San Francisco Takes the ‘Happy’ Out of Happy Meals
- Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:01pm by
Meredith Jessup
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For some veggies-hating children, Happy Meals won’t be so happy anymore.
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 on Tuesday to approve an ordinance that would limit toy giveaways in fast food children’s meals that have excessive calories, sodium and fat. It also requires servings of fruits or vegetables with each meal.
If it survives an expected veto from Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco would become the first major city in the country to pass such a law aimed at curbing childhood obesity. It would go into effect December 2011 if supervisors again approve it after Newsom’s veto.
A similar ordinance has been approved in California’s Santa Clara County, where it affected about a dozen restaurants.
Supervisors and activists who support the measure said they hoped obesity-curbing efforts like it would eventually spread to other cities, states and the country.
“From San Francisco to New York, the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country is making people sick, making our kids sick, particularly kids from low-income neighborhoods,” said Supervisor Eric Mar, who proposed the law.
McDonald’s Corp. representatives, who say the law would take the joy out of the Happy Meal, derided the vote outside of lawmakers’ chambers at City Hall. The company also said the law threatens business and restricts parents’ ability to make choices for their children.
The ordinance includes an amendment indicating that it would not restrict restaurants’ free speech or advertising. Food companies have come under fire in recent years for their marketing to children.
Scott Rodrick, an owner and operator of 10 McDonald’s restaurants in the city, said after the vote that “there will be sales loss, there may be jobs impacted, and I know the city of San Francisco will lose tax income to people wanting a McDonald’s experience without government intervention.”
But 13-year-old David Sanchez, of San Francisco, said getting rid of the toy giveaway in the meals shouldn’t deter sales.
“I think they don’t really need to put the toy in,” said David, who added that he eats the occasional Happy Meal and supports the new law. “If the kids want the toys, they can still get the toys.”
Rodrick said none of his current menu items would be allowed under the nutritional guidelines in the ordinance. Those standards have been criticized by the company, who said proponents lack the evidence to support the claim that they would help reduce obesity.
Rodrick also pointed out that anyone could circumvent the law easily: “Someone doesn’t have to travel very far – a mile outside San Francisco – to get the traditional McDonald’s Happy Meals experience.”
Concepcion Dawes, a 20-year-old mother of a 2-year-old, said she supports the ordinance – anything to help lessen the food’s appeal.
“Fast food is really fattening, and it’s really addicting, and sometimes it’s hard to tell a child no,” she said.
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Comments (140)
justice
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:58pmprobly they won’t be getting the munchies without their dope smoking bill failing..lmao…
Report Post »desertpatriot
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:56pmJust another example of the reason most of the country voted R. The food police are coming for you in Kalifornia, the Nanny State. You cannot be trusted to feed your own kids. They know what’s best for you. Thank you, Drive Thru.
Report Post »cmsmik
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:55pmI agree Psychosis! I would pack it up and leave town and take all the jobs with me! The unions and the I D I O T S of CA and NV put Brown, Boxer, and Reid back in office last night, and when they run those states further into the ground and end up needing a bailout for their very survival. The new Republican party is going to say He11 no!
Report Post »jdawg
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:53pmThis in the state that just re-elected Moonbeam as guv, and Babs “Call me Senator” Boxer to the Senate. Figures. I thank God every day I don’t live there anymore.
Report Post »sgallion1
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:44pmSo help me…If I lived in CA I would move to another state. Bunch of tree hugging nuts!
Report Post »912always
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:44pmHard to tell a child no? There is the whole crux of the matter. The adult takes no responsibility and the child learns to take no responsibility. Blame everyone else, oh yea kinda like President Obama does. We need new heroes.
Report Post »Marky_D_Sahdd
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:44pmIf I could sell my home for more than $0.25, I’d hop across the state line to AZ and brave the 1 hour commute every morning.
Report Post »ryguy1985
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:43pmHopefuly McD’s is smart enough to get out of there!
Report Post »axel@25
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:42pmI certainly hope that 2 year old‘s mother doesn’t let the kid watch TV.
I can see it now… ” Mommy can I have some heroin and a 9mm ?” it is after all, sooo hard to say no !
At least for now we can be thankful that the 2 year old is just driving to McDonald’s and forcing her mother to buy a Happy Meal.
On another topic… It’s unfortunate that the legal Grass prop. didn’t pass…Then I could’ve smoked in front of the kids again!!
Thank goodness I moved the hell out of that Monkey Cage 5 years ago.
Report Post »missbosslady
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 7:07pmYou’re so right with regards to saying no to a child. Milk out the nose for your herione/9mm anaology.
