Opinion: Happy Meal Toy Lawsuit Is Out to Lunch

I just wrote to the CSPI group....



"My grandson wants to sue you for trying to sue McDonald's.
On what grounds, well on the grounds of stupidity! Are you going to sue every candy maker? every french fry maker? every non healthy food there is???? Come on Be serious. Your group is not worth the paper it was created on.

I grew up with McDonald's and you probably did too...are you fat from just the happy meals? Then get out and exercise. There is no sane reason to do this...."

I can not understand how they figure kids get fat from the this? I own glasses from over 20 years ago from McDonald's......This is insane. Everyone needs to look at the article and click on the (CSPI) to get to their link and sue them!!!!! Why shouldn't we make a profit off of them? As so many have said it is the parents that control their childs eating habits....not the toys in these places.

I agree Http://www.legalhelpinfoguide.info things are getting out of hand in the liability department.

It's not even the food so much that makes some kids fat. Are they supposed to do away with ice cream and peanut butter in all the stores too?
The problem is that some parents let their kids sit in front of the T.V. for 4 hours a day and then another 3-4 on their computers.
We used to eat at McDonalds all the time as kids....but we didn't sit on our fannys all day.
This suit is so absurd. The parents should be sued.

Get real, Our society goes from one extreme to the next. Lets do something that will help our society. Getting rid of toys in a meal isn't it. My kids grew up on Mc donalds and they are both healthy active adults. I was taught everything is fine in moderation. Whats wrong with alittle exercise. Thats the problem. Our society has become lazy from all the high tech crap we have. Put away video games, computers and games, cell phones, and yes even the tv remote. Get out and play.

HEY !!! I want the Happy Meal AND the toy. I want the supersize fries & 4 ounces of ketchup, I want the Quarterpounder with double cheese !!! I want the extra large vanilla shake. I want the waffle cone with swirling softie ice cream... You can eat your bean sprouts & alfalfa roots & bean curd. It's ok. I don't want it, you eat it...Eat as many Happy Meals as you want guys....Al-

It's a bunch of low lifes that has nothing better to do but to look for lawsuits. I can imagine what this group looks like. A bunch of government users that hasn't paid taxes since birth...

you obivously don't have children.

Wow, this is like someone sues catoon network for influencing children to sit in front of the tv 24/7, or Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft for making games consoles that harbors the risk for a child to sit in front of a monitor/tv for hours at a time... Ridiculous!

Bottom line: If parents aren't doing their job, there is a government agency that deals with them; Child Protective Services, let THEM deal with the childhood obesity issue, not some non-profit tax dodgers who only want to make money and a name for themselves!

@ James...yes, we do have to do away with peanut butter too...didn't you get the memo....every kid in America is now allergic to it!

Wow......I am in shock.....Ban "Happy Meals"? This to me is very scary.If a group of people can ban together(there is strength in #'s) to rally for something that is going to help humanity and our world.....the best they can do is aboloish "Happy Meals"? Absolutely unbelievable!!!!!!

I agree!!!!!!! Its not the kids that are buying the happy meals for themselves!!!! People want an excuse, blame macdonalds for obesity!!! Well no one forced anyone to eat the food!!! There are healthier options to happy meals, like apples instead of fries! OR GASP!!!!! HOW ABOUT MAKING A MEAL FOR YOUR FAMILY AND NOT BUYING FOOD WITH EMPTY CALORIES!!!!!! But hey, why take responsibility when you can sue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perfectly stated! Isn't all advertising geared to creating a consumer group for a product? If a parent does not want their child to eat a Happy Meal they can simply go somewhere else. I have shared meals each of my children and grandchildren. I purchased a Happy Meal and a water. We shared the food and had water, played a little while and they went home with a toy in their little hand. . Million dollar moments for $1.49.

Putting pressure on fast food (not just McDonalds) to change the quality and health of their food is a good idea, but targeting the toy is just stupid. By the way, McDonalds is one of the pioneers in responding to Americans by changing their menu options (apple sticks, milk/juice, better chicken, etc). Also, no one ever mentions the play places. When mom or dad are at their wit's end, it's nice to take the kids to McDonalds, let them play (exercise!) and get a nice treat and meal for very little money (and sometimes free wifi!). Your motivation is transparent, and it's far worse than anything McDonalds has ever done to me and mine.

Right on Blumeanie, People are so sue happy. I believe some people think all the time about how they can make money without working. They are too lazy to work for a living, and want the easy way out. Too bad they don't spend that energy thinking of an invention.

some people have nothing better to do with their time, if they don't want the kids to eat unhealthy meals than don't buy them

but you can wash THOSE stains out!

Personally, I don't understand what the big deal is with all this "oh, this food is unhealthy" stuff. Granted, I do think restaurants like McDonalds should offer healthy alternatives (such as small salads or fruit cups in kids meals in lieu of fries if the parent/kid chooses), but, at the end of the day, its the CONSUMER'S CHOICE what goes into his or her (or their children's) stomachs, not this group or any others. Just like all the changes Kellogg's made to their cereals...I used to eat Froot Loops and Apple Jacks from time to time myself...and now they taste aweful (again, I'm not saying they shouldn't offer this "healthier" version of their cereal at all, but they should have kept the original versions as well...plus, if I wanted my kids to eat "healthier" cereal, I'd buy them Total or Fiber One!), and even I, a normal, healthy sized adult, won't eat them. In many cases, children simply won't eat foods that taste bad at all...that goes back to the dawn of time, really; limiting their choices is really just making it harder for parents to find foods that their kids WILL eat to keep them from starving, and there are at least some nutritional benefits to french fries and hamburgers and the like. As I always say, it really isn't WHAT we eat, its HOW MUCH! And theres absolutely no way that we can get rid of all the hamburgers and french fries and pizzas in the world, so why waste time and money trying to do so?! Also, the last time I checked, McDonald's HAS started putting nutritional information on their fry boxes, and also have a chart in the restaurant that gives details about all of their offerings, plain and clear for all customers to see.

As far as as the toy thing goes, why do we have to ruin what is really little more than an ad campaign for the store and, in reality, a fun American tradition for children? Like the people in this group didn't get toys in their Happy Meals when they were younger...why do they want to ruin it for future generations? If anything, why don't they just make McDonald's start charging a nominal fee for the toys, and make them optional to the consumer? I'm sure they wouldn't mind doing that...;D

I buy the McDonald's toys ALOT for my grandchildren but i have "never" bought a kid's meal. Who are these morons who "think" they have to buy the kid's meal just to get the toy "in" the kid's meal?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? DUH!!!! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you don't "need" to buy the kid's meal to get the toy!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!! Some people are soooooooo STUPID!!!!! I HATE STUPID PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Roxane, calm down, you're not smarter than anyone else here. While you're schooling us on how to buy toys you're completely missing the point of the article and all our comments.