San Francisco bans Happy Meals.

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   kathleenkatposted 12 years ago

   http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/02 … s-20101103
   
   Thoughts?

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      Abby Attwoodposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I think the government needs to stop focusing on petty things like this and start focusing on the national deficit! Stop wasting money paying people to sit around talking about whether or not people can make their own food choices.
      Ronald McDonald for President! At least he could keep our heads above water financially.

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      ThompsonPenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well done SF! We just need to ban mcdonald's all together now.

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   eternals3ptemberposted 12 years ago

   Hey, this is America. People should be free to give Darwin awards to their children if they damn well please.

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      ThompsonPenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      ha ha! To contradict my above comment, well said!

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   kathleenkatposted 12 years ago

   I would be very unhappy, had my happy meals come with apples instead of french fries when I was a kid.

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      eternals3ptemberposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      For me it's just a complex issue...
      
      I mean we have seatbelt laws, pill bottle safety lids, etc because people couldn't keep their kids safe-couldn't make the right descisions.
      Sure most people survived, even think back on it fondly (the no seat belt thing), but it saved lives.
      And it only bans toys in unhealthy food.
      
      On the other hand, this is some Nanny state stuff..

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         cat on a soapboxposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Helmet/seat-belt laws save lives, minimize injury, and reduce one's insurance liabilty/rising costs.  Tamper proof caps on meds came about because of fools who randomly poisoned the innocent. They save lives and protect Big Pharma from liability. Will Happy Meals become contraband like heroin?

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            eternals3ptemberposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            If children continue to balloon into the next decade, maybe xD

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   cat on a soapboxposted 12 years ago

   Bit by bit, our government is encroaching on our personal rights and taking away our free will. I wouldn't choose Happy Meals as a regular diet for my children, but an occasional treat is fine. Regardless of motive, bans like these say, "You are too helpless to make good decisions for yourself and NEED the government to do it for you."  WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!!!

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      Shadesbreathposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yep.
      
      But don't worry, Uncle Sam had a sex change, and now he's Nanna Sam, and he will keep you safe.

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         cat on a soapboxposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Nanna Sam or Nurse Ratchett?

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            kathleenkatposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Hahahahaha.
            
            
            Pretty soon we will all have to step on scales in order to enter fast food venues. If your BMI does not meet specifications, they make you *walk* to the other McDonald's on the other side of town.

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               cat on a soapboxposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Hey! I think you are ON to something!

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   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   Looks like New York and San Francisco are hand-in-hand, leading our nation into we know not what...

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      Hauntyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      ... a nation of healthier people? Just guessing.

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         kathleenkatposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Wait, don't forget Seattle, we banned plastic grocery bags and smoking outdoors!

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            Peelander Gallyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Plastic bags are completely ridiculous, a lot of places have banned them. You guys have just named the most culturally relevant cities in the U.S. Would you rather let South Carolina lead you? Come on.

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               Shadesbreathposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Hell yeah, them fellers in the 'Linas, they gots it right. We can kill us all them mYnorties an' maybe e'en sick the dogs on summa them queer fellers once we is done havin' us some plassic bags. Woooooooooooo ha, don't try ter take mah plassic bags if'n you spec ter come away without keester full o' buckshot, I tell yer. Ain't no middle groun' here, no sir. We mus jus be a swingin' all way ter tha right if'n we don' see it strait eye-ter-eye with yer 'pinions, yessiree. Us dum hillbillies we is an all.

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               kathleenkatposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               What's wrong with South Carolina? They have beautiful beaches; I love visiting Myrtle Beach, and the people are always so kind. Drove through the state once and stopped for lunch in Charleston; never got such friendly service, not to mention Southern cooking is delicious!
               
               
               ...wait. No, I think that was meant to be more divisive liberal prejudice.
               
               Seattle banning plastic bags are great, but they charge $0.05 for paper bags (why?), or you buy reuseable bags for more money. The paper bags don't come with handles, so it's not worth buying them. Believe me, I have been inconvenienced a number of times on my bicycle, because I don't ride with a reuseable bag shoved down my spandex, and can no longer do the plastic-bag-on-handle-bar routine. Plastic bags are recycleable, so I don't see the big deal. They also make great liners for those little trash cans.

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                  cat on a soapboxposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Plastic bags, although durable, recyclable,and leak-proof, have become an environmental nightmare. One reason being the need for sunlight to degrade them rather than bacteria which naturally exists in the soil and trash heaps.  The other reason is the lack of personal responsibility most take toward proper use and disposal. Again, it comes back to the individual with poor judgement, and the rest of us have to follow along!  In an editorial to the L.A. Times a few years ago, I made the suggestion that plastic bags be made payable by weight/volume to recyclers like glass, aluminum, and cardboard. I think we would see more of a clean-up effort.
                  I prefer using woven bags when marketing and reuse handled paper bags for many things.  I generally prefer smart choices over outright. "bans."

