Unhappy Meals: The Politics of the Fast Food Toy
In December of 2011, San Francisco enacted the Healthy Food Incentive Ordinance. The ordinance was aimed at curbing childhood obesity by banning fast food restaurants from giving away free toys with kids' meals unless those meals met strict nutritional guidelines. The problem the city was trying to address is a problem parents, governments, and other agencies have been addressing for quite a while: fast food advertisements that target children.
What's wrong with advertising to kids? Opponents argue that children are too young to understand the health risks of fast food and that gimmicks such as toy giveaways lead to more kids eating cheeseburgers, french fries, and calorie-packed drinks--thus, more kids are obese, perhaps for the rest of their lives. Childhood obesity is not only a personal or family problem for those involved, it's also a social problem as these obese children become adults and drain America's health care system with their constant medical issues. Laws such as the San Francisco ordinance are attempting to protect the country as much as they are trying to protect the individual. Fast food advocates, on the other hand, argue that any kind of food consumed in excess can lead to health problems. They don't recommend that anyone, including children, eat fast food every day (see Super Size Me). Chains like McDonald's have even begun to include healthy sides with Happy Meals, such as apples and carrot sticks (although burger and fries remain the staple).
San Francisco's ordinance was meant to pressure fast food chains like McDonald's into re-vamping their menu with healthier Happy Meals and more nutritious foods for children. Instead of throwing in a bag of carrots, the ordinance argues, offer an all-around healthy meal for kids--if not, no free toys. McDonald's, however, found a clever way around the law: instead of giving away toys for free, those famous Happy Meal Toys now cost 10 cents. That's right, the law only bans free toys. McDonald's is donating the toy money to a charity (the Ronald McDonald House), but they're doing nothing to change the food contents of the Happy Meal itself.
I'm sure San Francisco and other government agencies are trying to cook up a new ordinance or law in response to McDonald's tactics, but it will most likely be a tough road when trying to challenge the most successful and ubiquitous fast food chain in the world. McDonald's food, after all, is cheap, and even as more people understand the nutritional info of cheeseburgers and fries, you can still get a cheeseburger with fries for less than $2. Compare that with the typical price of a single apple: about $1 at your local grocery chain (sometimes more). Until the federal government makes some changes in the kinds of farm subsidies it offers, fast food will continue to be cheaper and more accessible than healthy alternatives, and families will be more likely to pay an extra 10 cents for a toy than to pay an extra $10 for a healthy, organic meal prepared at home.
What's wrong with advertising to kids? Opponents argue that children are too young to understand the health risks of fast food and that gimmicks such as toy giveaways lead to more kids eating cheeseburgers, french fries, and calorie-packed drinks--thus, more kids are obese, perhaps for the rest of their lives. Childhood obesity is not only a personal or family problem for those involved, it's also a social problem as these obese children become adults and drain America's health care system with their constant medical issues. Laws such as the San Francisco ordinance are attempting to protect the country as much as they are trying to protect the individual. Fast food advocates, on the other hand, argue that any kind of food consumed in excess can lead to health problems. They don't recommend that anyone, including children, eat fast food every day (see Super Size Me). Chains like McDonald's have even begun to include healthy sides with Happy Meals, such as apples and carrot sticks (although burger and fries remain the staple).
San Francisco's ordinance was meant to pressure fast food chains like McDonald's into re-vamping their menu with healthier Happy Meals and more nutritious foods for children. Instead of throwing in a bag of carrots, the ordinance argues, offer an all-around healthy meal for kids--if not, no free toys. McDonald's, however, found a clever way around the law: instead of giving away toys for free, those famous Happy Meal Toys now cost 10 cents. That's right, the law only bans free toys. McDonald's is donating the toy money to a charity (the Ronald McDonald House), but they're doing nothing to change the food contents of the Happy Meal itself.
I'm sure San Francisco and other government agencies are trying to cook up a new ordinance or law in response to McDonald's tactics, but it will most likely be a tough road when trying to challenge the most successful and ubiquitous fast food chain in the world. McDonald's food, after all, is cheap, and even as more people understand the nutritional info of cheeseburgers and fries, you can still get a cheeseburger with fries for less than $2. Compare that with the typical price of a single apple: about $1 at your local grocery chain (sometimes more). Until the federal government makes some changes in the kinds of farm subsidies it offers, fast food will continue to be cheaper and more accessible than healthy alternatives, and families will be more likely to pay an extra 10 cents for a toy than to pay an extra $10 for a healthy, organic meal prepared at home.