Not-So-Happy Meal

[Smed]

Not enough posts under my belt to link to it:

San Francisco enacts 'Happy Meal' ban; city to stop restaurants from offering toys with fatty foods

First, California lawmakers came for your weed. Now, they're coming for your Happy Meals.

The McDonald's Happy Meal went the way of Prop. 19 in San Francisco Tuesday when the city's board of supervisors voted to forbid restaurants from offering toys with meals that contain too much fat and sugar.

Restaurants would also need to provide fruits and vegetables with meals that come with free toys. The city said the measure was an effort to combat childhood obesity.

"We're part of a movement that is moving forward an agenda of food justice," Supervisor Eric Mar told the Los Angeles Times. "From San Francisco to New York City, the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country is making our kids sick, particularly kids from low income neighborhoods, at an alarming rate."

The rule, scheduled to take effect in December, says that restaurants may include a toy with a meal it contains fewer than 600 calories – food and drink combined -- and if less than 35% of the calories come from fat, The Times reported.

McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud said in a statement that the company was "extremely disappointed" with the decision.

"It's not what our customers want, nor is it something they asked for," Proud said.

San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsome had said he would veto the measure, but it passed with a veto-proof margin.

Tuesday's vote came on the same day that McDonald's brought their famed McRib sandwich back to menus for a four-week run in certain cities.

The processed pork sandwich, which has 26 grams of fat, has appeared on McDonald's menus on and off for years and has inspired a cult following, complete with pro-McRib Facebook pages.

City supervisors had been mulling the issue for months and had decided to put off voting on the ban until after voters had gone to the polls in order to make sure the measure didn't become an election issue.

Santa Clara County enacted a similar ban on toys accompanying high-calorie meals in April.

Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who voted for the ban, told The Times that critics should not dismiss the legislation as a nutty effort by San Franciscans.

"I do believe the industry is going to take note of this," Duffy said. "I don't care how much they say, 'It's San Francisco, they're wacked out there.' "

[miokomioko]

They must not have even set foot into a McDonald's in the last 5 years. All their Happy Meal shit is pushing apples/milk/etc. as options.

Again, taking action because parents are fucking brain dead.

Danya Proud is damn right in saying that no one ordering Happy Meals asked for this.

[kuronosan]

Their business is money, they don't give a shit about children and neither does Ms. Proud. Maybe this will force fast food restaurants to be more responsible.

[Tricen]

Responsible for what? People eating their food? People could, you know, just not eat their food.

[Ragnus]

Despite the fact that the burgers are not actual hamburger, I think McDonalds is making enough effort for the reasons Mioko stated. If anything it's going to be worse for the kids because now the parent will just buy all of the components of a happy meal off the dollar menu except the burger is a larger / more unhealthy sandwich than before.

People really need to start being parents instead of looking to Big Brother to dictate what they should and shouldn't give their kids. Just because it's there, doesn't mean you have to make your kids eat it.

[Anton]

I don't understand this whole 'McDonalds doesn't care' bullshit. You can now get anything ordered exactly how you want. They have salads. They have sandwiches. They have snack wraps. The McMini is freakin delicious.

But the big mac still outsells all of those things. Stop looking for copouts America. And you too Dalton McGuinty

[Lucavi]

Their business is money, they don't give a shit about children and neither does Ms. Proud. Maybe this will force fast food restaurants to be more responsible.

Its not the government's place. People have a choice. When you essentially remove the choice from the consumer's hands, you're well beyond a slippery slope.

The only thing the government (local, state or federal) should be able to do is offer incentives for companies that continue to push for healthier food. Outright banning food is retarded.

I'm getting sick of this "SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!" rhetoric in this Country. There are other people alive outside of children. These kids aren't strolling into a Mac by themselves. Someone actively knows what they are buying their kids.

[Cream Soda]

There are other people than children, but I think their point is that children are unable to make their own decisions, and generally have to go with what the adults say. So let' say a kid wants home made dinner, and can't make it himself, but the parent chooses to go to McDonalds anyway. If their parents aren't thinking about them, then someone else has to step in and do so.

That being said, I think that's just their perspective on it. I honestly don't give a fuck about kids more than I do any other individual.

[Kurp]

So their parent buy them a cheeseburger and fries now. It's not like this will change anything. It will only deprive the kid of a really crappy toy!

THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

[Lucavi]

There are other people than children, but I think their point is that children are unable to make their own decisions, and generally have to go with what the adults say. So let' say a kid wants home made dinner, and can't make it himself, but the parent chooses to go to McDonalds anyway. If their parents aren't thinking about them, then someone else has to step in and do so.

