San Francisco vs McDonald's

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

From the Los Angeles Times....

San Francisco bans Happy Meals

McDonald's not smiling as city votes to ban most Happy Meals

By SHARON BERNSTEIN - Los Angeles Times | 3:13PM PDT - Tuesday, November 02, 2010


The San Francisco board of supervisors voted by
veto-proof margin to forbid restaurants from
offering a free toy with meals that contain more
than set levels of calories, sugar and fat.
— Photo: Karen Bleir/AFP/Getty Images.

SAN FRANCISCO's board of supervisors — the city's council — has voted, by a veto-proof margin, to ban most of McDonald's Happy Meals as they are now served in the restaurants.

The measure will make San Francisco the first major city in the country to forbid restaurants from offering a free toy with meals that contain more than set levels of calories, sugar and fat.

The ordinance would also require restaurants to provide fruits and vegetables with all meals for children that come with toys.

"We're part of a movement that is moving forward an agenda of food justice," said Supervisor Eric Mar, who sponsored the measure. "From San Francisco to New York City, the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country is making our kids sick, particularly kids from low income neighborhoods, at an alarming rate. It's a survival issue and a day-to-day issue."

Just after the vote, McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud said, "We are extremely disappointed with today's decision. It's not what our customers want, nor is it something they asked for."

The ban, already enacted in a similar measure by Santa Clara County, was opposed by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who was vying to be lieutenant governor in Tuesday's election. But because the measure was passed by eight votes — one more than needed to override a veto — his opposition doesn't matter unless one of the supervisors changes his or her mind after the promised veto.

Under the ordinance, scheduled to take effect in December 2011, restaurants may include a toy with a meal if the food and drink combined contain fewer than 600 calories, and if less than 35% of the calories come from fat.

Over the last few weeks, the proposed ban caused a stir online and on cable television, with supporters arguing that it would help protect children from obesity, and opponents seeing it as the latest example of the nanny state gone wild.

Supervisor Bevan Dufty, whose swing vote provided the veto-proof majority, said critics should not dismiss the legislation as a nutty effort by San Franciscans. "I do believe the industry is going to take note of this. I don't care how much they say, ‘It's San Francisco, they're wacked out there’."

Proud, the McDonald's spokeswoman, said the city was out of step with the mainstream on the issue.

"Public opinion continues to be overwhelmingly against this misguided legislation," she said. "Parents tell us it's their right and responsibility — not the government's — to make their own decisions and to choose what's right for their children."

McDonald's is not the only fast-food chain to offer toys with children's meals, but because it is so prominent the company has become a key face of opposition to the ban.

Daniel Conway, spokesman for the California Restaurant Assn., bemoaned the ordinance's passage and contrasted it with San Franciscans' exuberant feelings after the Giants won the world series on Monday night.

"One day you're world champions, and the next day, no toys for you," Conway said.

He said the industry could respond in a number of ways to the ordinance. Some might continue to include toys but charge separately for them. Others might reformulate their meals so that they comply with the law. Restaurants might also simply stop offering children's meals altogether, he said.

Proud said the company does offer more healthful menu options, including apple slices that can be ordered with kids' meals instead of French fries.

The vote was held the same day that McDonald's reintroduced nationwide its McRib sandwich, a pressed pork patty that gets half its calories from fat and has a cult-like legion of fans.

Mar said it would lead the fast-food giant and other restaurants to provide more healthful food for kids. The ban, he said, was crucial to the fight against childhood obesity and the illnesses that go along with it, including diabetes and the risk of heart problems and stroke. The cost of fighting those diseases, he said, will be in the billions.

"It's astronomical how much it's going to cost if we don't address it," Mar said. "It's incredible the crisis that's going to hit us."

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www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-happy-meals-20101103,0,5438230.story

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

From SFGate.com....

