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McDonald’s announced that they will begin serving fruit or vegetables with all Happy Meals, including less fries, and 20 percent fewer calories on average. The French fry portion will be decreased from 2.4 to only 1.1 ounces. The fruit or vegetable dish may include apples (minus the caramel sauce), carrots, raisins, mandarin oranges, and pineapple. I don’t know about you, but I think LESS fries sounds quite sad because last I checked, there’s only like a handful of fries in a regular Happy Meal as it is! Continue reading »
5th-largest burger chain yanks toys from its kids meals.
Is today the real beginning of the end of toys in kids’ meals?
National fast-food chain Jack in the Box is no longer including a piece of flashy plastic kids’ movie referencing junk in their all-in-one meals marketed to kids.
What makes the chain’s move different from banned Happy Meal toys at McDonald’s is that it’s completely voluntary. And happening in all of its restaurants — right now. Continue reading »
Awww. Go tell your mom to get you one.
A Sacramento mother of two is suing McDonald’s. Why? Because they offer toys in Happy Meals. (Or, as others interpret the situation, a mother is suing the fast-food chain because she can’t say “no” to her kids.)
It’s McDonald’s fault, mom Monet Parham says, that she has to listen to endless requests from her kids to go get Happy Meals, so effective is the hamburger giant’s marketing strategy. So she and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the non-profit watch dog group that put movie theatre popcorn on the defense, are taking McDonald’s to court for false advertising.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the suit alleges the following:
A nutrition watchdog group is threatening McDonald’s with a lawsuit unless it stops using toys to promote Happy Meals.
The nonprofit group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), said that using toys to lure small children into McDonald’s is unfair and deceptive marketing which is illegal under consumer protection laws in Massachusetts, Texas, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and California. The group served McDonald’s a notice of its intent to sue in the states where they might file the lawsuit.
“McDonald’s is the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children,” said CSPI litigation director Stephen Gardner. “McDonald’s use of toys undercuts parental authority and exploits young children’s developmental immaturity—all this to induce children to prefer foods that may harm their health. It’s a creepy and predatory practice that warrants an injunction.” 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 »
All kids love a Happy Meal. They get food from questionable sources that, for some reason, delights most kid’s tastebuds. It comes in a cute box. And they get a toy! What’s not to love? Well in Albany, New York – outside of a McDonald’s restaurant -PETA will be giving out kid’s meals for free. But these aren’t the fun delight usually offered, these are “Unhappy Meals.”
Given out by a adult dressed as a chicken the package includes a “menacing, knife-wielding’ Ronald McDonald cutout, a ketchup packet disguised as chicken blood, a plastic chicken covered in ‘blood’ and a ‘McCruelty’ t-shirt.”
Deceiver.com brings up the question that although PETA is against animal cruelty but how about cruelty to kids? Continue reading »
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