Santa Clara County, CA bans Happy Meals

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This law makes the peculiar assumption that if there is no toy, the kids won't clamor for McDonald's food. Of course they will! But now since there is no Happy Meal, their parents will buy them the regular meal- which has much larger portions.

dirty mind....

Though yeah, I probably should have thought that one through...

Oh curse my political centricity, I am torn...

Yay for ever so slightly (and really only very slightly) improving children's eating habits! Boo for excessing government interventions into parenting!

I'm going to have to go with a "boo" on this one. While promoting proper eating habits is important, the toys are only part of a greater problem. While bribing kids with toys and playgrounds does encourage them to eat McDonald's unhealthy food, children are often not the only reason food gets eaten there. It's cheap because of government subsidies and awful practices both on the animal cruelty and additives front. It's also called "fast food" for a reason. At the moment, it is a much easier choice for the poor to get a quick and cheap meal than to buy pieces and spend time making a proper meal.

While this breaks part of the system, there's still plenty of advertising so not even the whole part of the system is down. The system is broken, and the solution is to reduce government subsidization so that a burger isn't cheaper than an apple. (Yay for the free market!) This current attempt only partially remedies the problem, while adding more regulations which should only be done if absolutely necessary.

I doubt it is a Obama/Democrats thing. I remember during Bush we had a lot of this going on.

It is not even a US thing. It is almost like parents world wide got more stupid or something. They want the government to do everything for them. Regulate internet, regulate games, regulate TV, regulate food ... all so that it is never the parents' responsibility.

SO true

I was born in SC.

Veggies are the solution! <.< Make tofu burgers for the kids XD .

Healthy meals topic

At least in Canada, the Happy Meal now contains a choice of milk or juice (not pop), a plain hamburger and instead of fries, apple slices (albeit with caramel sauce but a bit here and there will not hurt). Brush your teeth after every meal, kids, no matter what you eat.

Consumption of salty, fried and processed meats has got to go. McDonald's has got to come up with a healthy version of the Krappy meal, such as:

Burger, apple slices, juice (as above)
Veggie sticks, salad dressing dip, soft taco with grilled chicken, fruit cup, milk, juice
Veggie hot dog, fresh fruit cup, or single serve yoghurt, milk, juice.

The above might cost a little more but the the choices are better. Do not ban the Krappy meal but encourage kids to eat the healthier choices. The above sorts of food actually appeal to kids.

I can understand banning trans-fats (encouraging cooking said items in a more healthy manner), but the Santa Clara laws go way over the top.

The first thing is pretty much how it works in the U.S., and I'm pretty sure that if you get the apples, and maybe the milk or juice, then you get the toy. As a Santa Clara County resident (although not quite a voting one yet), I think it is good that they are encouraging young children to eat healthier. Even with alternate options, a fast food kid's meal isn't the healthiest thing out there, but it's a push in the right direction.

It's same same here in the USA. They now have apple dippers now for French fries and milk now for pop. It's good Burger King and McDonalds are now going for healthier foods. That way it helps people about out with their weight and kids too and they still make their money. People just have a choice now between eating healthy and eating fattening food.

Contrary to what many people think, the U.S. doesn't have the highest obesity rates in the world. Some of the island nations in the South Pacific have very high obesity rates.

The Happy Meal is what makes the whole McDonald's experience for a child.

The reason corporations need to be regulated is because they are amoral entities.

As you note, the child cannot be responsible for the parents' choice but they will have to live with the consequences. Evidently, so will other people who do not make the same stupid choices. Anyone sharing an insurer with an obese person picks up some of the tab for that obese person (or their parents) poor decision making no matter how well they regulate their own diet and exercise regime. It is not realistic to treat such matters as individual choices when the consequences are often widely shared, often by complete strangers who do not participate in or have any scope to influence the poor decision making that they are forced to shoulder part of the burden of.

I am somewhat dubious about this particular law, but the notion that corporations should not be controlled because they are amoral is even more dubious. If they were moral entities that pursued ethical practices and outcomes, we really would not need to regulate them too much if at all.

Being somewhat different I may not fit the mold of the average child, but I always liked the food more than the toy. Indeed, I stopped ordering "Happy Meals" before too long, because the portions were so small...

(Don't worry, I've since adjusted my eating habits)

Kickass!!

I hate the Happy Meal concept, used by not only McDonald's but others such as Burger King and Taco Bell. Only because of the toys themselves. Looking back, I'm glad my parents used the method of "you can have your toy after you eat every bite."

My brother often said "I'm not hungry for that, I'm only hungry for McDonald's!!" and sometimes pretended not to care about the toy and then ran off with the toy after one or two bites.