I pity the parents who, upon reading this, gasp, “Not a minute too soon,” hand up their incorrigible little turdlettes to the state, and collapse:
The Happy Meal is up for some well-deserved scrutiny. Last week a mom from Sacramento filed a class-action suit supported by the center to make McDonald’s stop using toys as bait to lure children. Last month, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a measure requiring that meals sold with toys meet a minimum standard of nutrition.
McDonald’s chief executive, Jim Skinner, has pushed back at what he calls the “food police,” arguing that these actions seek to deprive families of choice. A company spokeswoman told us, “We are proud of our Happy Meals and intend to vigorously defend our brand, our reputation and our food.”
Parents are responsible for their children’s diet. And they certainly could do a better job: almost 17 percent of American children are obese, three times as many as in the 1970s. But it would be easier for parents to do their job if they didn’t have to push back against the relentless tide of marketing aimed at their children.