Dear San Francisco,
Let the kids have their toys.
Yes, I know that America is in the middle of an obesity epidemic. Yes, I know letting a kid have a Happy Meal is worse than letting them eat a tub of frosting. However, I also know that, as a parent, I have a right to feed my kid shit. Oh, and I also know that the toy is never what influences the decision.
When I stop at McDonald's to buy a Happy Meal for my kid or any other kid who happens to be in my car it has nothing to do with the toy. It has to do with the fact food comes quickly, I know they will eat it, and there is often a playground on the premises. If any of the "slow food," "whole grain" restaurants met those criteria, and didn't look at children like they are vermin, we would go there. And the toys you claim are so tempting? Usually they end up in the recycling bin after sitting in my car for two weeks. Really, they suck.
Now, I am sure you are thinking I am a Tea Party joining, NRA card toting conservative. I'm not. I like big government. I like government that wants to take care of people. I just don't think it should mandate it. Making sure everyone has health insurance? Yes. Forcing everyone to get a colonoscopy? Nope. Offering help to the homeless? Yep. Forcing them to take it? Nope. It's kind of like feeding my kid. I offer her the best food possible. I can't make her eat it. You should have seen how she scraped butternut squash ravioli off her tongue. She also feels that way about chicken nuggets.
Further, do you know how jerky this whole thing makes you look? There are bigger issues to focus on right now -- like civil rights for everyone. Keep your eyes on the prize.
Thanks,
Libby
Follow Libby Mitchell on Twitter: www.twitter.com/logicallibby
It’s not the kids who choose to eat fast-food, it’s the parents, and they don’t care about the toys. Libby is right, parents choose fast-food because it’s fast, cheap, and convenient, not because their child gets a plastic choking-hazard souvenir. Honestly, the kids couldn’t care less. That smile on their face is not from the toy, it’s from the sugar in their food. Take away the toy and they still smile. Get it? IT’S THE FOOD.
You can read the rest of my article on my blog, http://thefoodrebel.wordpress.com
The rest of the time, I was serving the kids food I had canned myself and everything at home was brown rice, whole wheat flour, etc.
http://www.narf.tv/?p=1254
It is not the place of the government, where does this stop? Maybe the government won't sell you candy unless you also buy an apple.
I live in the DC suburbs and most people here at work think SF is crazy. We have always thought of the city as a little off kilter, but this is nuts. It seems very big brotherish.
San Francisco hasn't banned the Happy Meal. Parents can order the same meal without the toy. Or, if they want to include the toy, San Francisco is encouraging MickeyD to serve demonstrably more healthy meals to kids.
I don't understand why you have a problem with that, if you obey street signs, understand that you may get ticketed if you jaywalk, or any number of other ordinances and laws that each city institutes, some of which exist only in that city. Are you saying that Washington DC has no right to set speed limits or smoking bans or any other limits on the behavior of their residents? If you're fine with that, why do you object to San Francisco having the same right?
If childhood obesity, however, is to be treated as child neglect or even child abuse, the parents would think twice before giving their kids a 2000 calories meal or other types and AMOUNTS of food that contribute to obesity.
You're absolutely right. This toy thing is just window dressing for the anti-obesity crowd. The true draw for McDonald's is convenience, not toys. And the playland is about the only place we can take our kids throughout the winter if they want to go on a playground.
The problem is our culture, not any single symptom of that culture.
Peace,
Shannon
Oh, and one more thing drumz and captainspirou - while I'm a vegetarian and don't generally frequent fast food restaurants, I would prefer that my new daughter ingest the occasional processed meal rather than her parent's intolerance of other's choices.
I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.-Thomas Jefferson
Most bad government has grown out of too much government.-Thomas Jefferson
Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have ... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases. Thomas Jefferson