US mother sues McDonalds over Happy Meals

Snake Plisken

Googled her name and came back with this on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/people/Monet-Parham/1574445891

Big Momma

stovelid

theteal wrote: »

Could this lead to the end of the kinder egg?!

Or the Ferrero Rocher egg?

Can they be prosecuted for inculclating imrpessionable punters with unrealistic bourgeois aspirations vis-a-vis silver-service ambassadorial parties they can never hope to be invited to due to the draconian strictures of the class system?

Dozen Wicked Words

theteal wrote: »

Could this lead to the end of the kinder egg?!

Well thanks for ruining my day, I am going to go and stockpile as many as I can afford now just in case your post gives anyone the idea. I only have one weird dog to get in my weird dog collection.

chin_grin

theteal wrote: »

Could this lead to the end of the kinder egg?!

"The egg of numbing inevitability" according to Bill Bailey?

Toys in them used to be great. I mean it took all of ten minutes to put the thing together and play with it for five before realising it was crap. But now they're premoulding pieces of sh!te. Poor kids.

brummytom

Snake Plisken wrote: »

Googled her name and came back with this on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/people/Monet-Parham/1574445891

Big Momma

Well, she looks like she'd be a responsible and mature parent

Snake Plisken

Also found out she is working for the government I hope McDonald fight hard on this. This blog sums it up best
http://www.popehat.com/2010/12/15/monet-parham-lee-is-a-bad-parent-monet-parham-lee-is-a-weakling-monet-parham-lee-blames-mcdonalds-for-her-weakness-and-her-poor-parenting-skills-monet-parham-lee-is-a-liar-or-at-least-deceptive/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A Popehat %28Popehat%29

Monet Parham-Lee is suing McDonalds because she cannot say “NO” to her six year old daughter Maya.

In a call with reporters, Monet Parham, a Sacramento mother of two, said she was bringing the case because of the constant requests for McDonald’s Happy Meals.

“I don’t think it’s OK to entice children with Happy Meals with the promise of a toy,” she said, adding that she tries to hold her daughters, 6 and 2, to monthly visits to the fast-food chain. But she said their requests increased this summer, thanks to the popularity of “Shrek Forever After.” Collecting all of the toys offered in conjunction with the movie would require weekly visits, she said.

“Needless to say, my answer was no,” she said. “And as usual, pouting ensued and a little bit of a disagreement between us. This doesn’t stop with one request. It’s truly a litany of requests.”
Monet Parham is really Monet Parham-Lee. Monet Parham-Lee is the name that Monet Parham uses professionally. Monet Parham-Lee is represented in the suit by attorneys affiliated with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Meaning Ralph Nader. Monet Parham-Lee is an employee of the California Department of Public Health. Monet Parham-Lee works in the “Cancer Prevention and Nutrition Section” of the California Department of Public Health.

Meaning that Monet Parham-Lee is tasked, professionally, by the State of California with ensuring that Californians eat their vegetables. The power that the State of California grants Monet Parham-Lee evidently is not enough. Monet Parham-Lee is taking the law into her own hands, to ensure that not only her own children eat their vegetables, but that everyone else is forced to make their children eat vegetables. Because without toys, Happy Meals become Unhappy Meals.

And Unhappy Meals mean vegetables.

CSPI director of litigation Stephen Gardner said that the group knows McDonald’s isn’t the only fast-food chain that sells meals with toys, but targeted McDonald’s because it is the biggest. He added that the group has had conversations with other chains, including Burger King, which it has not threatened to sue.

“We’re not trying to force McDonald’s to sell apples and sprouts,” Gardner said. “We’re just trying to stop McDonalds from marketing to 3-year-olds.”
This is a class action, allegedly, but Monet Parham-Lee is not the mother every three year old in California. Still, she claims standing to bring suit on behalf of all three year olds, and their parents. Thus bringing the idea of a “Nanny State” to its logical extreme.

This is also a tort action. Monet Parham-Lee is suing because, we’re led to believe, her six year old daughter Maya harasses her on a daily basis for plastic Shreks. Monet Parham-Lee, evidently, is suing for negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress. Her emotional distress is caused by the fact that her six year old daughter, Maya, will not stop hectoring her about these plastic Shreks.