San Francisco fast-food toy ban gets supervisors' first OK

By RACHEL GORDON - San Francisco Chronicle | 5:41PM PDT - Wednesday, November 03, 2010


A McDonald's Happy Meal with cheeseburger and fries would not meet the dietary requirements to include
a toy. The supervisors' final vote is next week on restrictions to take effect next December.
— Photo: Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle.

THE SAN FRANCISCO Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval Tuesday to banning toy giveaways in Happy Meals and similar fast-food offerings aimed at kids unless they have reduced sodium, fat and sugar content and include fruit and vegetables.

The legislation, which sponsors said is intended to promote healthy eating and help combat childhood obesity, was passed on an 8-3 vote — the bare minimum needed to overturn Mayor Gavin Newsom's promised veto.

The board is scheduled to take a final vote next week. If it goes on the books, the restrictions wouldn't go into effect until December 2011.

"This is a tremendous victory for our children's health," said Supervisor Eric Mar, chief sponsor of the legislation.

Siding with him were Supervisors John Avalos, David Campos, David Chiu, Chris Daly, Bevan Dufty, Sophie Maxwell and Ross Mirkarimi. Opposed were Supervisors Michela Alioto-Pier, Carmen Chu and Sean Elsbernd.

McDonald's, the world's largest restaurant chain, took the lead in fighting the proposal.

"Somehow the San Francisco Board of Supervisors just took the happy out of Happy Meals," said Scott Rodrick, who owns 10 McDonald's franchises in the city. "It would be an understatement to say how disappointed I am with this legislation."

He said the restrictions could hurt business and cost jobs if customers cross the San Francisco border for a traditional Happy Meal experience. He and other restaurant industry representatives said parents — not lawmakers — should decide what their children eat.

Mar said that right wouldn't be taken away. Toys, he noted, still would be allowed in meals that meet the healthier nutritional guidelines.

"It's not a ban; it's an incentive," Mar said.

Under the proposed ordinance, restaurants may give away a free toy or other incentive item only if the meal contains less than 600 calories, has less than 640 milligrams of sodium and if less than 35 percent of the calories are derived from fat (less than 10 percent from saturated fat), except for fat contained in nuts, seeds, eggs or low-fat cheese.

In beverages, less than 35 percent of the total calories can come from fat, and less than 10 percent from added sweeteners.

In addition, the meals must contain a half-cup or more of fruit and three-quarters of a cup or more of vegetables. A breakfast meal must contain at least a half-cup of fruit or vegetables.

Mar, who had the backing of the city's public health officials, modeled his proposal after a first-in-the-nation law in Santa Clara County adopted earlier this year that only applies to a handful of restaurants in the county's unincorporated areas. San Francisco's restrictions would affect dozens of fast-food establishments.

Dufty, the swing vote Mar needed to assure a veto-proof majority, said the powerful lure of toys that come with kids meals — and the marketing campaigns that accompany them — puts parents who may want to steer their children toward healthier food choices at fast-food restaurants at a distinct disadvantage.

He pointed to a 2006 survey by the Federal Trade Commission that found that 10 fast-food chains spent $360 million to purchase toys to distribute with the more than 1.2 billion children's meals sold that year.

"I want to encourage these major stakeholders to act now. I think we can take a bold move here and say, you know what, you really need to think about the fact that you can market whole wheat products, you can market carrots," Dufty said.

"If you have to put a Shrek doll with a package of carrots," Dufty added, "maybe that's what you have to do, but there hasn't been a real incentive for this industry to do that, and I think that this legislation in a small appropriate way is a step to say you need to do things differently."

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www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/03/MN111G5PCN.DTL

[james30]

I think McDonalds around the world would be affected by this ban. It’s a good idea to force them to make more nutritious food for kids instead of enticing them with toys to eat their fatty food.

[ethan26]

Yeah San Francisco is very famous for parties and their restaurants. I have celebrated Christmas party there last year and got very good services at that amazing place. Now I am planning a small brunch party for my loved ones. Do you have any experiences of best boozy brunch nyc?