That line caught me too, “it’s hard to say no to a child”. It is? I raised a son alone and had to laugh when I read that line. I hate to break it to the perpetual children, that are the American liberals, but it is in fact quite easy to say no to a child.
You just put your lips together….
I ask the moron parents who actually struggle to say no to a child, just how is it that you are able to function in this life? How can an adult, incapable of detering a child from a toy, be expected to, say, hold down a job?
Good grief!!!!
Hey losers, just because you won‘t or don’t raise your children properly, does not, will not, translate into the loss of my freedoms.
Report Post »Rapunzel
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 7:15pmToo true! I used to babysit for one of my sister’s kids. I made them mind me (oddly enough, children will generally behave exactly how you expect them to behave) but when their parents got home, they’d say, Oh good Mom and Dad are home – now we can do whatever we want!
Report Post »traderdan
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:40pmI live in CA and would like to get out, however it‘s disease will spread to other states so it’s best to stay here and fight it out. If we can send a message here we can send it to the rest of the country.
Report Post »7grandma
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:40pmWhich forefather determined what “healthier food” is??
Report Post »Oh that’s right none of them!!
cheezwhiz
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:54pmHey its San Fran-sicko
Report Post »where little plastic toys for kids are a bannable offence.
Now if kids were to put on @$$less chaps and leather muzzles while shooting heroin on the steps of City Hall, standing next to their parents in drags , demanding d!!D*$ in happy meals,
MickyDs will be forced by SF city council to give in to the demands of the freakshows.
Freedomisslavery
Posted on November 4, 2010 at 8:23amCheezwhiz;
You are right on point. Leather chaps and ball gags for all but NO DAMN TOYS FOR YOU FAT LITTLE KIDS!!!! I don’t care what the hell they do in SanFrancraphole because I would NEVER live there. The real problem is the people are letting them do this to them. If they continue to vote them in they deserve everything they get.
Report Post »‘
lite530
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:36pmI was just wondering if the few remaining heterosexuals left San Fransisco how many years would it take for the city to no longer be in need of aid because of aids? Who would be there to buy Happy Meals with or without toys?
Just wondering. I have time to think now knowing that I do not have to worry after January that Nancy is third in line for President. That fact surely takes a load off of my mind. I have tried to imagine what it would be like for that witch to be our President, scary!
Report Post »dmyze
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:30pmI say they drop the Happy Meal Price by a dime, and sell the toy separably for a dime.
Report Post »Marky_D_Sahdd
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:45pmThey already sell the toy for a dollar.
Report Post »dmyze
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:57pmbut not with the purchase of a happy meal :)
Report Post »Rapunzel
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 7:12pmIn Ohio most franchises sell the toy separately for 50 cents. But the idea is sound – a la cart pricing!
Report Post »tmarends
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:26pmI hope the 10 McDonald’s, and all other fast food chains, pull out of SF to just outside the city limits. Move the sales tax revenue to another city.
Report Post »AngryTexanFromAmarillo
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:28pmexactly what I would do
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 7:56pmexactly, pull all McDs out of SF to outlying towns. SF can watch their own revenues DROP.
Report Post »lizaz
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:25pmMorons!!!!
Report Post »workin4alivin
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:25pmthis is complicated but, if you didn’t give your kids everything (gadget) they might actually have to go outside and play/exercise or maybe you are so self absorbed in your self you would rather not be bothered by your child. but, now the state will tell you what you can feed them. only in the nut states.
Report Post »roseinbloom
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:21pmof course those elitists know best. i am so sick of being dumbed down and dumbed down by these idiot lawmakers. i guess it is the only way they can get us to vote for them; making us totally dependent and stupid and broke. i am happy to be one of the millions last night to have said “NO” to the robbing of our liberties and our livelihoods yesterday.
Report Post »Danglinbags
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:21pm“But 13-year-old David Sanchez, of San Francisco, said getting rid of the toy giveaway in the meals shouldn’t deter sales.
“I think they don’t really need to put the toy in,” said David, who added that he eats the occasional Happy Meal and supports the new law. “If the kids want the toys, they can still get the toys.” ‘
1) Who the hell cares if a 13 year old thinks this won’t deter sales?
2) Why the hell isn’t this 13 year old boy eating a Bic Mac or Quarter Pounder Combo instead of a Happy Meal?
Ghey!
Report Post »AngryTexanFromAmarillo
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:27pmwoohooo WELCOME BACK Danglin lol Sadly I have missed your over powering sarcasm.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:33pmConcepcion Dawes, a 20-year-old mother of a 2-year-old
and
13-year-old David Sanchez, of San Francisco,
2 moochers off taxpayers, the driving force behind the SF City Hall
Report Post »JJ Coolay
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:20pmWay to go Michelle!
