Read what this guy said about McDonald's luring children in 2 eat the Happy Meal

Font SizeA A A McDonald's May Face Suit Over Happy Meal Toys


Consumer Group Says Toys Lure Kids to Unhealthy Foods; McDonald's Defends Happy Meals

By Daniel J. DeNoon

WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Laura J. Martin, MDJune 22, 2010 - A watchdog group threatens to sue McDonald's, claiming Happy Meals toys lure kids into unhealthy eating habits and break state consumer-protection laws.



"McDonald's is the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children," Stephen Gardner, litigation director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), says in a news release.



The CSPI says it will sue McDonald's if the firm doesn't stop its toy-related promotions within 30 days. The group claims that the toys are "unfair and deceptive" marketing that violates laws in Massachusetts, Texas, New Jersey, California, and the District of Columbia.



The group points to a 2006 study by the Federal Trade Commission showing that fast-food companies -- McDonald's foremost among them -- spent $520 million in advertising directed at children. Toy giveaways represented more than $350 million of this total.



McDonald's recent ads featured the lovable cartoon ogre Shrek. The Happy Meals in those ads offer Apple Dippers and 1% milk instead of french fries and sugary soft drinks.



But that's not what most kids get, the CSPI claims. A CSPI study found that nine out of 10 times, a child or adult who orders a Happy Meal without specifying Apple Dippers is given french fries.



Children still get toys even if they order a Happy Meal with a cheeseburger, french fries, and a Sprite. Such a meal gives a child age 4 to 8 years old half a day's calories, two days' worth of saturated fat, two days' worth of sugar, and a large dose of salt.



"Eating Happy Meals promotes eating habits that are virtually assured to undermine children's health," Gardner wrote in the CSPI's warning letter to McDonald's.



Nutrition aside, the CSPI suggests that McDonald's marketing to children is "predatory and wrong" because young children are not "developmentally advanced enough" to resist the marketing.



"McDonald's marketing has the effect of conscripting America's children into an unpaid drone army of word-of-mouth marketers, causing them to pester their parents to bring them to McDonald's," Gardner wrote in the letter.



In a statement, McDonald's strongly objects to the CSPI claims.



"We couldn’t disagree more with the misrepresentation of our food and marketing practices made by CSPI," William Whitman, McDonald's vice president of communications, said in the statement.



Whitman notes that McDonald's is a prominent member of the Council for Better Business Bureau's voluntary initiative to address children's well-being. He defends Happy Meals and notes that since 2008, U.S. customers have purchased 100 million of the meals with Apple Dippers. In 2009, he says, McDonald's served 31 million gallons of milk -- three times the amount of milk served in 2004.



"Happy meals are right-sized for kids, a concept that has not changed since its introduction in 1979," Whitman says.



And what of the claim that toys are deceptive and unfair advertising?



"We are proud of our Happy Meal which gives our customers wholesome food and toys of the highest quality and safety. Getting a toy is just one part of a fun, family experience at McDonald's," Whitman says.



What will happen?



The CSPI's threat of a lawsuit in 2006 led to a settlement agreement with Kellogg to set nutrition standards for foods advertised to young audiences. And its suit against KFC over the use of partly hydrogenated vegetable oil -- making KFC chicken high in unhealthy trans fat -- was dropped when KFC phased out the oils, making its product trans-fat free.



This is, however, the first time the CSPI may be taking McDonald's to court.

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