Is McDonald's Under Fire or Parents

Todays Health Article

January 27th, 2011

Today, I find myself writing yet another article, on another Fast Food Icon, normally that’s not my niche. But perhaps this is all worthwhile in the end, if it moves the readers to consider their health habits or the way our children are being influenced to eat. Now, this is not no new marketing scheme, nor are we unaware of this enticement, for its been going on for years. So you may ask “Why Now the Beef”, nobody said any thing decades ago. Yes, this has been going on for decades, I remember when I was a kid, how your Favorite Cereal, Gum, Cracker Jacks, or HAPPY MEAL gave away some toy or sports card. We then would tell all our friends, so they could bug their parents. Was this enticement? Are we, what what we are today, because of those decades of eating those particular foods?

Where is this going… Mc Pressure Cooker

McDonald’s just can not seem to get out of the pressure cooker. I believe the Fast Food Magnate has come under the magnifying glass and it is not going to get any better. Perhaps the dominoes have begun to line up, during their glory years where people were standing in long lines, are now entangled with legal action, and the dominoes are falling.

McDonald’s under fire for toys in Happy Meals

Now McDonald’s is facing legal action in the US after accusations that it entices children to eat it”s fast food by offering toys with it’s Happy meals.

Class Action Lawsuit Targets McDonald’s Use of Toys to Market to Children

Practice Illegally Exploits Children, Says CSPI

“WASHINGTON (December 15, 2010) —A mother of two from Sacramento, Calif., says that McDonald’s uses toys as bait to induce her kids to clamor to go to McDonald’s and to develop a preference for nutritionally poor Happy Meals. With the help of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, today the mom, Monet Parham, is filing a class action lawsuit aimed at stopping McDonald’s use of toys to market directly to young children. The suit will be filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco shortly after the court opens for business Wednesday morning.”

( The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group )

http://www.pendleton-gazette.com/news/mcgonaldsclassactionlawsuit.html

San Francisco bans Happy Meals

The city’s board of supervisors votes to forbid restaurants from giving away toys with meals that have high levels of calories, sugar and fat.

November 02, 2010|By Sharon Bernstein, Los Angeles Times

“San Francisco’s board of supervisors has voted, by a veto-proof margin, to ban most of McDonald’s Happy Meals as they are now served in the restaurants.

The measure will make San Francisco the first major city in the country to forbid restaurants from offering a free toy with meals that contain more than set levels of calories, sugar and fat.”

The Scope

These actions may be taken as only the beginning. Looking back at others who have been in the path of CSPI… such as;

In 2006, CSPI notified Kellogg that it would be sued for marketing sugary cereals and other junk food directly to children. After more than a year, CSPI and Kellogg reached a historic settlement agreement. This set nutrition standards for the foods the company may advertise on media with young audiences.

CSPI sued KFC for using partially hydrogenated oil, which made KFC’s chicken high in trans fat. CSPI dropped that lawsuit when the company agreed to phase out partially hydrogenated oils. KFC chicken is now trans-fat free.

Subsequently, numerous other companies announced voluntary nutrition standards for their advertising.

McDonalds Response

They plan to uphold their 30 years of Happy Meals, which may be the case, the calorie count may be the clinker. The letter to CSPI may be read here

McDonald’s Response to CSPI Lawsuit

Todays Health Comments Part 1

Today Fast Foods and Food Providers have been under fire for their enticement of unhealthy foods. We have seen the McDonald’s, the WalMarts, Kraft, Kellogg’s, KFC all faced to change their practices of providing healthier food. After all we do have an epidemic of obesity (64%) in this Country ( USA). We have fallen to these ways, by our very own eating habits and the lack of exercise. Today I have chosen to take both points of view, which I normally do not do. The reason , the length of the article.

Parents Under Fire for Bad Parenting

Definitions of Parenting on the Web:

Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the activity of raising a child rather than the biological relationship.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parenting

Parenting refers to the activity of raising a child.

If this is the case, as parents are we not responsible for our children being obese, the food they eat, and the activities they do, or do not get? Does not our reflections of our parenting reflect on our own Children. Perhaps the greater look would be to Fire ourselves and Not the fast food around the corner cause we as parents can not say NO to our children, or provide them with a healthy meal. WHAT about saying Yes to the exercising?

Poverty and Parenting

In this country, the only country, that obesity does not follow the logic. In undeveloped countries, starvation is not the result of Obesity, therefore a lack of it. Today’s society believes that Fast Food is a culture that allows the very rich or the very poor to eat…that does not mean that either are going to not gain weight.

What’s Forgotten, Is the Parenting

The example led before us…McDonald’s or any other Fast Food restaurant are not responsible for parents actions or children’s activities. They are responsible for their activities as a food provider. After all ” THEY WOULD NOT SELL HAPPY MEALS, IF NOBODY PURCHASED THEM”. Why, they would be out of business. It is just that simple. So have we encouraged McDonald’s to continue producing HAPPY Meals…Yes, for 30 years.

McDonald’s under fire because parents “Can not Say NO!”

Todays Health Comments

Todays comments found that decisions being made by both Fast Foods providers, like McDonald’s have an impact on our society today, not the foods we choose to eat. They are also not responsible for our lack of exercise.Parents make choices that also impact our children as well. To overcome the obesity we now face, actions and responsibility must be taken by all. This is eating healthy and exercising each day.