A friend forwarded this to me...it seems that SF is going the extra mile against McD's:
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From the Irish Times:
San Francisco has become the first major US city to pass a law that
cracks down on the popular practice of giving away free toys with fast
food restaurant meals for children.
San Francisco's Board of Supervisors passed the law last night on a
veto-proof 8-to-3 vote. It takes effect on December 1st.
The law, like an ordinance passed earlier this year in nearby Santa
Clara County, would require that restaurant kids' meals meet certain
nutritional standards before they could be sold with toys.
Opponents of the law include the National Restaurant Association and
McDonald's Corp, which used its now wildly popular Happy Meal to
pioneer the use of free toys to market directly to children.
"We are extremely disappointed with today's decision. It's not what
our customers want, nor is it something they asked for," McDonald's
spokeswoman Danya Proud said in a statement. "Getting a toy with a
kid's meal is just one part of a fun, family experience at
McDonald's.”
The San Francisco law would allow toys to be given away with kids'
meals that have less than 600 calories, contain fruits and vegetables,
and include beverages without excessive fat or sugar.
Backers of the ordinance say it aims to promote healthy eating habits
while combating childhood obesity.
"Our children are sick. Rates of obesity in San Francisco are
disturbingly high, especially among children of colour," said San
Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar, who sponsored the measure. "This is a
challenge to the restaurant industry to think about children's health
first and join the wide range of local restaurants that have already
made this commitment.”
Some 15 per cent of American children are overweight or obese - which
puts them at risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and cancer,
according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In
some states, the childhood obesity rate is over 30 per cent.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest this summer threatened
to sue McDonald's if it did not stop using Happy Meal toys to lure
children into its restaurants. A lawyer for that group said it is on
track to file the lawsuit in the next several weeks.
McDonald's debuted the Happy Meal in the United States in 1979.
In 2006, the latest year for which data is available, fast-food
companies led by McDonald's spent more than $520 million on
advertising and toys to promote meals for children, according to a US
Federal Trade Commission report.
When the efforts of other food and beverage companies were included,
promotional spending aimed at children topped $1.6 billion.
