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Group Will Sue McDonald's Over Happy Meal Toys
Filed under: In The News, Weird But True
Without toys, will Happy Meals be a little less happy? Credit: David McNew, Getty Images
The Center for Science in the Public Interest says they are. The Washington-based consumer advocacy group threatened to file a lawsuit against McDonald's Tuesday, charging that the fast food chain "unfairly and deceptively" markets the toys to children.
"McDonald's marketing has the effect of conscripting America's children into an unpaid drone army of word-of-mouth marketers, causing them to nag their parents to bring them to McDonald's," CSPI's Stephen Gardner wrote to the heads of the chain in a letter announcing the lawsuit.
The center, which has filed dozens of lawsuits against food companies in recent years, is hoping the publicity and the threat of a lawsuit will force McDonald's to negotiate with them on the issue. The group announced the lawsuit in the letter to McDonald's 30 days before filing it with the hope that the company will agree to stop selling the toys before a suit is filed.
McDonald's Vice President of Communications, William Whitman, said in a statement that the company "couldn't disagree more" with CSPI's assertion that their toys violate any laws. He said McDonald's restaurants offer more variety than they ever have and Happy Meals are made smaller for kids.
"We are proud of our Happy Meal which gives our customers wholesome food and toys of the highest quality and safety," Whitman said. "Getting a toy is just one part of a fun, family experience at McDonald's."
CSPI says the suit would be filed in state court. The center has not settled on a state yet, but the group believes the toys in Happy Meals violate state consumer protection laws in Massachusetts, Texas, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and California.
California's Santa Clara County voted earlier this year to ban restaurants from giving away the toys and other freebies that often come with high-calorie meals aimed at kids.
McDonald's has fought such criticism for years, and the company made a pledge in 2007 to advertise only two types of Happy Meals to children younger than 12: one with four Chicken McNuggets, apple dippers with caramel dip and low-fat white milk, or one with a hamburger, apple dippers and milk. They both meet the company-set requirement of less than 600 calories, and no more than 35 percent of calories from fat, 10 percent of calories from saturated fat or 35 percent total sugar by weight.
CSPI argues that even if those Happy Meals appear in advertisements, kids order the unhealthier meals most of the time.
The group is hoping its first lawsuit against the mega-chain will have a similar effect as its 2006 lawsuit against Kellogg that prompted the company to agree to a settlement raising the nutritional value of cereals and snacks it markets to children.
Still, some may accuse the group of extremism, arguing that it's the parents' responsibility to monitor what their children eat, not the restaurant's.
Michael Jacobson, executive director of CSPI, says it's the parents responsibility too, but he equates the toy giveaways to a door to door salesman coming to a family's house every day and asking to privately speak with the children.
"At some point parents get worn down," Jacobson says. "They don't always want to be saying no to their children. We feel like an awful lot of parents would be relieved if this one pressure was removed from them."
McDonald's also came under fire over Happy Meals earlier this year when it recalled 12 million "Shrek" drinking glasses sold with the meals. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the levels of the carcinogen cadmium in the glasses was too high.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. This article was written by MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press Writer.
Related: Opinion: Happy Meal Toy Ban Is Just Plain Sad
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
6-23-2010 @ 10:12AM
arna said...It is not the toys in the Happy Meal that make the kids fat. It is the fact that parents are feeding there kids junk food at home. Kids would have to eat at McDonalds all the time. Most of the time the kids don't even eat all of the Happy Meal. Parents need to start at home with eating right. Just think if you take Happy Meals away the kids are going to get adult size orders of food instead. So explain to everyone how a toy can make a child fat. Guess what a lot of the children play in the toy area and get exercise.
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6-23-2010 @ 11:00AM
SKL said...I hope when they lose the lawsuit the judge makes them pay all of McDonald's court costs and attorney fees, along with a penalty for filing a frivolous lawsuit.
If happy meal toys are linked to childhood obesity, it's because parents have no balls whatsoever. If we agree that childhood obesity is such a crime, let's force all the parents into classes to teach them how to say NO.
I never got a single happy meal, ever. Guess what - my mom knew how to say NO.
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6-23-2010 @ 2:16PM
SKL said...It was the frivolity of the purchase that made my mom say no. Not the health factor. Amazingly, most of us were skinny despite not having the government meddling in what we ate. Oh yeah, we used to be allowed to go around town without an adult escort - maybe that had something to do with it.
6-23-2010 @ 11:37AM
Beka said...This is rediculous! If kids are getting fat from happy meals, it's the parents' fault. I agree with the other posters, it is the parents' responsibility to say no. My daughter gets happy meals every now and then (probably about 30% of the times she asks) and she is pretty good about picking healthier options (white milk and apples). And, contrary to what the Jacobson guys says, I don't mind saying no to my child all the time; she has to learn that she doesn't get everything she wants!
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6-24-2010 @ 2:23PM
Maria said...My opinion- NOT BECAUSE SOME PARENTS LET THEIR KIDS TELL THEM WHAT TO DO MEANS MCDONALDS IS DOING SOMETHING WRONG! I LOVE THEIR HAPPY MEALS AND I BUY ONE EVERY 2 WKS FOR MY SON BECAUSE I KNOW HOW TO CONTROL WHAT HE EATS.