I have a suggestion for Monet Parham-Lee. I have several suggestions in fact:

1.Tell your six year old daughter Maya to shut the **** up. And eat her damned vegetables.
2.Buy the damned Happy Meal on the way home from work, then throw out the hamburger and fries. Give Maya the plastic Shrek. A Happy Meal costs two dollars or something. You don’t have two dollars? You’re an overpaid state employee in a state that’s going bankrupt because of people like you. You can afford it.
3.If you want to see emotional distress, wait until your six year old daughter Maya is old enough to Google herself. And her mom. So you can explain to her what the word “****” means. Because this post is NEVER GOING TO GO AWAY.
Of course this suit isn’t being filed because Maya Parham-Lee eats too many damned Happy Meals. Or because she can’t get her plastic Shrek. Or because Monet Parham-Lee is so damned weak that she’s suffered ACTIONABLE EMOTIONAL DISTRESS from telling her daughter, six year old Maya, “No.”

Maya Parham-Lee, the six year old daughter of Monet Parham-Lee, has probably never eaten a Happy Meal in her life. I’ll bet she’s eaten thousands of Unhappy Meals: wheat germ, carrots, whey, lentils, spirulina, oats, and raw, uncooked hay.

All of it steamed or boiled. Except for the raw hay.

It’s been filed because Monet Parham-Lee, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, want to control what everyone eats. But they lack the persuasive skills to convince California voters to ban cheeseburgers, french fries, lard, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, and all of the other things that make a meal truly Happy.

None of the stories I’ve seen on this mentions “Sacramento mother of two” Monet Parham-Lee’s employment. I’m guessing that Monet Parham-Lee, and her lawyers, didn’t feel the need to mention it. But it’s material to the story. In fact, it’s the most material part of the story.

“GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE IN CHARGE OF VEGETABLE EATING SUES TO STOP MEAT!” lacks a certain punch. It would be like printing a story to the effect that cows are demanding Americans eat mor chik’n.

And Monet Parham-Lee will never collect a penny unless McDonald’s caves to a baseless suit. Which I sincerely hope it won’t. Because I’d love to give Monet Parham-Lee’s six year old daughter Maya something else to read about in a year or so.

“SACRAMENTO MOTHER OF TWO ORDERED TO PAY LEGAL FEES AS SANCTION FOR FRIVOLOUS LAWSUIT!” Now that has a ring to it.

Via Ira Stoll, who has more to say on this sort of lawsuit as a culture war between the sort of people parodied at “Stuff White People Like” and everyone else in America

conorhal

Well, we do live in a society ruled by a liberal elite that are intent on infantilizing our culture by removing the concepts of culpability and personal responsibility from out language.
You're not a horn dog you're a sex addict, you're not stupid, your teachers have simply failed to realize you potential, your not a brat you're suffering from ADD and of course you're not a greedy porker, but a product of a culture that places and emphasis on consumption above physical wellbeing.... Jesus wept....

THAT SAID.. I wholeheartedly agree with her principle, the fast food industry subtly places the emphasis on the toy rather then the food in it's promotions, it's a toy with food rather than food with a toy. I think it sets a bad example for children to associate crap food with a reward. I remember that it used to be that I would to have to eat my greens if I wanted my desert, not eat my hamburger, and I can't help but wonder if a toy wasn't involved if kids would give a toss about going to McDonalds?

Snakeblood

brummytom wrote: »

Well, she looks like she'd be a responsible and mature parent

Is that her?

chin_grin

conorhal wrote: »

Well, we do live in a society ruled by a liberal elite that are intent on infantilizing our culture by removing the concepts of culpability and personal responsibility from out language.
You're not a horn dog you're a sex addict, you're not stupid, your teachers have simply failed to realize you potential, your not a brat you're suffering from ADD and of course you're not a greedy porker, but a product of a culture that places and emphasis on consumption above physical wellbeing.... Jesus wept....

THAT SAID.. I wholeheartedly agree with her principle, the fast food industry subtly places the emphasis on the toy rather then the food in it's promotions, it's a toy with food rather than food with a toy. I think it sets a bad example for children to associate crap food with a reward. I remember that it used to be that I would to have to eat my greens I you wanted my desert, not a hamburger.

So, what you're saying is if we run an electric current through the toys..............Good Lord! It may just work!

Also the <colour = black> tag doesn't bode well for the Black theme boards. Admins, I'm looking in your general direction!

FatherLen

Snakeblood wrote: »

Is that her?

that cant be her. thats a cartoon and everybody knows cartoons arent real.


i wish cartoons were real.

chin_grin

FatherLen wrote: »

that cant be her. thats a cartoon and everybody knows cartoons arent real.


i wish cartoons were real.