That being said, I think that's just their perspective on it. I honestly don't give a fuck about kids more than I do any other individual.

Complete bullshit. You think the parent is going to say "oh, well I can't buy you a happy meal now; lets have stewed broccoli instead!" Hell no. They'll hit up Arbys, or Taco Bell, or maybe they'll just buy the kid a full blown menu meal and tell them to split it with their sister, or just hit up the dollar menu for a 3 bucks and pick up a mcdouble (bigger than happy meal burger), small fries, and a small drink.

Its the same shit. This is a knee-jerk reaction to absolutely nothing. You cannot police personal food decisions like this. This is not gay marriage. This is not abortion. This is "what are we eating for fucking dinner tonight?!"

Isn't the government's job to protect people from other's causing them harm? Crime? Fires? I didn't know the Government was suppose to "protect" people from eating a fatty meal. What's next? Can't take your kids to a sit-down restaurant because the food is too fatty? The average meat meal in a place like Friday's is triple the fat content of a McDonalds, plus the kids can get free refills on all the soda they want.

Even though this doesn't affect me, this is complete bullshit.

[Valisk]

If anything it's going to be worse for the kids because now the parent will just buy all of the components of a happy meal off the dollar menu except the burger is a larger / more unhealthy sandwich than before.

wut? They are removing the toy, not the Happy Meal. Still cheaper to get that instead of individually off the dollar menu.

[Cream Soda]

Complete bullshit. You think the parent is going to say "oh, well I can't buy you a happy meal now; lets have stewed broccoli instead!" Hell no. They'll hit up Arbys, or Taco Bell, or maybe they'll just buy the kid a full blown menu meal and tell them to split it with their sister, or just hit up the dollar menu for a 3 bucks and pick up a mcdouble (bigger than happy meal burger), small fries, and a small drink.

Its the same shit. This is a knee-jerk reaction to absolutely nothing. You cannot police personal food decisions like this. This is not gay marriage. This is not abortion. This is "what are we eating for fucking dinner tonight?!"

Isn't the government's job to protect people from other's causing them harm? Crime? Fires? I didn't know the Government was suppose to "protect" people from eating a fatty meal. What's next? Can't take your kids to a sit-down restaurant because the food is too fatty? The average meat meal in a place like Friday's is triple the fat content of a McDonalds, plus the kids can get free refills on all the soda they want.

Even though this doesn't affect me, this is complete bullshit.

Again, I don't give a fuck about the kids, just saying their standpoint, lol. Even though they're not gonna get steamed brocolli instead, I mean the thought "Think of the kids" in general is aimed at their care takers, since the kids are unable to do it themselves.

I think it's a crock, lol but just sayin

[Valisk]

Rant.

Again, the goverment isn't restricting or banning food in this case. They are removing the accompanying toy.

[Lucavi]

I just really hope I don't suddenly turn a 180 and become some slack-jawed coward pansy just because my eventual wife pops out a kid. What the fuck happened to people? Where have their pre-parental souls gone? Does common sense and reason truly go out the window just because you have a spawn?

I didn't see this shit go down with Lavos. He was still a boss, spawn or not!

[Doombard]

I'm sorry, I THOUGHT THIS WAS AMERICUH!

[Rhinox]

Take back our country!!!!


Enough with the self righteous indignation.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[Mizango]

Luckily I have a daughter that prefers apples to their shitty fries and likes their lowfat milk. Stupid parents are the problem here, because at the end of the day its still a business and they sell what they sell, you as a consumer just have to be smart and not be a tard about it. We eat out on average twice a month, simply because we as a family like cooking and enjoy the time in the kitchen together. That and its much simpler to subscribe to a healthy lifestyle than it is to accept being a fat ass that eats shit food because you're lazy.

lol @ Rhinox, I started to go that route with my post too. Glad you got mah back dawg

[Lucavi]

Again, the goverment isn't restricting or banning food in this case. They are removing the accompanying toy.

They're banning the current meal if Mac doesn't throw out the free toy. The families will still eat there. What does this accomplish outside of saving Mac money? What, are they going to run to BK now? Huge drop in calories there.

There are so many better ways to spend one's time as a politician.

[Callisto]

Luckily I have a daughter that prefers apples to their shitty fries and likes their lowfat milk.

The fries are only shitty because these health-concious hippie pussies forced them to start using shitty canola oil or some crap instead of lard, McD's fries back in the 80s were the absolute bomb, I grew up on a steady diet of them and I've never been fat in my life.

[Mizango]

Yeah the old fries were the shit. Burger kings used to be good too, but Id rather eat a pile of beer battered deep fried dicks than to ever eat a fucking BK fry.