Happy Meals banned in San Francisco!

KungPao · 05-11-2010 02:26PM

liah wrote: »

Who the hell eats at a restaurant every single night anyway? Most people I know would eat out as a treat. These types of foods are absolutely fine for those occasions.

I agree that parents should be more vigilant with their kids, absolutely. But everywhere you go you see complete garbage on kids menus, and sadly a lot of parents are too soft or are idiots, and just say okay....eat what you want.

These are the parents and kids what would benefit from McDonalds et al being forced to strip away the kiddie advertising.

amacachi · 05-11-2010 02:26PM

liah wrote: »

Chrissake. So what if they're advertising to kids? It's the PARENTS who buy the product. It's the PARENT'S decision to feed their kid that, it's their money, it's their choice, the child is in their control.

This is the parent's job, not the government's. I mean, come on. They're children. They pester. It's what they do. Every parent ever has had to deal with it. It's the parent's job to say no.

How long have you spent in Ireland? You should know that nothing is ever anyone's personal responsibility.

pickarooney · 05-11-2010 02:27PM

amacachi wrote: »

How long have you spent in Ireland? You should know that nothing is ever anyone's personal responsibility.

Except the stuff that's not, like governmental mismanagement

liah · 05-11-2010 02:31PM

KungPao wrote: »

I agree that parents should be more vigilant with their kids, absolutely. But everywhere you go you see complete garbage on kids menus, and sadly a lot of parents are too soft or are idiots, and just say okay....eat what you want.

These are the parents and kids what would benefit from McDonalds et al being forced to strip away the kiddie advertising.

Okay, then the following should also be banned, just in case:

-Soft drinks
-Chocolate
-Biscuits
-Cakes
-Butter
-All red meat

etc, etc, etc.

Just because some people misuse the product does in NO WAY mean it should be banned. If that were the case, let's ban alcohol and cigarettes and planes and cars and knives and literally everything ever that could have possibly caused someone harm.

People should be taught responsibility and not leave it all up to the government. Or the restaurants.

If you don't want to get your kid something off the kid's menu, buy something off the adult menu and take a bit off it. What are we, toddlers? Surely it's not so impossible to order something that isn't on the kid's menu for your kid?

The fact that this is even an issue is depressing. THINK. That's all it takes. Thinking.

EDIT: The fact that people are complaining about advertising being aimed at kids is giving me a genuine chuckle. So are kids doing their own food shopping now? It's still the parents who buy the stuff, who it's advertised to is entirely irrelevant when the party cannot actually themselves buy the product.

manic mailman · 05-11-2010 02:33PM

Blue_Lagoon wrote: »

Who wants to be toyed with?

A pun!

pickarooney · 05-11-2010 02:35PM

liah wrote: »

If you don't want to get your kid something off the kid's menu, buy something off the adult menu and take a bit off it. What are we, toddlers? Surely it's not so impossible to order something that isn't on the kid's menu for your kid?

The fact that this is even an issue is depressing. THINK. That's all it takes. Thinking.

Screw that, if you're going to the bother of going to a restaurant you don't want to have to share your food :eek:

Well, OK, the above is what anyone with sense would do, but you have recognise that there is a general perceptual problem when the only food available on children's menus is fried crap, no?

liah · 05-11-2010 02:36PM

pickarooney wrote: »

Screw that, if you're going to the bother of going to a restaurant you don't want to have to share your food :eek:

Well, OK, the above is what anyone with sense would do, but you have recognise that there is a general perceptual problem when the only food available on children's menus is fried crap, no?

Sure, but to go from recognizing that to altogether banning something due to being unhealthy is utter bollocks. Offer other options, yeah, but there's no reason to take them off the menu altogether.

pickarooney · 05-11-2010 02:38PM

liah wrote: »

Sure, but to go from recognizing that to altogether banning something due to being unhealthy is utter bollocks. Offer other options, yeah, but there's no reason to take them off the menu altogether.

I think we're in more or less complete agreement then.

Was the original question not about plastic toys being banned though? It's been too many pages and I don't want to read back.

liah · 05-11-2010 02:41PM

Originally, but the point was also that they (being parents, presumably?) didn't want toys sold with the happy meals in case it attracted their children to it and their children got fat. More or less. Which is stupid as hell.

KungPao · 05-11-2010 02:44PM

liah wrote: »

Okay, then the following should also be banned, just in case:

-Soft drinks
-Chocolate
-Biscuits
-Cakes
-Butter
-All red meat

etc, etc, etc.

Just because some people misuse the product does in NO WAY mean it should be banned. If that were the case, let's ban alcohol and cigarettes and planes and cars and knives and literally everything ever that could have possibly caused someone harm.

People should be taught responsibility and not leave it all up to the government. Or the restaurants.

If you don't want to get your kid something off the kid's menu, buy something off the adult menu and take a bit off it. What are we, toddlers? Surely it's not so impossible to order something that isn't on the kid's menu for your kid?

