A Washington-based consumer advocacy group threatened to sue McDonald’s Tuesday, charging that the fast food chain “unfairly and deceptively” markets toys to children through its Happy Meals.
“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,” Stephen Gardner of the Center for Science in the Public Interest 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, hopes the publicity and threat of a lawsuit will force McDonald’s to negotiate with them. The group announced the suit in the letter to McDonald’s 30 days before filing it with the hope that the company will agree to stop selling the toys.
McDonald’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, which CSPI says would be filed in state court.
The center has not chosen a state yet, but the group believes the toys in Happy Meals violate state consumer protection laws in Massachusetts, Texas, the Washington federal district, New Jersey and California.
The fast food 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. 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 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 is 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.”
What a pile of crap… Guess what, I don’t care if my kids don’t like me because I say NO to McD’s AND I don’t need a Food Cop to run interference for me.
More of your tax dollars going to waste when parents can simply say “no.”
well if this shows anything is ironicly that ads dont work. You can advertise healthy but in the end, kids will eat what taste best. Fries taste better than apples and Coke tastes better than milk. You cant blame the toys.
Am I alone in being capable of raising my children and teaching them about moderation without a public(ity) interest group or the government telling me how to do it? The nanny state is chilling whether it’s the government or some alleged interest group even suggesting such nonsense.
There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said here. So, I’ll just add this…CSPI, please move to Venezuela. Pronto!
Have the parents just say no! don’t blame Mcdonalds for everthing
some parents are so lazey they wont cook for there kids so they run to a fast food place because the parent is lazy!
Parents could say no all they want, people, but it would be nice if McDonald’s would actually be in their corner and offer better meal choices. Don’t be surprised in the end that McDonald’s will have to be forced by the courts to do this.
What is this crazy world coming to??? This (food police) is about the biggest crock of bull s***t I heard yet.They are at least a close 2nd to our glorious Socialistic President.
I’m sure he agrees with them.
Oh wait a minute it must be Bush’s Fault!
LOL
McDonald should sue them for deformation of character.
If the kids would go outside and play instead of video games and TV there wouldn’t be so many over weight kids. Heck even our own schools have cut back on PE
I wish McDonalds would cook the fries in lard or Crisco or whatever it was that made them taste good once upon a time.
- josephlcooke.blogspot
These food police are probably hired by wendy’s or burger king to do damage to their image,they must be the group that got those glasses recalled,because the children where licking the metal off the outside of the glass and not drinking coke from them,what a joke
Ok, This is rediculous! Wake up CSPI. Instead of blaming McDonalds for over weight kids blame the parents. Because I can tell you right now that I decide what my child eats not my child. All this is, is you wanting to push the blame off on someone else. Get over yourselves! NO ONE wants you to tell them what their kids should be allowed to eat! Thats whats wrong with this place people like you sticking their noses where they don’t belong. I am so sick and tired of Bull Crap law suits like this. Isn’t this supose to be a free country?
This is so funny. Let’s blame McDonald’s for allowing parents to purchase what they want for their children. CSPI has nothing better to do than eat a Big Mac inside while watching all the parents go through the drive thru and get THEIR kids (not CSPI kids)food. If parents would cook every once in awhile instead of take out all the time maybe just maybe we might have healthier children!!!!
I don’t drink soft drinks and neither does my son. He eats a few fries and a few apples with his hamburger. And he loves his little toy. This is the biggest bunch of baloney. I bet those people at CSPI drink a lot of soft drinks and they give them to their kids and now the both are obese. Take care of your own side of the street before trying to police ours.
Thank God for the Food Police. What is going on with this country and who pays this group there money? It obviously not the Food Industry. What a joke. Why don’t they open up there own restaurant with what should be served. Like everything else unless the parents get involved they will keep doing the same thing
Our children ate at McDonald’s only ONCE a month – it WAS a treat. No, they didn’t like the fact that their friends got all the toys, etc. but today they truly appreciate us being parents. Too bad their friends didn’t have parents – they had babysitters.
Here is an idea; go somewhere else to eat. Luckily, for now, you have a lot of different choices, even eating at home would work. Then you could monitor what your children eat. Then if your child gets over weight it is only you to blame. What shame; taking responsibility for your children. What a novel idea. Start doing it and stop blaming others. We are a very lazy society and this is one example of why. Get a clue folks.