Report Post »missbosslady
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:18pmFrom age 5-14 I ate a bowl of Chocolate Coco Puffs cereal every single day of my lfe, except for Sundays when my dad either made pancakes that I would festoon with a stick of butter, or treated us to Dunkin Donuts (chocolate cream-filled for me).
I drank Coca-Cola & sweetened Kool-Aid and ate plenty of Hostess & Little Debbie treats. The only vegetable I would willing eat was corn, and meat and potatoes was served for dinner most nights.
I did not suffer from childhood obesity. Of course, I spent every daylight hour outdoors playing games, riding bikes, climbing trees and generally had to be dragged indoors each evening.
I submit that some of the very policies and proscriptions pushed forth by the left are at the heart of the current childhood obesity trend.
I did not go to after school care, I went home to my stay at home mom, along with all of my other friends. Upon arriving I had my twinkie, quickly did my homework, then bolted for the door to play until dark. Of course, most moms don’t stay home anymore as they have been convinced that they MUST have a career at all costs. And, even for those mothers who do stay home with their kids the streets are much less safe, for the same freedom we had as kids, since the liberals wont let us keep the predators locked up.
So, what is a parent to do today? Your left with little choice but to keep your kids inside, and it’s very hard to climb a tree, jump a fence, or play kick the can in the living room, or in the cafeteria in the after school program.
Thanks liberals!
Report Post »gibby45
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:37pmAmen to that. I was raised the same way. After my Mom passed away when I was 12 my Italian Grandparents came to live with us and you can only imagine what an Italian Grandmothers answer was to everything. Food. I never gained weight despite pasta and cannoli’s and anything else my Grandmother put out there to eat. But like you I was outside from sunlight to sundown in the summer and after school until the streetlights came on. How dare any government presume to take over for me as a parent and think they know what is best for my child. Just like every child is different so is every parent. Individual choice is what this country is all about. Change the channel if you don’t like what is on tv or radio. Drive past the restaurant you don‘t think is good for your kids or maybe just say no to your kids but don’t take away my individual choice.
Report Post »Rapunzel
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 7:10pmI remember my mom actually locking us out in the summertime! It’s beautiful, play outside, she’d say. We’d try to trick her by saying, we’re thirsty…she’d answer back, well drink from the hose!
Heck, today she‘d probably be reported to Children’s Services.
Report Post »cmsmik
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 7:19pmI loved your post MissBosslady! I can totally relate to what you are saying about the freedom you enjoyed as a child. My mom was a stay at home mom as well, looking back now I realize how fortunate I was. Once we were older she went back to work and we were considered latch key kids. We had so much freedom and like Gabby45 mentioned, my brothers and I would get on our bikes after doing homework and would not return until the street lights came on. No TV, no video games, no computer, just freedom to play, explore and just be kids. Great memories, thanks for sharing!
Report Post »AngryTexanFromAmarillo
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:17pm1000000000000000000000000000000% agree with you
Report Post »TruthTalker
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:16pmThis is what you get when you elect freaks to run your city.
Report Post »AngryTexanFromAmarillo
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:16pmI see the population of California dropping very soon, at least when it comes to normal non insane people
Report Post »american1st
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:27pmi cant see any reason to stay…. i would be out in a split second if i had a choice, and if i was a business owner i would be even more likely to move, business and all.
Report Post »lite530
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:39pmBiologically speaking the population of much of California will drop. Gays adopt but they have yet figured out how to reproduce.
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:58pm@ lite530
Biologically speaking the population of much of California will drop.
Report Post »———————————-
Thats why we have illegals here, who can breed like crazy as long as US taxpayer keep footing the bill for their “ contributions” to society
troyvar
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:12pmFood Nazi’s!!! Kali, I hereby start my boycott with you. Mind you, this isn’t the only issue.
Report Post »starman70
Posted on November 4, 2010 at 9:51amPar for the course for the land of the FRUITS and the nuts!
Report Post »jlherbst
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:12pmOh puhleez! Leave the toys in. If a parent can’t tell their child “no” occasionally, they need to grow up. Who‘s the one driving the car to McDonald’s anyway? I for one don’t need the Government helping me raise my children!
Report Post »tbb
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 6:49pmI absolutely agree with you. I am so glad I got out of California when I did.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 7:25pmOnce again a case of the State believing they know better than the people and parents of the kids.
Report Post »ClockKing
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 7:40pmConcepcion Dawes obviously needs help.
Report Post »diesel71dan
Posted on November 3, 2010 at 8:11pmJL, I totally agree with you but I think what you are suggesting would be called personal responsibility. Apparently that is too radical of an idea over there.
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