Taco Bell has finally proven just how good they are at thinking outside the bun.  Turns out they’re thinking outside the beef, as well.  The fast food chain has been in the news quite a bit recently, initially because they pulled their ads from MTV’s Skins, and now because they’re being sued for false-advertising.  A California woman named Amanda Obney brought a class-action suit against the “Mexican inspired” joint, alleging that Taco Bell’s “seasoned beef” is anything but.  According to the suit, “Taco Bell’s ground beef is made of such components as water, isolated oat product, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch and sodium phosphate, as well as some beef and seasonings.”

Mmmmmmmmm!  Yum!

Attorney Dee Miles of Beasley Allen, who filed the suit, claimed “just 35 percent of the taco filling was a solid, and just 15 percent overall was protein.”  Gross, for sure.  But is anyone really surprised? Continue reading »

Chick-Fil-A’s latest kids meal promotion actually puts some fun back into kids’ meal toys. Even better, it’s active fun: the chain is offering promotional toys based on the Guiness Book of World Records, and kids can score books, cards or (probably most entertainingly) a timer, all with world records set by people and animals and corresponding challenges for kids. Some challenges are more active than others ( “how many jump-rope skips can you make in 30 seconds?” vs. “how many golf balls can you hold in two hands for 30 seconds?”) but all are more interesting than your average plastic tchotske (especially the ones promoting teen movie Twilight).

But that doesn’t make Chick-Fil-A the patron saint of kids’ meals. Continue reading »

Never heard of National Junk Food Day? Neither had I until just a few minutes ago. Nobody really knows how the day got started or who is behind the idea (Willy Wonka or Ronald McDonald, perhaps?).

I guess the idea of the pseudo-holiday is to indulge in junk food. But do we really need a special day devoted to something that we as a nation do every day?

A 2003 study found that nearly a third of the calories Americans consume are junk food –  sweets, salty snacks, soft drinks and alcohol. And I’m guessing the situation has only gotten worse since then. We clearly don’t need any reasons to eat more junk food. Continue reading »

We don’t allow liquor and cigarette companies to advertise on television. So why should we allow fast food commercials?

Since fast food advertising plays a major role in the childhood obesity epidemic, a ban on fast food commercials might reverse the trend. In fact, past research has shown that a ban on fast food advertisements would cut number of overweight children ages 3 to 11 by 18% and drop the number of overweight adolescents ages 12 to 18 by 14%.

The good news is that kids are seeing fewer commercials for cookies, candy bars, and sugar-sweetened beverages. But the bad news is that the number of children who saw TV commercials for fast food dramatically increased between 2003 and 2007, according to an article appearing in the September print edition of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Surprisingly, public opinion — at least in England — favors limiting junk food ads on TV. Some 60% of parents thinks commercials for junk food should be restricted, according to an opinion poll by Manchester-based health campaigners Our Life. Continue reading »

In all of the recent kerfluffle surrounding the use of toys to market cheeseburgers and french fries to kids, the one thing no one objected to was that once you’ve bought into the “toy with your meal” trope at the drive through, you have to take what they give you. And what Burger King has in mind this month is Bella’s bracelet and a Cullen cuff–cheap plastic trophies from Eclipse, the latest movie in the Twilight saga. Is your 4-year-old clutching your arm and begging to go get one of these? Continue reading »

The Center for Science in the Public Interest released their “what not to eat” list of 2010 Xtreme Eating Awards today, helping consumers make better choices when they find themselves away from home and hungry.

It’s not always easy to find a healthy fast food or restaurant meal — especially when you’ve got picky eaters along with you — but it’s easy enough to spot an Xtreme Eating Award winner. Here’s the list:

Continue reading »

Yesterday, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of killing the Happy Meal.

The five-member board in Silicon Valley voted 3 to 2 in favor of prohibiting fast food restaurants from offering prizes and toys that lure children into ordering high-calorie, high-sodium, high-fat meals. After a contentious meeting, where parents argued against parents, and health officials argued against restaurant owners, the board agreed to the ban.

Once the ordinance gets final approval at a meeting in May, businesses will have 90 days to come up with alternative meals that meet the board’s guidelines. Or they can quit offering toys. Continue reading »