Oh wow, toy’s are marketed towards children? I wonder how they figured that out!
Again, where is the personal responsibility here? Blame McDonalds because the kids choose unhealthy options over the healthy ones? What happened to the parents ability/responsibility to say NO to the children? Good bloody grief this is nothing but someone wanting to take $$ out of deep pockets.
I don’t know about you but I know how to keep door-to-door salesmen out of my house; don’t y’all?
Many McDonald’s locations will sell the toy without you having to buy the meal.
I’ve had it with the liberal terds injecting themselves in the lives of others! If you don’t like the happy meal, then don’t buy one! If you don’t want your children to have one, then don’t buy them one! Who invited these freaks to the party anyway? Please, Lord, let’s stop the insanity. We are creating a society of pansies who will become incapable of thinking for themselves. Folks have to be responsible for themselves and their children and all America needs to do is embrace freedom, expand our knowledge, and hone our critical thinking skills through trial and error just like our ancestors and founding fathers of this great country. Every time I turn another page in the paper I read about another subsidized non-for-profit trying to force their beliefs of others “for the betterment of society” – good grief, give me my freedom and stay out of my life!
The last time I checked there were no children driving themselves to McDonald’s so there must be an adult in this equation somewhere that ultimately has the final say about what the kid is eating. My 5 year old loves McDonald’s But most of the time I say No we only go for a treat about 2x a month.He chooses Nuggets apple dippers and Chocolate Milk. So CSPI thanks but I would like to continue to speak for my Family and Do not need or want your input.
How about them suing the video game makers for stifling the poor kids exercise? How about arresting the parents for not doing their jobs in the first place? Where do you stop this foolishness?
Next they will go after the toys in the cereal boxes!
What a crock. If parents are too weak to say no, they can simply buy the toys separately. (In the past I have collected some great toys from McD’s – Finding Nemo, etc – without ever touching a cheeseburger.) I don’t like nanny laws or nanny police, no matter how well-intentioned. You gotta draw the line or the nannies will come right into your home and start legislating at your dinner table.
Keep your darn liberal controlling noses out of my life.
And RichF is right — go sue those video game sellers. But again, that keeps the popluation stupid and introverted; the perfect future liberal.
Don’t people have better things to do than to waste time and money trying to control people. It never works. Don’t people ever look at the unintended consequences? Beside’s, it’s none of your business if kids eat healthy or not.
Fight for your right to make choices as a consumer!
http://www.cspiscam.com/
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/
http://activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/o/13-center-for-science-in-the-public-interest
http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/543-tragic-legacy-of-cspi.html
The Center for Science in the Public Interest needs to sue itself for misleading the public into thinking that this organization is in the public interest. It is not. It is for the private interests of Stephen Gardner and other small-minded individuals that think the same way. The only people buffaloed into thinking this organization is legit are the media organizations that give Gardner a public forum.
With regard to toys in Happy Meals. If parents think it is a problem, all they need to do is say no. If they cannot handle their kid’s nagging, then they need to learn to parent. The kids are not going into McDonald’s and buying the meals.
These comments are pretty funny. Not a single original thinker among them. Everybody is spouting the tea-party, FOX News, Rush Limbaugh talking points.
Not a single one of you has enough brains or compassion to look at the other side of the story. Mindlessly supporting huge corporations that market harmful substances to children – it’s a wonder you don’t advocate Big Tobacco handing out Beanie Babies with their cancer sticks.
Hey folks,
McDonald’s is a fast food restaurant. It started out as a hamburger joint and nothing else. It has added other foods to compete with other restaurants. If you don’t like McDonald’s foods then you do have a free choice to go to any other restaurant.
Also, I happen to know a lot of Adults who collect those Happy Meal toys and would be quite upset if McDonald’s stopped putting them in there. Maybe the CSPI just doesn’t like toys. I think we should force them to play with toys everyday until they change their minds.
McDonald’s should be praised for going above and beyond where it is not even their responsibility. They offer plenty of healthy options and it is the responsibility of parents to either say “No” or to choose healthy options for their children. What’s next, are they going to sue retail stores who sell toys, because my children constantly “nag” me to go to the toy store or to the toy aisle. Children nag for things, they don’t understand what is good for them, that is why it is the sole responsibility of the parents to choose what they feed their children and where they take them. This group needs to mind it’s own business and find a real cause to attack. Leave McDonald’s alone. Thank you McDonald’s for offering my family the opportunity to give my children a small treat once in a while with their meals, you have made mealtime fun for many years. And thank you for all of the work you do for children and families through Ronald McDonald Charities!