Lemme guess. Jessica Rabbit was the first toon that you thought of..........




.............me too.

Buford T Justice

'I object to the fact that McDonald's is getting into my kids' heads without my permission and actually changing what my kids want to eat.'

Whats next, is she going to sue the television networks because their ads get into the kiddies heads?

Or no, wait, can she sue her children for deliberately putting her in a position where she has to say no?

Dipstick.

brummytom

Snakeblood wrote: »

Is that her?

Who knows. Wouldn't have thought 'Monet' would be a very common first name in the US.

And I must say, when I read the OP, that's exactly how I pictured her

dolphin city

only in america

El Weirdo

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

not even a sup of Guinness, for shame

If you're drinking fizzy Guinness, I'd find another local.

fakearms123

Must read with American accent

Kid: "Papa I wont one of thems Happy Mealses right now"

Father: "But Jake I already bought you a Playstation 360 and a Wii coooonsole, for heaven sake son you been eatin Hershey bars all day now, god damnit!"

Kid: "Papa do you know my struggles as a middle class suburban white kid! You don't do you, I have to settle with 30 metre swimming pool in my back garden when you damn well know I was expecting a 50 metre pool with a god damn jacuzzi! You knew that Papa!"

Father: "Listen Jake I know life is tough..."

Kid: "You know nothing about life Papa, I get dropped to school in a god damn crappy Jaguar and the other kids arrive in Bentleys, I'm a god damn laughing stock Papa!"

Father: "Your right son, how could I be so naive, I think I have been distracted these past few days since your mother got those breast implants, lets take you to McDonalds for that Happy Meal, whatcha say?"

Kid: "Papa your the best! And to think that I was so p-ed off that I was just about to go up onto those interwebs and post my vlog about you, I love you Papa"

Morlar

AntiMatter wrote: »

She's got a point, imo, in pursuing the case for the greater good.

Good luck to her.

I disagree with subverting the law to achieve a goal even if you believe you are right.

However in this case I think she genuinely has a point. There is no reason why Personal responsibility and Corporate responsibility can not co-exsist. They are bad for you and DO intentionally market to children.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1339088/Happy-meal-lawsuit-Mum-Monet-Parham-sues-McDonalds-marketing-children.html

McDonald’s is facing a two-pronged attack from an angry parent and a consumer health organisation, who hope they can stop the fast-food giant using toys to market its Happy Meals.

The Center for Science has teamed up with Monet Parham after the mother-of-two sued McDonald’s yesterday, claiming it is violating several consumer protection laws.

They believe that the company’s Happy Meals marketing tempts vulnerable youngsters into the chains just for the toys, and in turn makes them obese and addicted to poor quality, high-fat junk food.

The main reason Mrs Parham’s six-year-old daughter, Maya, asks to go to McDonald’s is to get toys based on Barbie, i-Carly, Shrek, or Strawberry Shortcake.

The Sacramento mother said: 'What kids see as a fun toy, I now realise is a sophisticated, hi-tech marketing scheme that's designed to put McDonald's between me and my daughters.

'For the sake of other parents and their children, I want McDonald's to stop interfering with my family.

‘This litany of requests [to eat at McDonald's] is draining and very frustrating for children. I would like this practice to stop.’

Mrs Parham's lawyers, who filed the lawsuit in state court in San Francisco yesterday, have asked that it be certified as a class action and CSPI litigation director Stephen Gardner said: ‘The lawsuit is about the change, not the money.

‘[McDonald's is engaged in a] highly sophisticated scheme to use the bait of toys to exploit children's developmental immaturity and subvert parental authority.

‘McDonald's advertising of Happy Meals with toys is deceptive and unfair to children, unfair to parents, and in violation of California law.

‘Under the law, you don't blame the victim of deceptive practices.’

Mr Gardner said McDonald's is a bigger offender than tobacco companies when it comes to unfair marketing because it targets very young children with tantalising toys and advertisements.

The CSPI has a track record of getting the food industry to change its practices.

Snack and cereal maker Kellogg Co. agreed to a settlement with the centre that set nutrition standards for the foods Kellogg's could advertise to children.

KFC agreed to phase out oils high in trans fats after the centre dropped a lawsuit over KFC's use of partially hydrogenated oils.

McDonald’s has been in the firing line lately from public health officials, parents and lawmakers who are frustrated with rising childhood obesity rates and weak anti-obesity efforts from restaurant operators, which are largely self-regulated.

Those critics say poorly funded education campaigns don't have a chance against fast-food companies, which according to a recent report spent more than $4.2billion in 2009 on marketing and advertising.

