McDonald's Faces Possible Happy Meal SuitNote to parents: You still are in control of yourself and your children. If your kids are fat and lazy, it's YOUR FAULT!!!!! Quit going to McDonald's several times a week, quit buying junk food at the store, quit making excuses, quit being a poor health example yourself to your kids ...
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has given McDonald's an ultimatum: do away with the Happy Meal toys or lawyer up.
The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit served McDonald's with notice of intent on Tuesday, giving the company 30 days to drop the toys before it finds itself defending against a class action complaint. CSPI contends that including toys with "unhealthy junk food" is illegal under consumer protection statutes in California, Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia.
CSPI founder Michael Jacobson, who claims to have invented the phrases "empty calories" and "junk food," said "multi-billion-dollar corporations make parents' job nearly impossible by giving away toys and bombarding kids with slick advertising." [Parents have apparently forgotten that 1) they are in charge and not the kids; and 2) the word "no." I guess they've been brainwashed by McDonald's slick advertising, too, and simply victims in this evil corporation's scheme for world dominance. The blame game is far easier than parenting.]
The group went so far as to compare McDonald's with a child molester in a statement.
"McDonald's is the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children," said CSPI litigation director Stephen Gardner. "It's a creepy and predatory practice that warrants an injunction."
Difference of opinion
McDonald's sees things slightly differently.
"We couldn't disagree more with the misrepresentation of our food and marketing practices," reads a statement from company spokesman William Whitman. "McDonald's is committed to a responsible approach to our menu, and our Happy Meal offerings. We have added more choice and variety than ever before, a fact that has been widely reported and recognized."
The Happy Meal toy has been a staple of the meal since its introduction in 1979. [Sadly, I was too old to take advantage ... er, 'fall victim' ... to the Happy Meal.] For a number of years, McDonald's partnered with Disney to provide toys inspired by recently-released family films. Disney ended the relationship in 2006, however -- a decision that insiders speculated was based on the increasing amount of scrutiny put on the nutritional value of McDonald's menu choices.
Other challenges
This is hardly the first time that McDonald's has faced a potential nutrition-related lawsuit. In 2005, the company settled a suit concerning its use of trans fats, agreeing to pay $7 million to the American Heart Association and another $1.5 million for a public advertising campaign alerting the public to the dangers of those fats.
In 2008, the company announced that it would begin cooking its fries and other baked items with a new, zero-trans-fat oil.
And the CSPI isn't the only one taking on the Happy Meal toy specifically. In April, Santa Clara County, California, officially prohibited restaurants from including toys with any high-calorie meals, a category into which Happy Meals conveniently fall ...
... and just simply GROW THE F#%& UP!!!! BE THE PARENT!!!!!!!!
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