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                     kathleenkatposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     An art student at my college crocheted a bag made out of plastic shopping bags.
                     
                     I found it quite ironic, yet cool, at the same time.
                     
                     If only they offered more paper bags with handles (really, most store around here don't; what's the point? Makes it impossible to transport more than one or two awkwardly "hugged" bags). Then I wouldn't have to get creative and punch a hole through both sides of the bag with my handlebars, and ride with dignity again.

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                        Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                        I have mobility problems and can't carry anything heavy in my arms alone. I need a bag with handles so I would be all for paper bags with handles. As it is I try to carry a reuseable bag but when I decide to go shopping on the spur of the moment I have to pay 5 cents for plastic bags.

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                           cat on a soapboxposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                           There are strong handled nylon bags that fold or stuff into a small pouch and can be carried in a purse or pocket. I always have one even if on an unplanned trip to a store. http://www.chicobag.com/

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   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   Actually, according to this sentence in the article, there is a big, fat loophole.
   
   "The measure will make San Francisco the first major city in the country to forbid restaurants from offering a free toy with meals that contain more than set levels of calories, sugar and fat."
   
   McDonald's tomorrow...,"Hi! Thank you for ordering our Happy Meal! Would you like our awesome Happy Meal Toy included with your order? It's only a penny more!"

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   Mighty Momposted 12 years ago

   Once upon a time McDonald's was a very rare treat. And there were no toys involved. And no playgrounds. And no drive-thrus, either.
   I won't get into all the ways McDonald's created a nation of obese addicts, but Happy Meals is definitely part of that strategy.
   Is it defensible to reward children for eating unhealthy food??

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      tussinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Not everything on their menu is as loaded with sugar and fat as popular media would have you believe.  If you don't order fries with your meal, politely ask the employees to hold the mayo and cheese (if it's the default), and order a non-soda with your meal, it's no worse than anything else.  They sell salads now too, so it's theoretically possible to make a healthy balanced meal out of a trip to Mickey D's.  The closest MD to my home is mostly filled with skinny college kids, lol.

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         Mighty Momposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I don't know how anyone could go to McDonald's and not get fries.
         What's the point?
         

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            tussinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Uh... the fries are disgusting.  Why would you want them?

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               Shadesbreathposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Their fries used to be amazing, but now they are awful by decree. The Tyranny of Safety and Health (ToSaH) has mandated that all citizens eat according to ToSaH edicts, and the creative and tasty methods of preparation once used by that American business as part of its function in a free capitalist society has been forbidden as part of the tearing down of said free and capitalist society.

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         kathleenkatposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I was at Jack in the Box and noticed that their salads have more calaries than many of their hamburgers. I don't suspect McDonald's is any different.

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   SmartAndFunposted 12 years ago

   I have never liked McDonald's fries much. I like the fatter, crinkle-cut fries. McDonald's fries are too skinny and get cold before you can eat them. I have never been much of a burger person, though. Give me tacos.That's all I really want.
   
   McD's does have really good salads. Their Southwest grilled chicken salad (or whatever it's called) is delish. Their Asian grilled chicken salad is my favorite, but they only carry it now and then. Even with the dressing, their salads are fairly healthy, especially if you use about half of the dressing packet.
   
   Ironically, now that they finally have something I want to eat (salads) my kids have gotten older and heard about how horribly unhealthy their food is -- what was that movie called? -- and now they don't want to eat there any more. They were all about the Happy Meal when they were younger. Mostly they just wanted the toy. McDonald's would run their commercials during my kids' favorite cartoons, so the kids would know exactly what toy was getting passed out. I guess that means turning off the TV would have helped, too.

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      Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Some of McDonald's salads are very high in calories
      
      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic … urger.html
      
      But the grilled chicken salad seems okay.

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   Easy Exerciseposted 12 years ago

   I want options not restrictions. I need information not a "ban". I want the freedom to make the choice.
   
   I wish someone would offer high fat fries. Why eat the calories when the oil is now good for us?
   
   Perhaps a better regulation would be mandating walking and taking the stairs.
   
   I so hate the signs at elevators that say take the stairs in case of fire. We should be taking the stairs at every possible alternative.
   
   I would vote for mandating skylights in every stair well in buildings over 2 stories tall.
   
   I would vote for mandating clean well light stair wells in all apartments and commercial buildings.
   
   I would vote for mandating movement not banning foods.
   
   Off to eat my Girl Scout cookies....

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