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The nonprofit consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest announced yesterday that they plan to sue McDonald's if the fast food chain continues to use toys to market unhealthy meals to small children.
Of course, McDonald's (and many other fast food chains) have taken baby steps in the right direction, adding apple slices and lowfat milk to their menus. But a CPSI study found that when children or parents order Happy Meals they are given French fries 93 percent of the time. The researchers also found that all 24 possible Happy Meal combinations "exceed 430 calories (430 is one-third of the 1,300- calorie recommended daily intake for children 4 to 8 years old). A Happy Meal of a cheeseburger, French fries, and Sprite has half a day's calories and saturated fat (640 and 7 grams, respectively), about 940 milligrams of sodium, and about two days' worth of sugar (35 grams)."
Plus, don't forget this experiment where author Joann Bruso discovered a Happy Meal will stay more or less perfectly intact for an entire year. Says CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson over on the Huffington Post:
McDonald's claims to be "proud of our long heritage of responsible communication with our customers, especially children." And its Happy Meals Web site says: "You want the very best for your kids, and so do we." That's McNonsense. McDonald's wants your money--and it'll manipulate your kids any which way to get it.
No word yet how Ronald and friends will respond to CSPI's demands (they have 30 days before CSPI takes legal action), but it's pretty hard to imagine a Happy Meal without the toy surprise. We'll be keeping close tabs on this one.
What do you think? Should McDonald's take the toys out? Or keep the toys but adjust the nutritional content of their kids' meals (and hey, while they're at it, their grown-up food too)?