The fact that this is even an issue is depressing. THINK. That's all it takes. Thinking.

Well cigs and alcohol are age-limited. Imagine the carnage in Ireland if Alcohol was freely available to all ages and considered a treat...

And of course it's grand for an obese 12 yr old to walk into McDonalds and order 2 large Big Mac meals...no Qs asked.

Look don't get me wrong, If I had kids I would never let them eat much rubbish. I just wouldn't.

But a large percentage of people are complete idiots, and idiot parents do idiotic things.

Kids of idiot parents need protection.

liah · 05-11-2010 02:45PM

KungPao wrote: »

Well cigs and alcohol are age-limited. Imagine the carnage in Ireland if Alcohol was freely available to all ages and considered a treat...

And of course it's grand for an obese 12 yr old to walk into McDonalds and order 2 large Big Mac meals...no Qs asked.

Look don't get me wrong, If I had kids I would never let them eat much rubbish. I just wouldn't.

But a large percentage of people are complete idiots, and idiot parents do idiotic things.

Kids of idiot parents need protection.

Plenty of other things on that list that aren't age-restricted.

When that starts to infringe on my rights and freedoms-- no, they certainly don't. They need education, not a ban.

Procasinator · 05-11-2010 02:50PM

pickarooney wrote: »

Bizarre as it may seem, kids will actually enjoy a variety of foods if they're exposed to them.

I agree with, mostly. However, there are plenty of adults in this country who are extremely fussy, not eating much more than chips/potato and basic meats (with tomato sauce to add pizazz). So plenty of kids aren't going to be much better.

KungPao · 05-11-2010 02:50PM

liah wrote: »

Plenty of other things on that list that aren't age-restricted.

When that starts to infringe on my rights and freedoms-- no, they certainly don't. They need education, not a ban.

Just for the record, I hate censorship and nanny states and all that.

But I don't like the idea of kids being brain-washed into wanting bad food either.

liah · 05-11-2010 02:54PM

Who cares if they're brainwashed into liking bad food? They are still children. It's not up to them. The parent should sit down with their kid and explain why it's only a treat and why they can't eat it all the time. And then not let them have it all the time.

It sucks for the kids with sucky parents and a health/food education system needs to be brought in, and if it's bad enough that the kid's health is at risk, then maybe that should warrant a trip to the parent's place for a word from some kind of official, but banning is never the answer. Ever.

Procasinator · 05-11-2010 02:55PM

KungPao wrote: »

Just for the record, I hate censorship and nanny states and all that.

But I don't like the idea of kids being brain-washed into wanting bad food either.

I think it's a better idea to teach kids not to be brainwashed by advertising, rather then banning it altogether.

Otherwise, no one learns to think critically. You are just hiding a problem, rather than addressing it.

The more in-tune people are going to have it very easy to exploit the bubble-wrapped masses if we have to protect people at such as basic level.

krudler · 05-11-2010 03:01PM

EDIT: The fact that people are complaining about advertising being aimed at kids is giving me a genuine chuckle. So are kids doing their own food shopping now? It's still the parents who buy the stuff, who it's advertised to is entirely irrelevant when the party cannot actually themselves buy the product.

This always makes me laugh "oooh theres too many toys advertised to kids on tv before christmas" yes well kids have no money so your average 8 year old wont see an ad for a DS and think "well I'm off to the shop to blow my rent money on that!"

pickarooney · 05-11-2010 03:04PM

Procasinator wrote: »

I agree with, mostly. However, there are plenty of adults in this country who are extremely fussy, not eating much more than chips/potato and basic meats (with tomato sauce to add pizazz). So plenty of kids aren't going to be much better.

Would it be a wild stretch of the imagination to say these adults never tried anything more exotic than a carrot as children?

Procasinator · 05-11-2010 03:26PM

pickarooney wrote: »

Would it be a wild stretch of the imagination to say these adults never tried anything more exotic than a carrot as children?

Probably not, but if you are wondering why restaurant menus lack diversity for kids: it's because that is where the demand is.

Are you suggesting restaurants trying to make a profit should lead the way in educating about nutrition?

pickarooney · 05-11-2010 03:31PM

Procasinator wrote: »

Probably not, but if you are wondering why restaurant menus lack diversity for kids: it's because that is where the demand is.

Are you suggesting restaurants trying to make a profit should lead the way in educating about nutrition?

I don't see why they can't make a profit by selling good, varied food. It's a bit of a vicious circle but it needs to be broken.

Procasinator · 05-11-2010 03:46PM

pickarooney wrote: »

I don't see why they can't make a profit by selling good, varied food. It's a bit of a vicious circle but it needs to be broken.

I would say demand and supply. I think things are getting better, as cooking and food is becoming more glamorised (in the sense of TV shows and such) and varied (compared to days of yore in Ireland), but I still think cheap and quick frozen produce and simply grub grab a large share of the market.