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6-24-2010 @ 1:43PM
domesticgoddess said...You know, I think guns kill people just about as much as a spoon caused Rosie O'Donnnell to be fat. And I also think that Happy Meal prizes never caused a kid to be fat either. Just because they have a fantastic marketing strategy doesn't mean that anyone should sue them over their ingenuity, and call it consumer protection! All those fanatical parents who blame you and the world in general should get a life, and actually do something constructive with their children instead of becoming victims along with their kids!
Child obesity is caused by a lack of parental responsibility and accountability. Many want to pass the buck to anyone but themselves. For this I apologize, as I am a parent. I have successfully raised 3 kids, who are neither lazy nor fat! And guess what? our children all consumed Happy Meals! They loved the prizes, and looked forward to going to the Ronald McDonald playground, and eat their Happy Meals! They weren't able to drive themselves to your restaurant, and could not have paid for the meals by themselves. Yes, it was our responsibility to be informed parents, and allow them the Happy Meals as a treat, and to do it responsibly.
As a good parent I am outraged at the ridiculousness of this suggested law and/or lawsuit to ban prizes in Happy Meals. Who actually proposed this bill within the confines of the Center for Science? Was it someone associated with a competing fast-food restaurant?
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6-27-2010 @ 2:38PM
joyce said...These people need to find something else to do with their time. Come what good comes from taking the toys from the Happy Meal?? The kids still like the food. A trip to McDonald's is a treat, not an everyday meal. Part of the fun of getting a treat is getting the prize. Have you forgotten what it was like to be a kid???
What are you going to do next??? Watch out Cracker Jack & cerals.
Do you not listen to your health care providers " Use in moderation" Parents step up and monitor what your kids do & teach them moderation.
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6-28-2010 @ 9:51AM
Just say NO said...this crap really gets on my nerves, suing just to sue. Lawsuits like this is exactly what's wrong with our country and it's one reason why other countries HATE us. I do not buy the crappy sugary cereal that is right next to the good for you cereal, I JUSY SAY NO! And I don't buy the crappy "juice" next to the 100% juice, again, the answer is NO. ... what's next, are they going to sue Willy Wonka for making candy so irresistable? Movie theaters for selling nothing but junk food? How about we abolish the TOY aisle and remove the candy and other junk at the checkout lane too, since it's SO HARD for these wimps to say the word NO and stick with it! I teach my kids to make good choices, this lawsuit is about a group of people who made poor choices then decided it must be someone else's fault.
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7-02-2010 @ 11:52AM
Valerie Jennings said...This lawsuit was supposed to be in the interest of the public, but a large number of people seem to be speaking out against it.
Concerned citizens and parents attacked the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s (CSPI) Facebook page regarding their potential lawsuit against McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys.
Read the posts outraged parents left on CPSI’s Facebook: freetochooseourmeals.com
Bob Cutler, CEO of Creative Consumer Concepts (C3), addressed CSPI’s ridiculous claims and the possibility of the unnecessary lawsuit. “This lawsuit is CSPI and the government over-reaching. Parents are capable of choosing what their children should eat. This issue pries on public sensitivity for issues such as obesity, the poor or the unemployed, which nobody can stand against without looking completely insensitive,” said Cutler.
FreeToChooseOurMeals.com is for anyone who wants to choose what they eat! Visit Twitter: @ChooseMeals for more information about what you can do to protect consumer choice and stop these ridiculous issues.
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7-31-2010 @ 4:28AM
louise said...I agree 100% ! This is exactly what is wrong with this country! The time, energy, and money that will be spent on this silly and unreasonable lawsuit, could have been, put toward something worthwhile! What next? I know "Lets sue ALL of the grocery stores ! After all, they offer a lot of food that is not healthy along with toys , cakes,and candy . Better yet; Lets see if we can CLOSE DOWN all the candy stores , bakeries, (no more cakes and pies for anybody or even bread for that matter). Then lets close down all the drink makers (no more kool-aid; juices, and surely no more colas(Pepsi and Coke and etc.)even the flavored waters! Now lets see, would we be any better off? I dont think so . Not only have you just took away half of the jobs ; now the people can't afford to buy the healthy food ! Back to the real world ; there were overweight people before McDonalds and there will be overweight people if McDonalds ceased to exist! I think McDonalds has done their part. Parents should do their part! People should be outraged at CSPI; for SQUANDERING TAXPAYERS DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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8-11-2010 @ 11:51PM
DXW said...PEOPLE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN OBESITY AND KIDS OBESITY. I EAT MCDONALDS, I'M A KID, AND YOU KNOW I'M LAZY, TOO. GUESS WHAT I'M NOT OBESE FROM IT EITHER I'M 104 POUNDS AND 13 YEARS OLD. JUST BE QUIET ABOUT THE WHOLE THING NEXT THING YOU KNOW PEOPLE ARE GOING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ALL FAT FOODS AND TRY TO HAVE IT BANNED. THEN A WAR WILL START THEN THE COUNTRY WILL SPLIT APART AND WE WOULD HAVE LOST LIVES THAT NEEDN'T BE LOST
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