They didn’t really think it was the toys that made kids fat, did they? There’s no reasoning with a Bay Area politician.
Last time I looked, the toys in the Happy Meals only appealed to kids who were so young that they had to be taken to Mickey D’s by an adult. If your kid gets a Happy Meal, it’s because you, as his parent, chose to buy it for him.If your kid gets a Happy Meal, it’s because you, as his parent, chose to buy it for him. And therein lies the problem, Dana. As a good prole you are not qualified to make those decisions for your children
Now sit down, shut up and love big brother.So now the dems are like Burgermeister from “Santa Claus is Coming To Town”???
“BAN ALL TOYS!!!”You vill like de brussel sprouts……und de sparagus…..und de spinich. Und ven vee ask you, you vill say “VEE LIKE IT!!!!”
Now, as ver de salt and fat and liquor. Vee have vays of making zis painful for you…..or you can be …….re-educated.
And they complained about the Patriot Act, an attempt to identify terrorists.
Where the fork is our country going? Where the hell are we???Study after study has shown that today’s children are not obese because they eat more than children of prior generations or that their diets are less healthy. It’s that children don’t get any exercise! The government runs PSAs on every TV station urging children to play just one hour per day!
Besides, can’t parents say no to their children anymore? (And plastic toys are not fattening anyway.)“Besides, can’t parents say no to their children anymore? (And plastic toys are not fattening anyway.)”
1. Sit down at the table.
2. Eat what you’re given or go hungry.Last edited by Jolie Rouge; 04-27-2010 at 09:25 PM.
Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?
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04-28-2010, 04:57 AM #4
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You vill like de brussel sprouts……und de sparagus…..und de spinich. Und ven vee ask you, you vill say “VEE LIKE IT!!!!”
Now, as ver de salt and fat and liquor. Vee have vays of making zis painful for you…..or you can be …….re-educated.
Seriously......McDonalds & such should be suing. It's (supposed) to be 'free enterprise'....isn't it a consumer's choice to what we will eat and whom we shall patronize?
A toy does not make the child fat, the food choice does and it's the parent, not the toy, that drives to the place and purchases the food.Mrs Pepperpot is a lady who always copes with the tricky situations that she finds herself in....
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04-28-2010, 07:41 AM #5
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I can't believe they think associating a toy with food will make a kid want to eat more. I agree its the parents choice. The kid can't drive themselves to McDonalds. In moderation its not bad for them. Every day is, but not occasionally.
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04-28-2010, 07:52 AM #6
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Exactly....for my kids....happy meals were a 'treat'...
Mrs Pepperpot is a lady who always copes with the tricky situations that she finds herself in....
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04-28-2010, 08:09 AM #7
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Ha! We rarely, like once a year if we were lucky got to eat fast food as a kid & both me & my sister were chubby as kids / teens. I ate more fast food when I got out of the house & I was underweight then.
Ya don't think that just because McD's doesn't give out toys anymore that parents will stop taking them there? Next they'll ban the Play Area... which would be aweseomely-ironic!Rudeness is the weak person's imitation of strength.
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04-28-2010, 08:22 AM #8
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they'll just have a bunch of unhappy, even tearfull kids in there restaurant. I mean, let's face it, the toy in the happy meal is like the icing on the cake, it's the treat they all look forward to!!
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04-28-2010, 09:37 AM #9
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http://www.aolnews.com/nation/articl...als%2F19456492
California County Bans Toys With Fast-Food MealsUpdated: 17 hours 33 minutes ago
Print Text Size E-mail More
Richard C. Paddock
San Francisco Correspondent
AOL News (April 27) -- For county officials in the Silicon Valley, it turns out that Happy Meals are not so happy after all.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, tackling the problem of childhood obesity, voted today to ban restaurants from offering toys with children's meals unless the food meets specific nutritional standards.
The measure is the first in the nation to restrict fast-food restaurants' marketing strategy of using toys to entice children to buy high-fat, high-sugar and high-calorie meals.
"This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes," said board President Ken Yeager, who sponsored the measure. "It imposes commonsense nutrition on meals linked to toys. We hope that other municipalities, counties and states will follow suit."