Blowfish · 05-11-2010 04:01PM

liah wrote: »

Who cares if they're brainwashed into liking bad food? They are still children. It's not up to them. The parent should sit down with their kid and explain why it's only a treat and why they can't eat it all the time. And then not let them have it all the time.

For now, yes. The problem is though that most of the adults that are feeding their children crap are the brainwashed children of 20 years ago.

liah · 05-11-2010 04:34PM

Blowfish wrote: »

For now, yes. The problem is though that most of the adults that are feeding their children crap are the brainwashed children of 20 years ago.

Which is why we need to start legitimately educating people, not just banning everything we think could be dangerous.

K-9 · 05-11-2010 05:12PM

liah wrote: »

Which is why we need to start legitimately educating people, not just banning everything we think could be dangerous.

Surely people should have taken the hint by now?

I think this is about more than obesity. Companies should bear a social responsibility as well.

liah · 05-11-2010 05:16PM

K-9 wrote: »

Surely people should have taken the hint by now?

I think this is about more than obesity. Companies should bear a social responsibility as well.

If the company chooses to make healthy food available, then all the more power to them. I certainly don't agree with the idea that companies should be forced to provide healthy food just because some people can't control themselves.

Why are you not wanting to ban candy (unhealthy)? Barbies (promoting unhealthy body image)? Butter (full of fat)?

Actually, butter's a good example-- most people use margarine now or some other "healthy" equivalent. Why is this? Because people were given the alternative and gradually it became mainstream. It didn't come about from banning butter.

Give us more options. Don't take away what we already have. Educate us about it.

Manic Moran · 05-11-2010 05:23PM

Lack of exercise is also a factor - kids tend to be a lot more sedentrary than they used to be. Instead of sitting in playing video games endlessly, perhaps taking up a sport or dance classes. It's not rocket science really....

I'd be far more inclined to believe this to be the primary reason than people going to McD's or BK.

When I went through Basic Training, the Drill Sergeants were quite vocal to us about our being part of 'Generation Click', how up until then the only exercise most of us got was the contraction muscles of the index finger on the mouse, or thumb on the remote and as a result we just plain sucked at PT. I hear that the situation has gotten even worse in the decade since I went through.

It's true, though. I've got over 300 channels of 24x7 TV available. I've got multiple PCs, game consoles, portable electronic entertainment... It's a hell of a lot easier (and safer, for people who are paranoid about broken bones or kidnappings) to let the kid play on the computer, watch TV or post on Facebook than it is to drive to link up with some other parent and have the kids run around and play together or let the kid roam loose outdoors.

Of all the obesity problems in the US, McDonald's is pretty low on my list of culprits.

As far as the ban is concerned, well, people will just drive fifteen minutes and go to Daly City or SSF.

NTM

K-9 · 05-11-2010 05:34PM

liah wrote: »

If the company chooses to make healthy food available, then all the more power to them. I certainly don't agree with the idea that companies should be forced to provide healthy food just because some people can't control themselves.

Why are you not wanting to ban candy (unhealthy)? Barbies (promoting unhealthy body image)? Butter (full of fat)?

Actually, butter's a good example-- most people use margarine now or some other "healthy" equivalent. Why is this? Because people were given the alternative and gradually it became mainstream. It didn't come about from banning butter.

Give us more options. Don't take away what we already have. Educate us about it.

The point is the toys are an inducement (worth 100's of Million), last time I was in the shop I didn't get a Shrek toy with my pound of Kerrygold. Whataboutery doesn't hold much sway here.

dillo2k10 · 05-11-2010 05:36PM

bluewolf wrote: »

I see what you did there! :pac:

Anyway I don't know if this will make a difference. Healthy happy meal plus toy plus "can I have a couple hamburgers for him/her as well"...
Or they can buy the toy separately as well

They could offer a discount if you but the toy with a happy meal.

$2 to buy a toy. Or a discount of $1.99 if you buy a happy meal? or a voucher for a toy?

liah · 05-11-2010 05:36PM

K-9 wrote: »

The point is the toys are an inducement (worth 100's of Million), last time I was in the shop I didn't get a Shrek toy with my pound of Kerrygold. Whataboutery doesn't hold much sway here.

Not too sure that makes a difference tbh. It's still the parents buying the crap, so what if they buy their kid something with a toy in it? Again, advertisements towards kids do nada-- it's the 'rents doing the buying.

wolfpawnat · 05-11-2010 05:45PM

Here, A happy meal has a choice of Drinks

Orange Juice
Fruit Flavoured Drinks
Orange Juice
Water
Milk
Carbonated Drinks.

You don't have to get fries, you can get fruit pieces.

There is also raisins in there. A happy meal is only as unhealthy as the parents allow it to be.

That said I would let my son get whatever he wants when he goes there when he is older, as it will be the most OCCASIONAL of treats so he should enjoy it when he does get it, because he will not get it very often!!!

Sykk · 05-11-2010 05:48PM

Think I just saw Ronald McDonald selling crack on Grafton St.

Poor fella still has to make a livin'.

Happy Meals banned in San Francisco!

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