California Mom Not So Happy About Happy Meals©
The large van rolls up into the Mcdonald’s© drive-through everyday. The small kids in the backseat become grossly overweight and unhealthy from all the junk food and the McDonald©’s toys based on Barbie© or GiJoe© pile up on the floor of the van as they break or become uninteresting to the kids, or, at least, this is what Monet Parham (a parent of two in California) thinks happens because of Mcdonalds©.
Parham is suing in the hopes to make it illegal for restaurants to give out toys in meals that don’t meet specific health requirements. Though the lawsuit is taking place in California, it is still just as important here. Last year clubs and teams from all schools were banned of selling unhealthy snacks because of a new law made in New York. Due to this law, teams and clubs could not sell until the end of the year when it was required they had a healthy alternative after they had already lost countless amounts of funds from possible sells. The same is most likely to happen again, making those “perfect snacks and funny toys,” (Meghan Campano, freshman, said) a thing of the past.
“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,” Stephen Gardner, CSPI (Center for Science in Public Interest) litigation director, said.
CSPI is helping Parham sue McDonald©’s and wishes to make the bans in San Francisco and Santa Carla County Nationwide.
“I am concerned about my children’s health,” Parham said. However Parham and other parents could chose to go some place else to eat, or even cook the children’s own lunch/dinner.
Whether the McDonald©’s Happy meal©s should be banned or not, this lawsuit brings up an interesting point, fried chicken McNugget©s accompanied by fried french fries and a large soda can’t be the healthiest thing for them to consume, when fresh fruits and vegetables are another option.
“Mcdonald©s offers choices so kids can eat more healthy like apple juice or apple slices, but many kids don’t want to eat healthy,” Campano said.
However when the point of the Happy Meal©s being unhealthy comes up the right of all Americans to choose where they spend their money and buy snacks and meals for anyone .
“Mcdonald©s isn’t trying to lure kids in and get them to eat unhealthily, if that does happen its not on purpose,” Campano said. “Instead McDonald©’s is trying to add to the experience of the meal and that’s what draws kids in, the experience, not the toy, it is just part of it, and its definitely not to get kids to eat unhealthy foods.”