The ordinance applies only in the unincorporated parts of Santa Clara County, a largely suburban region south of San Francisco. County officials say there are just 50 restaurants that would be affected by the law, and only a few are fast-food restaurants that might offer toys as incentives.
Nevertheless, the measure was strongly opposed by fast-food franchise operators and other restaurant owners who fear the idea might spread to other jurisdictions. Santa Clara County was one of the first to require that restaurants provide calorie information on their menus, a requirement incorporated in the federal health care law signed by President Barack Obama.
Dozens of opponents of the ordinance attended the meeting and at times applauded loudly when their representatives spoke.
"We do agree that there is a childhood obesity problem," Amalia Chamorro, local government director of the California Restaurant Association, told the board. "Getting rid of the toys is going to do nothing to solve this problem."
The board, granting a small concession, agreed to give opponents 90 days to come up with an alternative plan before the ordinance takes effect.
Supporters of the measure say toys offered with high-calorie meals entice children to choose high-fat, high-sugar items that can be addictive and lead to obesity.
County Public Health Director Dan Peddycord told the board that childhood obesity has become an epidemic and that nearly 25 percent of the children in the county are overweight or obese. One in every three children born today will grow up to be a diabetic, he said. The odds are even worse for Hispanic children: One in two will become diabetic.
"Childhood obesity is the public health issue of our era," he told the board. "We have a collective responsibility to right-size the environment we live in."
Children who become obese at a young age are likely to be obese as adults and have a significantly higher risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and cancer, said acting county public health officer Sara Cody. A 2006 study found that obesity costs the county $420 million annually in health care expenses and $496 million in lost productivity.
The ordinance sets limits of 120 calories for a beverage, 200 calories for a single food item and 485 calories for a meal for any item sold with a toy.
Restaurants will be fined $250 for the first violation and $500 for the second.
Peddycord said a check of restaurants in the county found few children's meals under 650 calories.
Offering toys with the lower-calorie items could create an incentive for children to make healthier choices.
The issue brought out emotional, if not always well-informed, opposition. Some critics accused the board of banning all toys with meals.
Stephen Hazel, who brought one of his own favorite toys to show the board, says he collects them and sends them to children in the Philippines. He called Supervisor Yeager "head Grinch Ken Yeager" and angrily asked, "Do you want to be the one who bans toys?"
Kevin Kettila was equally heated. "I take this personally that you are trying to take away our freedom of choice," he said. "Parents have enough good information without you having to legislate this. You are going to deprive the little kids of a toy."
But Joanne Seavey-Hultquist, the mother of a 3-year-old and coordinator of a nonprofit for children called FIRST 5 Santa Clara County, said parents need help in countering the fast-food restaurants' marketing strategy.
"Research shows that parents are at a disadvantage when children are offered a reward for selecting a high-fat, high-calorie meal," she said. "I appreciate a policy that helps me as a parent to do my job."
And Nicole Kohleriter, communications director for the Health Trust, another Silicon Valley nonprofit, said fast-food marketers know that parents can be worn down when their children plead for a toy.
"The toys are in the food because the toys sell the food," she said. "I think this ordinance is not about taking away parental choice but about leveling the playing field."
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04-28-2010, 11:53 AM #10
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I never thought about the collecting view of it, I have a bunch of toys, madame dolls, ty beannies, all the dalmation puppies, peter pan etc....
Maybe people should stop blaming others for there obese children and take responsibility for themselves.
But this goes for all the other restaurants also........
it's a shame all others have to suffer for other people, why do we have to try to be responsible for everyone? That only hurts people that don't abuse food.
We go to Mcy D's prob. once, at the most twice a month, and yes, my son is very excited because he knows he gets to have a new toy in his bag/box. I think it's a shame, hopefully this decision doesn't spread to other areas.
NOt all people that eat out at fast food are obese/overweight.... there are those that do know self control, and only eat there once in a while, not every day.
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04-28-2010, 01:26 PM #11
i think this was a horrible waste of time and money
this is not going to stop any family from takeing their kids to mc donalds or any where else they see fit to eat , and they are just going to make parents angry and its a waste of tax payers time and money ,,
seems to me they should worry more about what they serve in the schools than on the street................my son joshua when he was 18 now deceased in 2002 , always remembered always loved