Such frustrations recently prompted lawmakers in San Francisco and nearby Santa Clara County to pass laws that will require restaurant kids' meals to meet nutritional standards before they can be sold with toys.

San Francisco recently prohibited toys in meals with more than 600 calories or more than 35 per cent of their calories from fat.

McDonald's began distributing Happy Meals in America 31 years ago, in 1979, and will defend its brand, reputation and food.

'We stand on our 30-year track record of providing a fun experience for kids and families at McDonald's,' the company said in a statement.

'We are proud of our Happy Meals and intend to vigorously defend our brand, our reputation and our food,' said McDonald's spokesman Bridget Coffing.

'We listen to our customers, and parents consistently tell us they approve of our Happy Meals.'

chin_grin

fakearms123 wrote: »

Must read with American accent

Kid: "Papa I wont one of thems Happy Mealses right now"

Father: "But Jake I already bought you a Playstation 360 and a Wii coooonsole, for heaven sake son you been eatin Hershey bars all day now, god damnit!"

Kid: "Papa do you know my struggles as a middle class suburban white kid! You don't do you, I have to settle with 30 metre swimming pool in my back garden when you damn well know I was expecting a 50 metre pool with a god damn jacuzzi! You knew that Papa!"

Father: "Listen Jake I know life is tough..."

Kid: "You know nothing about life Papa, I get dropped to school in a god damn crappy Jaguar and the other kids arrive in Bentleys, I'm a god damn laughing stock Papa!"

Father: "Your right son, how could I be so naive, I think I have been distracted these past few days since your mother got those breast implants, lets take you to McDonalds for that Happy Meal, whatcha say?"

Kid: "Papa your the best! And to think that I was so p-ed off that I was just about to go up onto those interwebs and post my vlog about you, I love you Papa"

Why am I picturing the Father as Kid Rock?

Although I doubt that he'd know the word 'naive'.

FatherLen

^^^^^^
tl:dr

damn

i love the toys in happy meals. who does this bitch think she is

gavmcg92

"A mother-of-two from California has launched a class-action lawsuit against McDonald's, claiming the toys given out with Happy Meals unfairly lure children into eating unhealthy food."

What a load of bull... Parents have become afraid to say no to their children. Sounds to me like someone is looking for a bit of easy money! Reminds me of the case taken out by a mother who sued McDonalds for making her kid fat! lol

Morlar

FatherLen wrote: »

^^^^^^
tl:dr

damn

i love the toys in happy meals. who does this bitch think she is

(looks at avatar) .


She is all our Mom's rolled into one. She's Mom.

chin_grin

Morlar wrote: »

(looks at avatar) .


She is all our Mom's rolled into one. She's Mom.

You're Mom.


Mom?


GET OFF THE DANG ROOF!

kylith

I recommend looking up Penn & Teller's episode of Bull**** about Fast Food.

chin_grin

kylith wrote: »

I recommend looking up Penn & Teller's episode of Bull**** about Fast Food.

Linky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8av4unUxeE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmQExaT9QCQ

Giselle

Anyone willing to try reduce the attractiveness and visibility of the McDonalds brand to children, for whatever reason, has my full support.

AntiMatter

chin_grin wrote: »

Linky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8av4unUxeE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmQExaT9QCQ

I watched the first five minutes of that, in which it claims that we've evolved for the last 2 million years by eating whatever we want, except for most of those 2 million years we didn't have access to denaturated food. They seem to be bullshitting about the claims concerning fast food being bullshit.

GerHankey

I don't know about in the States, but my local McDonalds will let you buy the toys on their own, without having to get the food.

chin_grin

AntiMatter wrote: »

I watched the first five minutes of that, in which it claims that we've evolved for the last 2 million years by eating whatever we want, except for most of those 2 million years we didn't have access to denaturated food. They seem to be bullshitting about the claims concerning fast food being bullshit.

I didn't bleedin' make it! :rolleyes:

AntiMatter

chin_grin wrote: »

I didn't bleedin' make it! :rolleyes:

:pac: I'm only saying.

I've watched another few minutes, in which a professor gives people meals cooked with fast food ingredients, but not telling them so and they comment on how much better than fast food it tastes.

That doesn't give any insight into the nutrional value of the food.

The vid make for amusing watching, but a scientific study it is not.

Orando Broom

It's class action, she is trying to get Micky Dee's to mend thier ways. REPENT REPENT....ye cun.ts