Barbyr – I’m sorry, but is is about parents being parents and not caving into the marketing ploys of corporations. I’m sure you have also fallen into the marketing trap in one way or another – just as I have as I sit here eating my lunch of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese (“You know you like it!”). Does that mean I should now sue Kraft for marketing a product that if I ate everyday would cause obesity? The point most of these people are making is that marketing is a tool that businesses use to lure us to their products, however, as responsible adults/parents it is still ultimately up to us to make a decision about what is good or not good for our children.
Again, our society can’t accept any personal accountability and has to place the blame on someone else. McDonald’s in an American institution and they should be able to sell whatever food they want, and give away toys. It’s called marketing! The parents should be responsible enough to say “no” to the kids, just like they can change channels on the TV if they don’t like the content. This is a huge waste of time and money. My kids eat McDonald’s when their mother and I choose, and they like the toys they get, but it’s not all of the time and we act like responsible parents watching what our children eat (and what they watch on TV).
I have an idea. Why don’t we sue this group for trying to take away our right to choose for ourselves?
“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”
On planet earth we call this “successful advertising.”
I’d like to form a class to sue the “Center for Science in the Public Interest” for being whiney d-bags.
They have to scream loud and wide to make $18 million per year for their “programs”:
Chief Executive : Michael F. Jacobson, Executive Director
Compensation*: $241,363
And why can they do what they do?
As they say:
“Nutrition Policy… Because it takes more than willpower”
What a load of garbage. If parents do not have the guts to say no and place limits on what their children can and cannot consume, then the problem is not McDonald’s but parenting skills. After raising two children through the Beanie Baby, Jurassic Park and other Happy Meals, it was not easy to say no, but you did it anyway for the good of the kids.
I take my son to McDonald’s in 2 circumstances:
1) That’s all we have time for between getting out of work and going to baseball practice;
2) He wants to play in the play area.
Either way, at least he’s getting some exercise! The toy is nice to have for a couple hours and then gets added to the pile at home and forgotten. Also, while I still have ultimate control over what is ordered, my son has several food allergies that limit his options. He has to get the apple dippers because he can’t eat the fries, and he has to get a soft drink because he can’t drink milk. He also eats very healthy at home, so I’m not going to worry about an occassional child-size soft drink.
It’s one thing to get a ton of parents together as a panel and request to meet with McDonalds and ask them to consider changing their menu. It’s another thing to sue. That money is better spent on other causes. Puhleeze. “Parents get worn down” by kids requesting happy meals? My kids wear me down … so I’ll sue! Gimme a break! What a joke. I’ll bet the people suing have the highest cholesterol levels imaginable if they are paying so much attention to burger joints.
This is so ridiculous that the story is not even worth reading!!!!
Unless this suit alleges that McDonald’s force-feeds unwilling customers, I don’t see how the ‘Food Police’ could prevail.
Each of us has the ultimate responsibility for exercising good judgment and impulse control. It is just wrong to try shifting that responsibility to food vendors and suppliers.
barbyr, you have to be 18 to buy cigs so the parents would STILL have to buy them.
Don’t these goody two shoes people have anything better to do than interfere in other peoples lives? Please just GO AWAY and let parents raise their children the way they see fit. If the grinches in this consumer group don’t want to treat their kids to an occasional happy meal, that is their problem. They have no right to make that decison for every one in this country. Like I said, GO AWAY, and mind your own business.
P.S. If they pursue a lawsuit against McDonald’s, I hope the consumer advocacy group goes bankrupt big time.
I agree with the other posters – as a parent or grandparent we place the order and hand over the cash. There are so many things that truly need to be addressed that wasting time and money on this is disgusting.
Can’t CSPI just leave us alone! They don’t have to take there kids to McDonalds (if they haven’t eaten their young already).
I miss the old days when they fried their French fries in lard (or was it beef tallow?). People don’t have to order fries. If they don’t want it -go somewhere else. This is after all a free country -or it used to be